| All of the posts from Chile have been leading up to this: Maca and Alex’s wedding day! In the last post we explained that we woke up early on their wedding day to make those centerpieces, and we didn’t go back to bed until almost 24 hours later. Chileans don’t just throw a reception for a wedding, they throw an all-out, all-nighter. I remembered this from our own wedding in Chile – I think we finally got home around 3AM back in 2009. At Maca and Alex’s wedding, the band was just starting their second set at 3AM…we didn’t lay our heads down on our pillows until 6. It was crazy. | Todos los post de Chile han sido una previa del matrimonio de Maca y Alex! En el ultimo post, explicamos que nos tuvimos que levantar temprano el dia de la boda para terminar los centros de mesa, y ese dia no volvimos a la cama hasta casi 24 horas despues. Los Chilenos no hacen una celebracion de matrimonio, sino que tiran la casa por la ventana con una fiesta que dura toda la noche. Me acuerdo de esto desde nuestro matrimonio en Chile – creo que me fui a acostar como a las 3 am esa noche. En el matrimonio de Maca y Alex, la banda recien comenzaba a tocar su segundo set a las 3 am….no pusimos la cabeza en la almohada hasta las 6. Fue una locura. |
| I’ll pick up where I left off after we decorated the reception hall. Once we were satisfied with our own responsibilities in the reception hall, we drove across town to Alex’s parents’ house to pick up the desserts that Alex’s mother made. I don’t know exactly how many she made but I’d say it was well over 200 individual puddings and creams for the dessert table. Javi and Alex’s dad hauled one tray after another into Javier’s dad’s truck, we secured them all, then went to pick up 500 mini empanadas to be served during the cocktail hour. Once we finally got home, we had just enough time to shower, change, and head to the mass. | Retomare la historia despues de decorar el salon. Una vez que quedamos satisfechos con nuestras responsabilidades de decoracion, manejamos a casa de los padres de Alex a recoger los postres que la mama de Alex habia preparado. No se cuantos hizo, pero habian mas de 200 budines, crema, y tortas individuales para la mesa de los postres. El papa de Alex y Javi cargaron las bandejas de postres en el camion del papa de Javi, los aseguraron, y luego pasamos a recoger 500 mini empanadas que fueron servidas durante la hora del cocktail. Una vez que llegamos a casa, tuvimos el tiempo justo para ducharnos, cambiarnos, y salir rumbo a la misa. |
| Back when Maca and Alex got engaged they asked me to sing the song “It Feels like Home” during the ceremony. They had a fantastic choir and band for the whole ceremony, which made it easy to put the song together after only one rehearsal with the band members (the bass player is in a touring Chilean pop / rock band called Nebular – check them out!). The whole ceremony was beautiful and incredibly meaningful, especially since Alex has been attending this particular church since he was a kid. It was over by around 9:00, followed by a smaller ceremony in a different chapel a few miles away. | Cuando Maca y Alex se comprometieron, me pidieron que cantara la cancion “It Feels Like Home” durante la ceremonia. Tenian un coro y banda fantasticos que tocaron durante toda la ceremonia, lo cual hizo muy facil sacar la cancion despues de un solo ensayo con los musicos (el bajista es parte de una banda de rock/pop Chileno llamada Nebular – revisen sus canciones!). La ceremonia completa fue hermosa y llena de detalles especiales, ya que Alex crecio en esa iglesia. Termino como a las 9 pm, y hubo otra pequena celebracion en una capilla a unas cuantas cuadras de la iglesia. |
| We got to the reception by around 10:30, and the cocktail hour was in full swing by the time we arrived. Maca and Alex danced cueca (traditional Chilean dance) as soon as they arrived, toasted with champagne, and then we were all seated for a tremendous dinner. It started with a plate of king crab straight from Melinka (thanks to Paula and Cristian!) followed by delicious steak. Our wine glasses were always full, and of course our dinner was followed by open access to the enormous dessert table full of cakes and the individual dishes that Alex’s mom made. Dinner was over well after midnight, right around the time the live cumbia band kicked up. | Llegamos a la fiesta a las 10:30, y la hora del cocktail casi culminaba al momento que llegamos. Maca y Alex bailaron cueca (baile tipico de Chile) apenas llegaron, brindaron, y luego nos sentamos para disfrutar una tremenda cena. Comenzo con una entrada de centolla que vino desde Melinka (gracias a Paula y Cristian!) seguido por un plato de carne con rissoto. Nuestros vasos de vino siempre se volvian a llenar, y obviamente el final de la cena fue el buffet de postres hecho por la mama de Alex. La cena termino pasada la media noche, justo cuando la banda de cumbia comenzo a tocar. |
| Maca and Alex had a photo booth right next to the band, so people were taking photos with ridiculous costumes all night. Chileans need no encouragement to get up and dance, so the dance floor remained full throughout the night (it was still full at 4:45 when we left). The open bar was always busy, the photo booth always had a line, the dancers never quit, and the band played every single one of my favorite La Noche songs – so all in all, I’d say it was one of the most fun nights I’ve ever had in Chile. | Maca y Alex tenian un lugar para sacar fotos al lado de la banda, asi que todo el mundo se saco fotos divertidas con disfrazes toda la noche. A los Chilenos no hay que obligarlos a pararse y bailar, asi que la pista siempre estaba llena (estaba aun llena cuando nosotros nos fuimos a las 4:45 am). El bar abierto siempre ocupado, la linea para sacar fotos se mantenia, los bailarines no se rendian, y la banda toco todas mis canciones favoritas de La Noche – asi que fue una de las noche mas entretenidas que he pasado en Chile. |
| At 3 in the morning all of the servers came back out holding trays of costume pieces for everyone to pick from to wear for the rest of the night. We spent another hour and a half as dancing fools with our costumes and then we figured it was about time to go. We helped wrap up a few things behind-the-scenes and took off around 4:45. Like I said, I’m pretty sure our heads hit the pillow close to 6AM. It was a wild day! I think I may still be recovering. The next day we had a lazy morning followed by a lunch outing to eat a last meal of delicious seafood, and that was it! We were on our plane home by that night. A whirlwind of a trip, but such a wonderful time with the Rodriguez family! | A las 3 de la manana, los garzones pasaron por las mesas con cosas para disfrazarse para que todos los invitados pudieran usarlas toda la noche. Bailamos con los disfrazes por hora y media, hasta que nos dimos cuenta que era hora de irnos. Ayudamos a organizar algunas cosas y terminamos saliendo del lugar a las 4:45. Como dije, estoy casi segura que nos fuimos a dormir a las 6. Fue un dia de locos! Creo que aun me estoy recuperando. Al otro dia tuvimos una manana lenta, seguida por una visita al Louta (un restaurant de comida del mar), y ese fue nuestro ultimo dia en Chile! Nuestro avion salio esa noche. Un remolino de emociones, pero unos dias muy entretenidos junto a la familia Rodriguez! |
Los Rodriguez Life 