Most of a day was taken up with a wedding, not that we had been invited of course.  We had noticed something afoot at the Bakery Guesthouse around lunch time when an army of people were busy transforming the restaurant, sidewalk and a few feet of road into a fairytale setting.   Sometime later a sign was erected which confirmed our suspicions.   We sat on a bench opposite and watched the frantic preparations for a wedding.  Yards and yards of pink tulle were being draped around the bamboo followed by yards and yards of pink and white satin

Later in the day they were still swathing satin around poles to create a ceiling.  Unbelievably the Baci wedding ceremony was in progress.   In typical Lao style it was taking place not behind closed doors but in the lobby of the guesthouse with the doors thrown wide open.

It was a wedding planners worst nightmare, but only Barbara and I seemed to be stressed out and worried it would not be ready by the time the ceremony ended - and it wasn't.  Tables were being erected, set and decorated, a water feature built, lighting installed and last but not least a monster sound system without which it is impossible to have any sort of gathering in Asia 

Meanwhile the ceremony and the preparations continued the participants  in each apparently oblivious of the other

With ceremonies winding down, the groom who had seemed ill at ease, finally relaxed  

Meanwhile we had learned that his father was a well known restaurateur in town and the kitchens of many a restaurant had been cooking the wedding feast all day

The bride was from a far northern province on the Chinese border and they had had another ceremony in her home town the previous day 

The only thing we didn't know was how much it cost but I am sure someone would have told us if we had only had the nerve to ask

The bride and groom had been waiting patiently outside for quite some time, but things were almost ready, the tables set, the lights and fountain working, just finishing touches remained.....then everyone could eat.   Including us, we left to find a good restaurant, not difficult here