Last weekend, 13 of my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers and me celebrated the love and marriage of another Peace Corps Volunteer, Cameron and her boyfriend Juan Manuel (or Tito, if you are really friends with him). It was a wedding, a moment none of us will ever forget and for me, it was one of my favorite experiences I have had yet on this island.
It started last Friday, when I met Jean, Amanda and Alanna in one of the big supermarkets in Santiago. The four of us along with four other PCVs (girls only) went a day early to Cam’s house to have an impromptu bachelorette party. After buying $4,400 pesos, or roughly $118 US dollars worth of food (we even splurged and bought chicken- fancy!), chocolate and wine- we made our way to Cam’s site, Jima Arriba.
The bachelorette party obviously did not include the average shenanigans of a bachelorette party in the states, but we didn’t need it to. After cooking delicious chicken burritos, we all sat in a circle in Cam’s small house, drank wine, ate chocolate (what else does a girl need right?) and sang old songs by the Dixie Chicks. We laughed about past memories we all share together, about the future that none of us are certain of and we heard the story of when Cam knew she was in love with a Dominican man.
The next morning, more PCVs arrived, including some males, and the general merriment continued. With fifteen of us in the house, we all took showers in shifts, ate in shifts, went to the bathroom in shifts; all so we could be ready in time for the party, later in the evening.
Tito, Cam’s now husband, planned and arranged everything for the day. The only thing he asked of Cam was to stay at her house and enjoy her time with her American friends. Cam had no idea what was in store for the festivities, only that she should wear a dress and be ready by about 8 p.m.
The event happened at the baseball field, romantically where Cameron and Tito first met. Tito had arranged everything: tables with flower center pieces, food cooked by his family and neighbors (including 20 chickens and a pig), beer and whiskey at every table and a proper wedding cake. It was so quaint and so homemade- it honestly could not have been better.
Cam and Tito had actually been married the week before in the city hall, only because to have the justice work on a Saturday costs $3000 extra pesos. So even though there was no formal wedding ceremony, Tito and his family made it feel like we were at the real reception.
It started off with a procession where all the guests lined up on two sides to watch as Cam walked into the small cement floored, open walled structure next to the baseball field where her husband was waiting for her. Then, the hired band/DJ talked for about 10 minutes about the special and unique love Cam and Tito share now and forever. The same man began to sing a romantic ballad to the couple, but Tito intervened, took over the microphone and finished singing the song to Cam himself. It was pretty magical.
Tito hired a photographer as well, and he took awkward pictures of the couple posed around the cake. To relieve the tension, all 13 of us Americans jumped into one picture sporadically to try to lighten the mood, but the photographer ended up taking about five minutes to arrange us ever so slightly around Cam and Tito.
After pictures, we all danced- with each other, with all the other guests, with Tito’s family and friends. They played the typical merengue and bachata and even threw in some “American music,” which consisted of an 11 minute club remix of the Mama and the Papas, “California Dreamin’.”
Cam and Tito left made their escape early, as is the custom for all receptions in the world I think, and the rest of us Americans stayed to show off our Dominican dance skills until they were putting up the chairs and taking down the decorations.
All in all, it was such a feel good, happy, genuine occasion. To me, it was so Dominican, from the cheesy band to the procession of Cam and Tito, to the awkward photo guy. But that’s what made it so great and so heartwarming. Tito and his family worked so hard to pull of such a special night. Everything at the party said, “we love you Cam and Tito, we sanction this marriage and we will show you by killing 20 chickens, a pig, hiring a band, making decorations and doing everything we can to make sure your American friends feel comfortable here.” No one could have asked for more.
And now that they are married, Cam and Tito will begin the visa process so he can legally come to America in May. It’s kinda crazy to think about, especially all the changes Tito will encounter going to America (just to mention a few: he’s never been to a movie theater, like ever in his whole life. The first time he took a hot shower was at a hotel in Santo Domingo when he and Cam went last year to discuss the whole marriage thing with Peace Corps. Think about your average mall in America; think about your average Chili’s restaurant; even just think about how nice American streets are- all lined with paint and directional. What a change it’s all going to be for him).
So yes, like they say, the wedding is the party and the marriage is where the work is done. Cam and Tito will do this for a few months in the DR and then forever in America. And I, personally, cannot wait to hear stories about their wonderful life together and all the adventures to come.
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