Wedding

On Sunday we celebrated the wedding of a friend of mine. She was so beautiful and her groom so handsome. She glided to the wedding march down a red carpet that was daintily touched with white rose pedals from the three flower girls. She looking radiant on her father's arm and the groom beaming with emotion watching her approach. The bride and groom were then seated on throne-like chairs decorated in the wedding colors for the majority of the ceremony until the exchange of vows and rings when they stand at the head of the aisle. Then as they were pronounced man and wife and presented to the guests great applause broke out. :)

Afterwards the family then guests come forward in a receiving line. As I edged closer and closer I was again a little confused as to what the etiquette would be for this type of greeting. Will we shake hands, kiss cheeks (once, twice, three times????) or?? I kept looking around for another American who had been to more weddings than I for a hint, but to no avail. Each of the ladies in front of me were kissing cheeks, so I assumed it would be the same. OK, can I tell you my relief when it came my turn and both the bride and groom gave me a hug?!?! Yeah, I'm such an American at times. But I was just so grateful they took the lead and I didn't get a chance to be awkward. :) (I was also on the verge of tears when I greeted her because I was so happy for them.)

At the reception the guests waited outside the restaurant for the arrival of the happy couple. They entered the hall first and then immediate family followed. At that point then everyone else entered. Once inside each of the guests were greeted by the couple and an official picture was taken by the wedding photographer with the couple. Later at the reception the pictures were made available along with a collage of other wedding photos of the couple for a modest price. What a neat idea that is!!

At the reception there was lots and lots of dancing. If you've never had the opportunity to do this type of line dancing or even to watch it, you are missing out! It's so much fun and everyone can participate and I must say the wedding party really knew how to dance well!! On the other hand, I still am amazed at how ladies can dance in 2-3 inch heals for hours on end. Me, I finally had to take my shoes off... only to find that the only other ones with their shoes off were children. Oops. (Other ladies took their shoes off as well, but only for the faster dances that had intricate steps... I'd taken my shoes off for the basic one!)

There were a few other cultural gaffs that I made, but I'll save those for another time. I will say this much, though, when/if I ever get married, I would love to have the following Macedonian elements in my wedding:

1. The bride and groom get to sit down
2. The receiving line is done right after the service at the front of the church
3. Cars in the wedding party are decorated at a local florist
4. The couple receives each guest at the reception and has a photo taken to be made available to the guest later.
5. Macedonian line dancing complete with band!
6. The bride and groom serve the cake to their guests

Please join with me in joy for the new couple and to pray for them and their future together.