marriage is what brings us together in China

Tim and Michelle got married! Their wedding was on May 21, and was arranged to fall on the first weekend that the May Team would be in Qinhuangdao so that family and friends from home could also share in the marital celebration :)

I was commissioned to make five (5) cheesecakes for the reception dessert. We don't have beaters in China readily available, so I used blenders. Lemons are also scant, so I used lime juice from America. I ran out of vanilla, so I used almond extract. We don't have heavy cream or sour cream at reasonable prices, so I used yogurt. It turned out GREAT.

Seriously. I'm using these substitutions in America.

Reception settings, and Chinese wine. (One should have a few glasses before actually enjoying it, in my opinion.)

The gorgeous bride and the handsome groom during the reception. We had an American style wedding with heavy Chinese influence. I think that would be the best description of the event. :)

No wedding (or store opening, restaurant opening, holiday, moving into a new residence, etc.) would be complete without a roll of fire crackers. Heart shaped, naturally.

The whole team, plus spouses :)

Such a good wedding!

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Since we are all teachers of Chinese students who are dyyyyying to know what an American wedding is like, we decided to reenact the event on the volleyball courts for the entirety of the school. Really, there were so many students watching, some teachers had to physically hold/push them back.

This image doesn't even begin to capture the chaos.

Dane, sporting his eclectic formal get-up;

essentially, a perfect metaphor for the entire second wedding. :)

So, because it was an American wedding, Tim and Michelle had bridesmaids and groomsmen. Nine of each, naturally.

If you were an American, and in nice attire, you were in the wedding party.

...and there's our sound guy, just... hanging out... in the wedding party... during the ceremony. As he lit up and exhaled absentmindedly, Kevin and Justin's faces were priceless...

Every student had their cell phones out. I wonder how many images of Michelle and Tim (and all of us, for that matter) are floating around on the Chinese interwebs...

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It really did take a village effort to pull this event off, and everyone- the May Team, Tim's family, ELT Edge Teachers, ELIC Teachers, and students made this day go wonderfully and smoothly. We are all so thankful!