Vietnamese wedding #2

We were invited to the wedding of one of the staff at Greg's hospital. It was held in his home province of Bắc Ninh (about 30 km from Hà Nội). It is the former capital of Vietnam (in the 1000s) and the birth place of one if its most famous kings, Lý Thái Tổ. This time the wedding was held over 3 days. We attended the first day, the groom's party and met his family. We then managed to gate-crash the bride's separate party, which is held on the same day. Then the next day the couple come together and the families celebrate together. (This happened to be on a monday which meant we weren't able to go back for the second day).
Vietnamese wedding days are chosen for various reasons such as luck, matching dates and years of the couple and the families and so may not be on the weekend.
Bánh phu thê (the cake below wrapped in banana leaves) is a specialty of Bắc Ninh and is literally called a "husband and wife" cake (from the original chinese language). It is made from rice or tapioca flour and gelatin and filled with mung bean paste. Not quite like wedding cake!