tantastik dot org

My sister’s wedding took place over the past weekend. The weather was barely accommodating; eager to move onto Autumn it blanketed the scenery with a thick fog and mist. We seated the guests outside the country club in neatly aligned rows of white plastic chairs. The gazebo was ornately decorated and a white fabric laid upon the aisle of grass between the bride’s side and the groom’s side. She looked beautiful in a white gown, coming down the aisle with my father accompanying her on the left. His lips were pursed and his eyes stayed focused. Certainly he was feeling unfamiliar with this customarily western tradition. Thick bifocals sat crookedly on his face. Their pace was deliberate and came at measured beats while a trumpeter played the processional music.

The ceremony was delivered in English, though they exchanged vows in Vietnamese. I couldn’t catch much of it, as I was sure they were speaking formally to each other. I could only make out the last sentence where he said to her, “Anh yêu em” which according to Babelfish means, “Big brother loves little sister.” Seemed a bit odd, but I’m sure a lot got lost in translation.

The wedding proceeded with cocktails where I was MC for the evening. I was originally supposed to translate for my Vietnamese counterpart and we both had our scripts. While I continued to read from my copy, my Vietnamese counterpart decided to deviate a bit from the script so then suddenly, I was no longer translating, I was just reading what was written, which may have confused anyone in the audience that could understand both English and Vietnamese. I’m sure it was fine but I really had no idea what he was going on about. Thus, I realized a couple things about being an MC: 1) Things never go as planned, and 2) always have a couple of shots before going up to the podium.

The highlight of the entire night was when my sister’s new husband decided to dedicate a song to my sister, and then proceeded to rock out with his band. It was pretty much awesome. He performed two songs with the band and it inspired me to learn to play guitar and sing in Vietnamese to my bride, whoever she ends up being — even if she turns out to be a Polish mail-order bride no doubt, she will love it!