Wedding... Minus the Wedding?

End of a year. Time for new beginnings... or time to celebrate old ones. Tonight I was at a wedding for my cousin, Kien, and his wife, Michelle. Thing is though, they were married about 2 years ago in Vietnam. Although, our family here in Virginia Beach never got to celebrate their marriage because they did it overseas. But tonight, we finally got to celebrate it! It was a wedding, but without the marriage ceremony. All we did was party at the wedding reception that we never had. It was pretty cool because it was being held at the Virginia Space and Air Center.

It started at six o'clock and we were late by 5 minutes. I sped to get there, but it was really pointless cause the party didn't actually start until close to 7PM. Most of that hour was spent just taking pictures, waiting for other guests to arrive, looking around the museum, and just hanging out. I did a lot of each. Especially taking a bunch of pictures and searching around the space and air center. There are a lot of interesting things in there, and a lot to mess around with. We found things like a whole commercial airliner hanging off the ceiling. We even went inside and I sat inside the pilot seat. There are a bunch of old model jets hanging up there too. All real, all out of commission. Other things included things dealing with spacecraft. Thus the name, Virginia Space and Air Center. Haha. Here's a short video of what the reception looked like before everyone finally got there.

We were all ready to eat, but first dibs goes to the bride and groom. Then their immediate family, then pretty much everyone else. I have to say, the coconut shrimp was on point at this buffet style serving table! Probably the best thing there. I sat with Leo and the photogs cause the table with my other cousins was filled up. We were talking about my friend, Sandy from North Carolina, and how she might be coming down for spring break. Then the topic went to how Leo will marry her by age 30 if he is still single. He even put it into his event calendar in his iPhone, I was weak! Haha. Then Leo decided to ding his glass to get Kien and Michelle to kiss. :]

After we ate, the traditional tea ceremony was conducted. This is where the bride and groom serve tea to their parents, grandparents, and uncles and aunts. After serving the tea, they receive gifts. For as long as I can remember, every wedding within my family has done this tradition. Michelle received a lot of jewelry and she was adorned with them after serving tea. The expression on Kien's face is so funny in this picture. This short video is of my Aunt Trina (Kien's mom) being served tea and giving Michelle a whole lot of jewelry.

More tea-serving and gift-giving followed after my Aunt Trina. Which was then followed by Kien and Michelle's first dance as husband and wife, but technically it really wasn't. Haha. After they danced, couples were called up to the dance floor to dance with them. After that, everyone was able to just go out and shake their stuff. Too bad not a lot of people wanted to. Haha. It could have been a lot of fun with a lot more people willing to just let it loose.

While people were on the dance floor, both my cousins, Leo and Tom, were in the back of the reception trying to see who could handstand the longest. I don't know why. Haha. After that, they decided to see who could flip themselves off the floor into a handstand. Haha. It was funny to watch it from the sidelines. Especially funny when Tom fell onto the Christmas tree and presents that were on display in the back. I didn't catch that on camera, but still... good times! Haha.

Like Leo said in the video, we were starting to cut the cake. That was a sign of the night coming to an end. After we all ate cake, Michelle and Kien sang to each other. It was a great night, and another one of those few occasions where family reunite. That's twice this week now! Nice. :]

The party was fun and it was unique to have it where we did. I wish Kien and Michelle the best of luck as a married couple. I'm sure they will be together for a long long time to come.