Today could be described as “a lesson in Zambian culture.” We learned that weddings here are ALL DAY affairs. Me and Stephanie attended the wedding of one of Stephanie’s closest national friends, Kasonde. Kasonde is a really great gal. Her aunt, Elizabeth, operates an orphanage from her home. I have mentioned it before. It is called the Tasche House. So all the kids (about 15) from the orphanage got to come and be apart of the festivities, which was fun for me and Stephanie because we got to play with them the whole time.


Aunt Elizabeth.


The Tasche kids waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Now let me explain to you about Zambian time….time doesn’t exist. The ceremony was to begin at 11am (which it didn’t). A good rule of thumb around here is to add an hour or hour and a half to the time. If something is to begin at 2pm then you would be safe to not show up until 3pm or a little later. Needless to say, we showed up at the ceremony around 11am like any good American would…..and we sat there until 12pm when the bride and groom finally showed for their wedding. We knew they had arrived because we could hear all the ladies in the back making their African trilling noise (it is a rather hard noise to explain). So finally we were all set to begin!

The groom, Chola, watching his bride come down the aisle! Kasonde being “respectful” as she walks down the aisle.

Most wedding ceremonies in this country are similar to the ones in the states. Only here they DANCE through the whole thing, not walk. So it begins by the bridesmaids dancing a choreographed routine down the aisle to their assigned spots. Meanwhile the groomsmen are standing in a line swaying back and forth to the music being played. When it is time for the bride to make her way down she must walk very slowly and keep her head down while not smiling. This is supposed to be a sign of respect. But you almost want to feel sorry for her because she looks like she is sad or in pain.
Another difference in the weddings is here there is something called a matron. This is an older married woman who helps and counsels the bride prior to the wedding. She tells the bride how to act not only on the wedding day but also in married life. The matron is a part of the ceremony as well. She is always the leader when it is time to make an entrance


Mr. And Mrs. Chola Chama. The lady in red is the matron.


Me and two of the bridesmaids, Bwalya (left) and Frieda (right).

After the whole wedding vows and ring exchange and kissing, it is time for the preaching to begin. The pastor today wasn’t so bad, he only spoke for about 15 minutes. When the preaching is over then the wedding party dances out. This time the bridesmaids and groomsmen dance together. It really is a lot of fun!

The wedding party dancing into the reception.






If you look closely you can see the groom dancing around the bride. He seems to be pretty excited!


Now it is time for the reception, which was scheduled to begin at 3pm. And again, we did not apply the one hour rule and ended up waiting. The wedding party arrived to the reception at 4:45pm. Again, the whole wedding party dances in doing a choreographed dance, also known as “steps”. It is all very entertaining to watch. The reception went well and they served all the cokes you could drink! We both had 3 apiece!


Me and Emily (one of the Tasche kids) trying to pass the time.


Me and the girls sitting at our table. Me and Stephanie.