A Week In St. Lucia

The Wedding Ceremony

   When we arrived at the ceremony, everything seems set up. I see the wedding altar, stacks of white chairs lined up in rows beside each other, lots of pretty decorations and of course, some of the guests are already here. They're just mingling and talking to each other.
"Okay, we're here!" my mom said, excitedly. "Let's go!"
My family stepped out of the car and joined the other people. Shortly after, more guests have arrived. Everyone began greeting each other with handshakes and embracing. After this, everyone all went back to carrying on their conversations with each other and I was walking around, while we all wait for Sandie and Sebastien.
   Shortly, Sebastien showed up at the ceremony on his own and Sandie was still up in her suite.
I waved and called out "hi" to Sebastien once I saw him. He noticed me and waved back as his dad came up to him and they started talking. A few minutes later, Sandie still hasn't come down yet and was getting ready. Thinking that it may take a while, Sandie's friends Cynthia and Nathan, and Ilan - who is staff with Sebastien at work - along with his spouse, all decided to go to the back area to wait for Sandie to arrive. Cynthia asked me to come along, so I quickly told my mom where I'm going to be and then followed Cynthia. All of us snuck past the altar, turned around the corner on the right and came to a raised surface made of stone. It almost looked like a stage. Everyone climbed up the tall platform and Nathan had to help me up as I try to avoid getting my pants dirty. Once we're all up, we relaxed and talked while we wait until Sandie arrives. Back here, it was really quiet, but also very shady due to many tree branches blocking most of the sun. Ilan, Nathan and the girls talked about work, then about their daily lives as I just stood and listened along. 
   After a few minutes go by, it all of a sudden got cloudy and began raining. Luckily, it wasn't heavy rain. Instead it was light and only a couple dribble or trickle came down. And to avoid getting soaked, all five of us backed further away from the rain and under the roof to stay dry. While we're all okay, I began wondering about the other guests that are also waiting for Sandie.
"Hey Cynthia, do you think everyone else is alright?" I asked.
"I sure hope so," Cynthia responded. "But don't worry, we'll head back soon."
At this moment, Nathan spoke up. "Guys, I just got a message on the WattsApp group asking if we're okay."
"Should we do a group picture and then show it to the group?" Ilan asked.
"That's probably a good idea," his wife said.
"Alright", Nathan agreed, as he switched over to the camera app on his phone, " everyone get in!"
   Everyone then huddled together. I tried my best to be in the shot as Nathan took our picture.
Next, he typed something and pressed sent. Shortly, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out, turned my phone on and looked at the the group chat called "douvilleforthehuynh" and saw the picture Nathan took of us! We were all smiling and there's a caption below that tells the other guests that the five of us are okay and we're also waiting. Moments later, the rain has stopped and it became sunny again. Then, a couple more minutes go by and all of us received a notification on our phone, but I didn't check. Ilan, however did. He read some message that turns out it's from the group chat. Ilan let us know from someone that Sandie is on her way down.
   "We can head back now, Sandie's coming!" he told us.
"Oh, yay!" I said, thrilled.
"Finally!" Cynthia added.
When we started heading back, we were helping each other get down from the platform. Nathan helped Cynthia get down first, before he started helping me. I had to cling on to him as he lifted me off then placed me down on the ground. When we returned to the wedding, everyone is still here, that's good! It is now almost time. The five of us then joined all the guests and I met up with my family. I explained to Tina where I was after she told me she couldn't find me. Suddenly, Chase, a friend of Sebastien that is going to marry him and Sandie at the front, came and told everyone to take their seats. My mom sat on the front row of the left aisle, while I sat on the right aisle, second row. Anthony, - again, Bao's brother in-law - came and sat in the front row in front of me.
   Tina, Bao, Minh, Jorgen, Vince, Chase, followed by Sebastien, all made their way to the front and stand facing the guests. I looked around my surroundings. Half of the people are already sitting while the others are getting there. I also saw Anne-Marie with her family sitting a few feet away from me. She turned around to see if Sandie has arrived yet, before turning back to face the front. Seconds later, someone calls out "Please rise!" and everyone immediately sat up. I did the same. Since I'm very close to the centre, I can easily peek behind me and see that Sandie has finally made it. Everyone watched and smiled as she began walking forward to the front with our dad going with her, with arms linked together. Once Sandie got to the front and stopped beside Sebastien, my dad went to join my mom at their seats. Finally, we all sat back down as Chase began welcoming everyone and performed the ceremony. 
   Some of what Chase said was a little hard to hear, but I could get a few words. Once Chase finished talked, he then says Sandie and Sebastien's name, tells them to do something. Sebastien took out two pieces of papers, then handed one to Sandie and they both unfolded the papers. Then I realized that it's time for them to say their own vows to each other. Sandie went first as she read to Sebastien what's on her paper. It goes on for about a minute or two. Next, it was Sebastien's turn and he begins reading his vows. When he's done, they moved on to locking away this champagne bottle in something dark brown along with Sandie and Sebastien's vows, then closing it up with a lid and locked it. Once finished, Sandie and Sebastien both grabbed each others' hands and faced each other, smiling! Chase then carries on with the ceremony. Here comes the interesting part. He then announces to everyone in the room that 10 years from now, this exact same week, we return to St. Lucia and all the guests here at the wedding are welcome back.
   This is wonderful to hear! That means it will be my second time coming to this island! And we'll also see how different things may be! Shortly after, came the ring next, which Vince comes up to Sebastien and hands it to him. Sebastien then proceeds to put the ring on Sandie's ring finger of her left hand. Chase then asked Sandie and Sebastien, both the same question - which is "do you take _____ to be your lawful wife/husband, to love and cherish, etc" and they both said "I do" after one another. Finally came the kiss and the wedding guests began clapping! I clapped along, with a big smile on my face! I'm really happy to have Sebastien be a part of the family.
Chase then waved to the guests and said, "thank you so much, everyone! we will see you all tonight!" Then we all finally got up to walk around. Sandie and Sebastien then received some hugs from the guests, also some "congrats!" and handshakes. I went up to Sandie and gave her "congratulations, I'm so happy for you!" as well. Then, as if she just remembered something, Sandie spoke up and asked everyone, "hey guys! before we all go back to our rooms, can we do a big group picture?" Everyone agreed to do it. Sandie suggested that we all get a glass of wine for the photo. Shortly after, all the guests had a glass in their hand and held it up high while standing close to each other. I was likely the only one without a glass of wine in my hand, because I don't drink or like wine, but I still stood in the group picture. We all smiled as J-S and Manuela took our photos. Then, everyone did a "cheers!" and drank before we slowly headed down to the lobby.