If you’ve been following then you  remember that my sister Elisa and brother-in-law Steve got married back in early October.  My Internet connection is actually cooperating today so I might just be able to blog about it finally.  Our Internet provider (*ahem* Comcast) still haven’t resolved our connection issues for nearly two months now.  Back to Elisa and Steve’s wedding though, I have to break their entry into two parts because of the multicultural aspect of their wedding.  In the olden days and back in Cambodia weddings are typically week long celebrations.  The modern day adaptation now lasts about two days and for those who prefer for it to be even shorter can choose and pick only the ceremonies they want to include  and condense it down to a day or even half a day.  After much negotiation with my parents my sister succeeded in carrying out a half-day traditional Cambodian wedding instead.  I wish I knew that I had that option for my own wedding.  While the process of going through a Cambodian wedding may seem daunting and overwhelmingly stressful, speaking for myself, it was all worth it every time I look back at my wedding pictures.  It truly is a once in a lifetime experience (that I would only do once and I’m glad I got it over with, hah).  I would recommend for my Cambodian peers to include some aspect of a traditional Cambodian wedding if they’ve never considered it before.  I’m starting to see more couples now incorporating bits and pieces instead of going full scale.   Again, I’m only speaking from my own experience.  Well, I hope that Elisa and Steve found it all worthwhile at the end.  I also want to say that Steve’s family and relatives were very open minded and very much engaged during the whole experience.  That’s awesome!  If anyone is interested in learning more about traditional Cambodian wedding ceremonies, this link from the Khmer Institute’s website is a great resource.