Buenos Aires - Friday - THE WEDDING!!!

When we arrived, people were already drinking and eating.

A few moments after we arrived, music started playing and N and P arrived by boat! So cute.

The ceremony followed. I was very honored to be part of it, even though all I did was stand there. M and I had the easiest bridesmaid job of all time. When N arrived, P's mother gave us flowers and said "Go stand there now!" so we did. N had to be like "Umm... guys? Can you fix my dress?" "Right. Yes. OK..." and we did. And then we were done with our bridesmaidsly duties. M and I looked adorable in our coincidentally matching dresses. Despite the fact that my feet were absolutely killing and I thought I was going to fall over onto my face during the ceremony, it was lovely:



After the ceremony, there was more food and drink. Sushi, breads, cheeses, appetizers, etc. M and I sat down for a bit to nurse our aching feet, and then quickly hit the wine.



We socialized, ate, drank, and soon it was time for the salad course. The tables were in a room separate from the dance floor, which is where the appetizers were served.



The salad was delicious, and I was pleased and grateful that they had a vegetarian version for me! When the salad was finished, music started to play and that was our signal to regroup in the other room.

A waltz started to play, and N and P danced with each other and then their parents, and then with each other's parents, and soon everyone was dancing. It was adorable.

When the waltz ended, we were stunned to find out that there were tango dancers there to entertain us! This was the best wedding moment of all time. We'd been sad that we'd been unable to go to a tango show or take tango lessons as planned, but we no longer cared, because how much better was this?:







We then had the main course, which for the others was apparently lovely meat and for me was awesome pumpkin-filled ravioli with all sorts of vegetables on top. So freaking good.

After the main course, we recongregated on the dance floor where we were treated to a photo montage of pictures from N and P's first wedding. This was nice for those attendees who hadn't been able to be at the wedding in Gloucester, and was awesome for me because they set the montage to "Everything I Do, I Do It For You." That's right - Bryan Adams, from the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves soundtrack, in case you forgot. AWESOME! Even better was that the second song was "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins, which isn't the, ahem, most appropriate song, but whatever. It was still very cute.

Following the movie were more dancers! These dancers engaged the entire crowd in group dances and got everybody onto the dance floor. It was great fun to both participate in and to watch!!!

We then returned for to the dining room for the ice cream course, which was followed by MORE DANCING!!!

The dancing was so much fun. It was nuts. N's parents were going nuts. P's friends were lifting him up and parading him around the dancefloor. People were being spun around. It was pure bliss.

As the dancing progressed, everyone was given a felt hat to wear:



I have no idea. Apparently this is something that happens at weddings in Argentina.

I danced like crazy. I was glad that I'd decided to bring a change of shoes with me to guarantee that I could dance like crazy for hours upon hours upon hours: (photo credit: M)



More dancing:



This is what dancing feels like at 2:30 am while drunk and wearing a hat:



We danced to Spanish dance music - ska, dancehall, and club type stuff, as well as some American songs and wedding standards such as "Y.M.C.A," "It's Raining Men" and "Celebration." Apparently you cannot escape the Village People. They will be played at every wedding, in each hemisphere, everywhere, for the remainder of time.



Everyone, American and Argentine, was distressed at around 3:00 am when the "Grease" medley was cut short to cut the cake.

The cake was served, along with billions of other desserts - strawberry shortcakes, lemon squares, chocolate volcanoes, and every other dessert imagineable. We ate what we could, and started to fade. As did the rest of the crowd.

We left and got back to the hotel after 5am, when a bunch of people were checking out. Weird.

Amazing wedding.

Congratulations, again, N and P!