We got in on a really interesting wedding. This is wedding season here in India and it seems everybody is tying the knot. This little couple aren't members of the Church but I guess they thought our Church house is so beautiful it would be a wonderful place to get married. They did come to church a few times to get a bit aquainted but they couldn't speak English at all.
They asked the Branch President if they could get married there but he didn't think it was allowed since they weren't members. Then one Sunday, a week before the wedding, they handed the invitation to an older man in the branch and asked him to announce to everyone that they were getting married the next Saturday at the Church and everyone was invited. The Branch President didn't hear the announcements.
About an hour before the wedding, we got a call asking to please go over to the Church and help with the wedding as the Branch President hadn't known about it and couldn't make it over. He lives a long way from the Church.
The District President Katika has something to do with the Government and he can marry people. So he showed up and planned the wedding right there on the spot - Man Style. The bride arrived and then an hour and one half later the groom showed up. First we sang I Am a Child of God. Then an opening prayer was offered. Fred was conducting and so he was up and down a few times. Then another old man gave a speech in Hindi. All the time the bright lights
and flashes of the hired camera crew were going off. Oh yes, I had to conduct the songs, which was embarrassing for me because I'm not a good leader and I was the only one singing because nobody at the wedding could speak English, or sing it either.
President Kotika then said a few words and the couple was married. A closing prayer was said. Then to Fred's and my surprise, the couple wanted to get their pictures taken with us and nobody else.
Just as the closing prayer was being said, we started hearing that old familiar racket outside in the church courtyard. Drums were pounding their irratic beat and the crazy blaring horns were sounding out, announcing the marriage.
I got some movies of it but I don't know if they can be played or not. Some of the photos before this writing are movies if you can play them, you'll see some of the dancing going on. I guess after they left the church, they had a really big party with a lot of food and dancing.