Time is a Subjective Matter

So, a long while ago, I agreed to be a wedding coordinator at my church. I've been to a gazillion weddings as a musician, so I thought maybe this would be something right up my alley. Until now, I haven't been able to do one (it's not like we have a ton of weddings at my church), but about a month ago I said I'd do it for this wedding yesterday. The bride and groom (B&G) are not members of my church, and are both recent immigrants from Congo. No problem; the ceremony was a traditional one, that I am familiar with.

However.......

I have come to understand that the concept of time is somewhat, ahem, different in Africa than here in the States. By that I mean that NOTHING, repeat, NOTHING got off on time. The rehearsal Friday night: they arrived an HOUR late. The wedding yesterday: they arrived an HOUR late. WTF?!?!?!?! Never mind how unbelievably RUDE this is to moi and the others involved in the ceremony - what about their guests?! Oh, but here's the kicker - even though they started an hour late, THERE WERE STILL GUESTS ARRIVING AFTER THE WEDDING STARTED!!! This is a cultural weirdness that I just don't understand. When you say you're going to do something at a certain time, do it then. Especially your own wedding, for crikey's sake. And there wasn't a damn thing we could do about it.... we just had to wait around until they arrived, watching our labor day holiday leak away from us.

I don't think I'll be coordinating any weddings anytime soon. I should just stick to playing at them. At least then I get paid if things run overtime.