CAMBODIAN WEDDING CEREMONY: SOPHY + RICH PART THREE

Oct 19, 2011 | Weddings

Yesterday, I blogged part one of Sophy and Richard’s beautiful Cambodian wedding ceremony; we left in time for lunch (a huge spread of delicious traditional Khmer dishes). Right after lunch I grabbed a few portraits of Sophy and Rich in their third outfit of the day, and possibly my personal favorite:

These guys are pretty cute together. 🙂

The girls (Sophy’s two sisters and her two best friends) also looked amazing:

Sophy changed into her fourth and final outfit in this pink bedroom – too good an opportunity to pass up, we loved the pink on pink! Also, it has a slight feel of Harajuku/Lolita about it … what’s not to love?

For the fourth ceremony, Sophy entered behind fans. I loved the drama of this:

Richard and Sophy spent much of the rest of the afternoon lying on their fronts and holding various symbolic items. As you might be able to tell from Rich’s face in the black and white image below, this is not the most comfortable position to be in for long periods! 😉

In this ceremony

[The Passing of Blessings], currently married couples are asked to gather in a circle around the bride and groom. Three candles are lit and handed from person to person. Each participant passes his or her right hand over it in a sweeping motion towards the couple, sending or throwing a silent blessing to them. Only married couples are asked to participate, as it is believed that they will pass along the special quality or essence which has preserved their union. The candles are passed around the circle clockwise three times to complete the ceremony.

Khmer weddings traditionally have a knot tying ceremony, but … it is the guests who tie the knots, not the bride and groom. Close family and friends are invited to come forward to bring their best wishes and blessings to the new couple by individually tying three ribbons around each of their wrists. These knots are tied on both the bride and groom, who are traditionally required to wear them for three days.