A wedding, a first communion and a baptsim... A saga

Part one of the Saga and it so happens all three events are happening in one family. A dear family, life long friends starting with our fathers. They met on a bus while in accountant school almost 40 years ago. The youngest son was married in a civil wedding (in El Salvador the civil wedding is performed separately of the religious one and generally and possibly by law, there is a week or so in between both events). For my friends, there is a 5 month span, but no worries, there was still a reception and cake!

Civil weddings are usually (contrary to the photographic evidence) a small affair attended by only family and very close friends. In this case, the church wedding in december will have at least 250 guests.

Civil weddings in El Salvador are officiated by attorneys (not marriage commissioners or judges thought the latter is possible). There are a number of laws (concerning the equal rights of both parties within the marriage, equal responsibilities, and expectations outlined in Salvadoran family law) that must be read out loud and understood by those being married. The civil wedding must be performed before a religious one in order for the marriage to be legal. The separation of church and state has been included intermittently in Salvadoran constituion since the early 19th century although his separation is mostly theoretical. Did this get super academic?