“Ten a.m. And actually at ten, not Ghana time,” Pomaa said. “Because it is at the Catholic church and they are on time.”
Pomaa’s brother was getting married in Accra and she had invited us to attend, and I was very excited to go. It was time to nail down the details, in order to arrange everything.
“It’s at the Catholic church by the post office, Martyrs of Uganda, and it will be a joint wedding with his best friend. And he is a military man, so I think that maybe it might even be early,” she continued. “The colors of the wedding are red, gold and white. Can wear whatever, but Ghanaians try to match the colors. I’m going to be wearing red and white.”
After figuring out some of the travel details with my roommate and predecessor, all that was left was for Saturday to arrive.
Arriving at the Church
My roommate and I left for Accra on Friday afternoon, where we would stay with her boyfriend for the evening. After a lovely seaside meal, a wonderful night’s rest in a soft bed and an easy morning, it was time to set off for the church. The Google Maps app called out the directions for us, and we arrived at the church about a quarter past 10 a.m.
The church was maybe a quarter of the way full, most of the respective families weren’t there yet and there seemed to be some kind of generic hymns and praise songs being song. So much for not being on Ghana time.
The three of us surveyed the room and found a spot under a spinning ceiling fan and a wall-mounted fan. Dana leaned over and shared a pearl of wisdom. “Never assume that a fan will be turned on, if it isn’t already. It might not even work properly.”
The White Wedding Ceremony
Soon, 10:30 rolled around and the ceremony got underway with an admonition from the priest that this was a time for prayer and to not make loud noises, that we were to save our noise making for the reception, and that we should use the ceremony to focus on God and praying for the two couples. He also told us that the service should only last one and a half or maybe two hours.
Once the congregation was in the right mind set, some singing began again and the two brides were walked down the aisle by their fathers. They and the grooms sat at the front of the church through the reading of the psalms, chosen with a focus on love. The priest then proceeded to give a bit of a sermon about love coming from God and how to be a good husband and a good wife to each other. It was during the sermon, that my co-worker, the sister of one of the grooms, finally arrived.
There was some more singing and then the priest began conducting the vows. My co-worker’s brother and his bride went first, acknowledging they came under their own free will and gave consent before reciting their vows. Then the groom unveiled his bride and the two kissed passionately. The process was repeated with the second couple, with only a slight interruption from the groom’s military friends, who ended up being escorted out for their disruptiveness. “They just want to cause a commotion,” Akua, another co-worker, told me.
Celebrating, Merry Making and the Reception
After the vows and kisses, everyone filed up through the aisle dancing and singing, and in front of the couples were offering bowls, for people to give money to the them. After everyone danced through the church, the couples signed the official registry and were officially presented to the congregation. They walked down the aisle, and headed to get pictures taken before heading to the reception, where there was tons of food and lots of merry making through the afternoon.