Celebrating wedding during rainy season

Wedding is one of the most important rituals in Cambodians’ life. Yesterday, I went to join wedding ceremony of my uncle in rural village in Kompong Cham province. It is now rainy season. According to Khmer custom and tradition, Cambodian people never celebrate marriage during rainy season. At the present time, some families still hold wedding but not so much.

I asked my grandfather, who is bridegroom’s father, that “why do you rush to celebrate wedding during rainy season?” he told me that it was because that the bride’s family wanted to do it as soon as possible because the bride was awarded citizenship (lottery) to live in United State and they wanted them to get marriage before the bride quit home country. She has only a few months to leave Cambodia.

Nowadays, wedding ceremony has been trimmed to a single day, by starting from the early to dawn. And Guests gather at the groom’s family.