Inuit Wedding in Inukjuaq

I was invited to an Inuit Wedding reception in Inukjuaq, and we left home for the event around 6pm. It took place at the Anglican Church in town, and when I arrived there were already about 50 ATVs outside the building. I entered and took in the scene, it was very different from any wedding reception that I had attended before. The bride and groom were seated at chairs at a table facing the crowd, but the guests were seated on the floor (pews had been removed) and everyone was eating seafood with gusto. The fish (mostly char) had been removed from the community freezer and were still frozen, so there were several axes scattered around the room to use in chopping good-sized pieces off the fish, or for chopping off heads or tails. Sea Urchins were also in bowls in the corners. There were also bowls of Western foods, spaghetti, meatballs, salad, fruit, juice, and banana-bread. It was a wonderful combination, the atmosphere was very welcoming, people were all smiling and passing food around, I congratulated the bride and groom in inuktitut and was gracefully thanked, it was a wonderful evening and a very colorful event!