No, the title isn’t a typo. My beautiful redheaded friend Holly married her Nigerian sweetheart last month in Barbados (American-style with her family present) and celebrated their reception in Jos yesterday (African-style with his family and friends attending). The emcee and pastors announced the marriage of “Holy” to Zach and people threw money at them as the couple danced down the aisle and in front of the stage. The money part almost made me want to get married again (to Mark, of course).
Scheduled to start at 12:30 pm, the bride and groom (as well as a few hundred guests) didn’t arrive until 1:15 pm. After the initial dance, Pastors and musicians led us in various songs, sermons and prayers. Three hours later, we went outside for picture-taking. The group photo above is of the Faith Alive family in attendance. We went back inside to enjoy heaping-full plates of Nigerian food, minerals (sodas), more dancing and singing, and then cake (given to us in little paper boxes).
During the “family dance,” the emcee asked the bride and groom’s families to come forward. Looking for white faces (only about eight of us), the emcee came up to visitor Bill (who had never met “Holy”) and said, “Come up, Daddy.” Bill shook him off before the emcee asked, “Any brothers or sisters?” I gladly went forward when I saw Holly motion for me to come up and boogie. I don’t really have any redheads in my family, but I feel a kinship with her because I was with her when we both first came to Nigeria and she met Zach.
Around 5:30 pm, I left with take-home gifts of a small notebook with their photos on the front and back covers, a thin, pink mesh bag imprinted with the couple’s names and matching pink and white bowl, and the need for a good night’s sleep.
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