Se Habla Spanglish: colombia destination wedding

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Wedding Day - La Hora Loca

One of the main reasons to have the wedding in Colombia was LA HORA LOCA, the crazy hour. This is when a surprise arrives to the party and makes everyone get off their chairs and dance. This the part of the party when you get to meet the other guests. I went to a wedding a few years ago where they had a Carnaval de Barranquilla theme and it was AMAZING!!! They had a live band, about 10 dancers, and it was a great show. I tried doing the same, but aparently it is "out of style" to do the carnival. It was very difficult to find someone that was still doing the Carnival.

I found a dance academy that recommended that we did a Cali/Salsa themed show. I agreed since I LOVE salsa and Cali is the capital of salsa dancing. It was perfect since most of the guests were from somewhere else. They brought a CD with an hour of music, and got the party that was already good even better. The following pictures were taken by our wedding photgraphers, Valeria and Juan Felipe from efeunodos. They left right after the hora loca arrived.

I got a lot of masks, glasses, and hats to give to the guests. I got things everywhere, party city, target, and the best place was an online store Oriental Trading.

Andre thought he was a rock star!!!

Here is a video that my mom did of the dancers. It is a little hard to see because the lights were out, but you can see their amazing jumps and salsa steps.

I also got some great shots from my mom, my cousins, my friend Ana, and Andre's brother cameras.

Salsa Dancers

The priest stayed for the party

My dad with one of the dancers

The waiter getting hugs!!

in-laws having a good time

After the show, we had a soup that helped all of us feel better and sober up. Giving soups to ~~drunks~~ guests is something that is used when parties last all night long. It really helps to sober up. The live band played a last set of 45 minutes, and this was when the party started to end. We left at 2:00 AM after about 6 hours of dancing.

Soup time

Soup time at the end of the party

This is the best after a night of heavy drinking

Thursday, September 22, 2011

The Wedding Day - The Party!!

Last December, we spent 10 days in Cali. The main reason for the trip was to go for New Years Eve and La Feria de Cali, but we also met a few of the vendors and did the menu tasting. We forgot what we had picked but it turned out great! Everything was delicious!!

Photo Credit: Efeunodos

Photo Credit: Alan Falcony

Andre's parents. Photo Credit: Alan Falcony.

Photo Credit: my mom

Dinner was served at around 7:00 PM. The toast was quick after dinner. My dad is a man of very few words and I love that. The event coordinator handed the microphone to Andre and he said a few words. I was relieved it was not me. Then I got the microphone, I don't even remember what I said. That was not fair!! The toast is only done by someone else.

Photo Credit: Efeunodos

After the toast, it was time to dance. We were very nervous to dance in front of everyone. Andre is NOT a good dancer. I can be a good dancer if I have a good partner. If you dance with someone that gets lost, you will lose your steps. We took a dance class a few days before the wedding. It was a great class and I felt that we were ready to dance all night long. When the music started playing, Andre said to me that he forgot everything that he learned in the class. I think we danced OK. I asked my sister to start dancing after the first minute of the song. We picked a vallenato for our first dance. It is easy to dance and it is probably one of the things that we can listen together. We do not have the same taste in music!!!

The first dance. Photo Credit: Efeunodos

My mother did a little video with her camera. We danced "Arroyito" by Fonseca.

Photo Credit: Efeunodos

Even my nephew was having fun! Photo Credit: Efeunodos

My dad and I. Photo Credit: Efeunodos

Grupo Sin Reservas. Photo Credit: Andre's cousin

Photo Credit: Alan Falcony

My nephew, born in the US but with Colombian soul danced non stop. Photo Credit: Efeunodos

My nephew and my cousin danced all night long!!! Photo Credit: Efeunodos

Photo Credit: Alan Falcony

My parents dancing. Photo Credit: Alan Falcony

Even my mom's 80 year old aunt was dancing reggaeton

The shot glasses were used non-stop! the Aguardiente never stopped coming. We had some of the most attentive waiters, plus a couple of our friends with bottles giving everyone shots.