Lahu Wedding

I have been here a little over 9 months already and I finally made it to a small Thai village! One of my students invited Stacey and I to go with her to her cousins wedding. The wedding took place in a small village up in the mountains, not far from Mae Sai on the border with Burma. We were only in the village for about 24 hours - just a taste.
My student (Naley) grew up near the village and for me the best part was seeing her interact with her family. I couldn't understand what they said, but it was so nice to see her completely at ease. We were invited to stay with her aunt. They gave us our own room with a fan. They had electricity, a huge TV, a kitchen with a refrigerator, even a washing machine! I think that after being a here a year my standards have changed. Technically where they lived isn't what I would be used to at home. However, just the fact that is was clean (ie. no trash lying around) made my opinion go way up.
The main street through the village in Mae Fa Luang.
The wedding was not a traditional Lahu wedding. Usually Lahu people do not get married in a church. This was a church wedding with a wedding dress, tux, vows, music - in short just what I would expect at home. Afterwards we all walked down the hill to the brides home where there was a huge tent. We had a delicious lunch cooked by the women in the village. The couple changed into traditional Thai costumes and came out to greet the guests.
The wedding program in Thai, Lahu, and a smidge of English.
The inside of the village church.
The bride and groom singing during the reception.
Back at the house a few of the young girls were still in their traditional Lahu dress ready to ham it up for the camera.
We left shortly after the wedding and my visit was capped off with a thrilling ride down the mountain on a motorbike. This time it was fun, which I attribute to a good bike.

Today I head for home. I will see some of you soon!