The Tentative Schedule for the Wedding

Many times when people plan weddings, it is more a focus on the bride and what the bride wants. Usually the brides wants a picture perfect ceremony, a picture perfect reception, followed by a picture perfect honeymoon in an exotic location where they can do girly things.

My fiancee is different. She wants something memorable, so we will do a show, processions and pretty much let everybody have fun being a bit corny. The idea is that since she is Catholic and I agree with the concept, divorce is not an option. If you are going to have one wedding, make it something people can talk about.

So for those who are coming or are interested in what is going on. I will detail our plans so far.

The wedding reception will be on January 2, 2010 in a large reception hall. This is a wedding meal of 5 courses of okay food that will last from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The majority of time, when people are invited to a wedding this is what will happen. You come to a city, see a friend for a little time, skip the ceremony, go to the reception, get drunk and then go back home after your friend goes to some cool place for their honeymoon.

This is all and good if you are only traveling a few hours to see your friend. But when you have to travel 2 to 20 hours on a plane, arrange a visa, and go to a place where you do not speak the language. The rules change. The idea is simple, do something fun and not always traditional, but everybody will like it. Just like us.

So enough of me jabbering. What we are going to do when you come to Ho Chi Minh City for our wedding.

Friday, December 31st, 2009 (The Day Before the Craziness)

I expect many people from other parts of the world to show up on this day. It will be meet and greet, welcome to Viet Nam. Have people settle down and realize that they are no longer on an airplane. Traditionally this is the day for the bachelor/hen party. You can do this and it can be fun. But we are not traditional. We are making this day a bit simple. We will be with friends, enjoy some food and relax with friends. Welcoming friends at the airport multiple times and getting them to settle down will be more than enough work for us.

As for the menu. We are not sure what we will eat. Something sturdy and stable for queasy stomachs after a long plane trip.

Saturday, January 1st, 2010 (The Day of the Wedding Ceremony)

This is the day of the wedding ceremony. Late in the morning we will have a traditional ceremony where the groom asks permission from the bride's family. I will detail the ceremony, what is done, who does it, later in another post.

We will then have a Catholic ceremony. Most of it will be in Vietnamese (we are still discussing if any of it should be in English, it will depend on what other ceremonies we will have). The Cathloic ceremony will occur in the Tan Phu District where my fiancee's family lives. The majority of the time of the four or five day feast/festival/party will occur in the Tan Binh District of Ho Chi Minh City.

After the ceremony, there will be a nice dinner of roast suckling pig, grilled chicken, a simple VN soup, and salad at the house of my parents-in-law. After the feast, the bride will stay at her parents home and the groom will return to his home. They will not sleep in the same home and be together as a bride and groom until the next day.

Sunday, January 2, 2010 (The Day of the Wedding Reception)

In the afternoon or late in the morning, the ceremony where the groom will welcome the bride into his home. For fun we will have a procession down the street where the house I am renting is located. The ceremony where we welcome the bride into my home and my bed will occur.

We will then prepare for the reception. The reception hall is a half block away and it will start at 7:30 pm and probably end at 9:30 pm. It will be a five course meal for 300 people. The menu is still yet to be decided. But the food will be good, but not exceptional. After the reception, we will continue the party with friends and family at our house with beer and snacks.

Monday, January 3, 2010 (Recovery Day)

I am going to assume that we will be massively drunk on Sunday night and jetlag will kick in. People will be tired and need a rest. On this day, we will assist people to visit HCMC or just stay around and chat. Nothing crazy. Many people will want to fly home on this day. So we will see people off as they fly back home.

For those who are still in HCMC, we will have a some nice Goat Hotpot.

Tuesday, January 4, 2010 (Last Day)

For those who are staying longer, they want to see more of Vietnam than HCMC. So we will arrange a small trip to Vung Tau. So people can have the fun at the beach and eat some fresh seafood. Then go back to HCMC.

Vung Tau is about a 2 to 3 hour bus ride. Not long.