Brazilian Wedding

Last Sunday we went to a wedding of two friends from church. I've been to many weddings of Brazilian friends here in the U.S., but none can compare to this one as far as the flower arrangements go. This was actually the first wedding I've been to in this country that looked pretty much exactly like a wedding would look like in Brazil. In Brazil, all weddings have many flowers, even the simplest ones. Flowers are not expensive in Brazil and you can always count on a talented friend, or a group of them, to decorate the church (or the venue of your preference) for you, sometimes for free (obviously you still have to pay for the flowers). Those who have more money can choose the best people and pay those friends or acquaintances for their work and those who have even more, hire professional wedding decorators. The work of these"free-lance" ladies (it's generally women who do this) is generally as good as the the professionals, though, as you can see in these photos.

(that's my son on the left)

In this particular wedding, the reception was in hall adjacent to the church, so here you can see one of the ladies who made the flower arrangements carrying one of them from the church into the reception area. The next photo features the bride and groom's table, which I thought was amazingly beautiful.












I wish I'd taken more photos of the flowers, but I guess you get the idea from these. In the most recent weddings I've been to in Brazil, or those I've seen photos of, many of the flower arrangements feature large glass containers of various shapes filled with water (like the one pictured above on the right -- which has flowers floating inside) and fruit, generally limes, or oranges, depending on the color scheme. (I'll try to scan a photo of my brother's wedding later to show you how they look).

Well, here's a bonus photo.
I thought I'd include because besides being very cute, you can't see anyone's faces.