Can we get engaged again?

That's what Mark said to me when we saw how much fun our local friends had at a friend's son's engagement party last night!

We missed the beginning of the evening because our neighbor told us a different time - oh well! But we saw the effects of what they did. At the engagement party (which is almost as big a deal as the wedding itself) the couple exchange their wedding rings. There is a red ribbon tied (notice a red theme?) between the two rings and once they are place on their fingers, someone in the family cuts the ribbon. From there, there is dancing, dancing, and more dancing. It starts with the bride and groom. (The bride-to-be was dressed in a stunning red evening gown and the groom-to-be was dressed in a black tux with a red tie.) Then their close relatives join. Then their not as close relatives join. And eventually the guests are invited to join in. The bride and groom just sort of float around the dance floor, mingling with all the other people, but it's clear that THEY are the stars of the evening.

After LOTS of dancing, the parents and relatives give their gifts of gold - necklaces, bracelets, coins that are pinned to sashes that the couple wears, and medallions. The couple will receive even more gold at the wedding from other guests. And all of this gold is seen as a sort of an insurance for the couple. Once they are married, they will exchange the gold for cash money as needed. Some of it will be stored away for a difficult time (thus, the idea of insurance). After the gold is presented, cake and other sweets were served. Then there was MORE dancing. A few people sang songs dedicated to the couple. Then there was more . . . you got it . . . dancing!!!

Unfortunately, at this party, we didn't get to join in the dancing . . . this mommy-to-be has started feeling pretty pregnant, and trying to follow the steps of all the traditional dances they've all known how to do since they started walking would have surely ended in disaster! But it was really beautiful to watch the two families celebrating the future of this soon to be established home. It did make us look back with fondness over our 10 years together (10 1/2 really) and thank our Father for all the ways He's blessed us, even if we didn't throw an engagement party quite like this one!