My Big Fat Local Wedding

(Okay, it wasn't actually my wedding......)

Today we went to the wedding of one of the Hubster's lifeguard friends. It was a very casual event (duh!) on the water (double-duh!), and one of the most fun weddings we've ever attended.

This is how you know you are at a "Local" wedding:

-You arrive at the wedding site five minutes early (fashionably early) knowing that everything will run on Hawaii time (10 minutes late, minimum)....and you find the groom getting dressed outside his truck in the parking lot.

-The (male) members of the wedding party are still 'showering' at a hose on the side of the building. Surfboards are stowed, clothes are changed while wrapped in a towel in the parking lot, hair is fluffed with the fingers, and all are ready to go.

-The only person at the ceremony wearing long pants is the groom. It's khakis, an aloha shirt, and slippers for him.

-The only person wearing pearls is the bride.

-The smell of plumeria, gardenia, and tuberose fill the air....even though no flowers were purchased for the ceremony.

-Rings are exchanged, the couple is declared 'husband and wife' and kisses are exchanged.....then a voice in the crowd shouts, "Hey!! One mo' time fo' da photographer!!" Rings are removed, exchanged again, the bride is kissed, and the photographer is happy.

-After the ceremony there are long lines for pupus (appetizers) and beer. The pupus include fresh grilled fish, so fresh that they are being pulled off a boat in the back of the building as the line forms in front.

-All conversations begin with "Hey, man.....you go out today??"

-The 'band' begins to play. The acoustics are terrible. The emcee speaks drunken pidgen. No one really understands a word he says. He is amusing anyway.

-Dinner is traditional Hawaiian (kalua pig, lomi lomi salmon, lu'au, poi, and the always present white rice), and abundant. There is not a fork in the place.

-As the sun sets, several guests pull out their own ukuleles and begin strumming in the back.

-You can't help but leave in a much better mood than when you arrived.