A TCK Wedding

Today we discuss the tck wedding. I shall generalize freely. "TCK" stands for Third Culture Kid - those of us that grew up overseas and have a strange mix of our parent's home culture and culture we grew up in that makes a unique "third" culture.

In my gang of friends, weddings are reunions. For me, my old friends and their families are like my own extended family. I desperately wish I lived near them all, but alas they are scattered across the world. I LOVE it when someone gets engaged because it means I might get to go to the wedding and simultaneously celebrate the union of people I love and also see precious old friends.

Here's a few key things about a tck wedding, reflecting the wedding I got to be a part of this summer in London.

a) multiculturalism. We gather friends and family from around the world. So many different cultures represented. There was a marriage rap from a London kid. Scottish family. Friends from Korea. American servicemen. Singaporean family.
b) tck setup crew. Since we all interact as extended family, tcks tend to come to weddings with the mentality of being part of the work crew. We prep, setup, decorate, cleanup, whatever is needed! It's never just a wedding you attend, but I like being a part of the family!
c)uniqueness. When you grow up in an unconventional way, that uniqueness is inevitably expressed in the wedding. Every wedding is different, but it's always there!


Rachel, accountability partner in high school, valedictorian of my class (except we had three valedictorians. They had identical GPAs), teammate on the school basketball team (I sucked), and fellow lover of discussion and adventure was the bride at this wedding. I love her entire family, and I love their world in England.

And so it was wonderful, so wonderful, to be with old friends.



It was wonderful to again see Rach's world in England and her friends that I recognize from all different stages of her life
To enjoy such a beautiful and creative wedding and reception:
And to be a witness to something as important as marriage vows. Rachel was beautiful.
Can I just say that Rach's 90-year old Scottish grandfather is my hero? How amazing is he?
My family history is Scottish and there's a castle somewhere in northwest Scotland still owned by my clan. With that in mind, I find hanging out with this Scottish family delightful.

Scottish dancing at the reception? So much fun to watch. Even the 90-year old grandfather is in there!