A Khmer Wedding

Being invited to a Khmer Wedding is something that we were told would happen a lot. Well, we’ve been here 5 months and we’ve already been to 2 weddings.

The first invitation was from our boss, who randomly invited us to his son’s wedding, who we’d never met until the day. Our 2nd invitation was from Sambath, the lady who lives opposite us who we’ve made friends with and are getting to know. Both weddings were an experience but Sambath’s was the most memorable because we knew her.

In Cambodia, weddings are one of the most joyous occasions for a Khmer family and typically last between one to three days. The day is a grand affair, full of colour, ceremonies and festivity. Family, friends and others from the community come and join in the celebrations. Throughout the day a group of musicians will play traditional music on traditional instruments. During the wedding, the bride will change her outfit up to fifteen times in one day! Weddings begin with the groom and his family travelling to the bride’s house bearing meats, fruits, pastries, drinks and desserts to give to the bride’s family as a dowry. During this time three traditional songs accompany the presentation.

Following this, the day will be filled with several symbolic ceremonies and the chance to eat lots of Khmer food. Sambath’s Wedding The day started with us and 20 other people cramming into a mini bus designer for 12 – doing it Cambodia styley! The wedding was two hours south of Phnom Penh in a small village called Svay Peo. We all arrived in a squashed state, and Dave and I soon realised that we were the only white faces there. We were welcomed amazingly by everyone there and then asked to join the ceremony in the house.

To my surprise Sambath invited me to take her into the ceremonial room and give her to her husband. I was honoured, but also very nervous as everyone was looking at me. This was the washing of the feet ceremony where Sambath sprayed cologne over her husband’s feet (in the old days the bride placed the groom’s feet on a tray and washed them). The master of ceremonies then held their hands together and chanted. The events concluded with the ‘tying knot ceremony’, where close family and friends are invited to come to the couple and bring their best wishes and blessings by individually tying ribbons around each of their wrists. These knots are tied on both the bride and groom, who are traditionally required to wear them for three days afterwards to preserve good luck.

Dave and I were invited to take part in this ceremony, where we had the chance to show our appreciation to the couple for inviting us to their wedding. The colourful wedding ended with a sumptuous meal of 8 courses and then music and dance to entertain everyone. We all crammed back into the mini bus and drove through villages and roads lined with rice paddle fields back to our street in Phnom Penh.