By Peri Sualp…
Last week a group of people from my family travelled to the USA to Philadelphia for my uncle Mustafa Sualp’s wedding.
After a 24 hour journey, we arrived in Philadelphia at night and were greeted by my uncle and the bride to be, together with her family. We all stayed in the same hotel where the wedding dinner was going to be held. The next day there was a rehearsal at the church where the wedding ceremony would be held. I was honoured to be one of the bridesmaids and my mum was asked to do a ‘reading’. The church was “Old St. Joseph’s National Shrine” – the oldest Catholic Church in Philadelphia founded in 1733 by the Jesuits.
The priest told everyone what to do, where and when to walk or sit etc. After the rehearsal at the church we all went to a dinner together including all family members, some close friends and ‘the bridal party’ (this means bride, groom, maid of honour, best man, bridesmaids and groomsmen).
The next day was the big day! The wedding was at 2pm so we started to get ready as early as 6.30am in the morning! Our transfer from the hotel to the church was with an old city bus. It was cute and fun.
The ceremony started on time. Everything went smoothly and well and I must say it was a wonderful and highly emotional ceremony. Afterwards we took photos in front of the altar then we went back to our hotel to have some rest for the wedding dinner that evening.
The dinner was on the 51st floor of a building which is called Sky Philadelphia. The view was great, the food and drinks were amazing, the band who performed music was excellent. Everyone was happy and cheerful. I think it was one of those days that will be memorable for most of us especially for the couple who got married.
It took two years of preparation and pre-planning for this wedding so everything had to be perfect. I am glad that it worked out so well. I wish their marriage goes as perfectly as their wedding.
After all the wedding ceremonies and celebrations, my uncle and his wife Caitlin went off on their honeymoon in Italy. I hope they keep enjoying the best days of their life there.
We had some sightseeing in Philadelphia and some shopping. As New York City is so close to Philadelphia, we went there for two days for some sightseeing, some museum visits and certainly to see a show. No one expects me to come back without seeing a Broadway show. This time I dragged my family to see ‘Wicked’. It was awesome. I wish we had more time to see more shows and I hope to tell you more of the Big Apple soon.
Unfortunately our trip was so short due to my need to get back to school. We had to come back as the end of year exams are approaching and my responsibilities are knocking my door now!
Well, life cannot be all party I suppose!!
