Did I mention that I photographed a “Uruguay wedding festival” recently?  Well I did, and it’s high time I wrote about it!

Carola & Adam’s story, I have to say, is very cool.  An Aussie boy and an Italian/Uruguayan girl, they first met 9 years ago while Carola was studying in Australia.  After successfully enduring a long-distance relationship they found themselves together in Dubai, where they still live today.  Check this out though (boys take note): Adam proposed to Carola while they were on a diving trip at the Maldives.  While underwater, he reached to the bottom and pulled out a slate where he had previously written – will you marry me? Ah yes, winning….!!

While Adam’s family is moderately large by Australian standards, Carola has something like 9,000,000 relatives in Uruguay(!) and so the wedding location was set for the country town of Salto.  With people flying in from all over the world a three-day festival was in order, starting with the hens and bucks night… you guessed it… the night before the wedding!  WHOA!!!  The girls dressed-up Carola at her party, and the boys dressed Adam at his.  What they were dressed up with… I’ll have to leave to your imagination!  Let’s just say that the photos of these parties are not fit for this website, or any other for that matter!!!  HAHA!!  Then at midnight they met in the town square, where they were paraded around the city streets on the back of a very very old farm truck!! HILARIOUS!!

The next day I found Adam and his groomsmen applauding the wonders of aspirin while standing upright at the beautiful Art Deco Hotel.  Impressive!  To my even greater surprise the girls were holding up fine too!  They were so lively in fact, that Carola’s bridesmaids spontaneously broke into song & dance at every opportunity!  “Parador Ayui” on the banks of the river Uruguay provided a suitably picturesque setting for the wedding.  Surrounded by HUGE eucalyptus trees filled with green lorrikeets, it all felt strangely familiar for the Aussies.  The ceremony was full of emotion, and the large choir which sang throughout was so touching.

Later at the reception, the wonderful speeches were conducted in both English and Spanish.  I particularly loved Carola’s beautiful, heartfelt song which she sang to Adam so bravely, and the special “videogram” by Adam’s friends back in Australia.  Dancing proved to be the universal language of the night however, and let me tell you – Uruguayans really know how to dance!!!  The DJs did a great job mixing Uruguayan and Aussie music.  The greatest surprise of the evening however, was the arrival of kangaroos on the dance floor to the sounds of “The Land Down Under”!!! Whoot whoot!!!  The dancing continued until the early hours, where even more costumes were handed out so that the dance floor became a riot of colour.

Day 3 was a recovery party held at Carola’s Uncle and Aunt’s ‘estancia’ (small farm) outside of Salto.  There was more dancing, this time to a fantastic traditional Uruguayan Tango band, horse riding, and even more BBQ meat & chorizo!  It was a stunning afternoon and a wonderful opportunity for Carola & Adam’s families to further enjoy each others’ company.

Having had couple of weeks to reflect (or is that recover) from this wedding fiesta the things that strike me now are 1) the strength of Carola & Adam’s love for eachother, having overcome distance and cultural boundaries; and 2) the fantastic relationships that developed between the Australian and Uruguayan families (what language barrier?).  The importance of family was highly valued on both sides, and the wonderful generosity of Carola’s extended family will never be forgotten by the Aussies.  With the Southern Cross above both of our skies, eucalyptus and jacarandas in both of our gardens, and a shared appreciation for the great outdoors it seems to me now that there is little distance between the hearts of Uruguayans and Australians.

Thank you so much Carola and Adam for this memorable experience, I felt so privileged to share this amazing day with you and I wish you the very best!!

x Ann-Louise