send off party

I went to my first(and so far only) send off party back in November. My friend Jofrey's sister was getting married. He invited Tisho and I to go so that he'd have some friends at her party. The send off party is for the bride-to-be. She invites her family and friends. As you can see from the pictures it is a big deal. New dresses are made, there are cakes, gifts and lots of decorations. The groom and a few of his family members are invited. I was told that this is the chance for any of the groom's family to publicly state if there are reasons why they do not want their son/brother/nephew/grandson to marry the woman. If the send off party goes well then the wedding happens. For the wedding the groom will invite his family and friends and only a few members of the bride's family. It was interesting. The groom and best man only had a minor role to play during the celebration. The bride sat up from with her maid of honor. In a strange twist of Western culture the bride and maid of honor fed each other cake before the cakes were given to family members. Sadly the rest of us weren't given any cake!