Music and Dance from Wedding

This video doesn't really show how very loud it gets when the clarino is playing, it is really really loud, therefor no baby. You can see the way a typically wedding dance goes, with each major attendee leading the dance, the grooms father, the grooms mother, the brides father, the brides mother, the groom, the bride, the flower girl, any aunt, uncle, brother or sister who wishes too, the list goes on and on, lots of dancing all with very loud Greek music.

Cousin's Wedding

On the way to the church ceremony

Father and Groom waiting for the bride outside.

Yes it is raining, here comes the bride.

Mara and Nik inside the church

We then took baby home, he fell asleep on the way home and Katerina watched him. It's a good thing that he was asleep because Katerina was holding a baby that belonged to some guest staying upstairs and I think she would have just dropped that baby in order to hold baby Nik.
In Greece when the bride and groom finally arrive to the reception they first cut the cake, then they do a dance with the family then they do the dollar dance and several more dances all before they can sit down and eat. I would be starving by then, thank goodness Arthur and I didn't get married here. Speaking of Cake I finally got to try what a Greek wedding cake taste like, it was kind of like a Black Forest Chocolate Cake with chocolate soaked cake and cream and a few cherries and then a vegetable frosting on the top with almond slices.

Greek Cousin Wedding

The wedding was in Larissa about 1 1/2 hours away. We first went to visit Arthur's Grandmother, this is the first great grandchild that she has seen, she has 4 others but they live in Australia.
This is a picture taken at Arthur's uncles place, 1st cousin Kristos(the one getting married), Arthur, Fotine(cousin from Athens), Nik and Me.

Uncle Lambros from Athens

The groom meets the bride outside of the church and they walk down the aisle together.

A picture with the bride and groom outside of the restaurant.

Once again we left the wedding party before I could enjoy some cake, this is my third Greek wedding and I still haven't tasted what their cakes are like. The music was the typically very loud clarino music and baby Nik was pretty exhausted and it was just to much for him, so we left early. Over all he was a very good baby and everyone talked about how beautiful he is, he enjoyed the attention but didn't do much talking like he does when Arthur and I are around, the video below shows how he normally communicates.

Greek Cousin Wedding Video #2

Our shy little boy finds himself only talking to us. When we got to the car and it was just Arthur and I, Nik couldn't stop talking but in front of strangers he was smiling but no coos or giggles.

Greek Cousin Wedding Video #1

Even with the Greek music playing and people talking, Nik is sacked out from the excitement of meeting cousins and his great grandma.

Another Wedding

We have been invited to several weddings, but this was the second one that I have gone to. The first one was in February if you would like to look it up and read about it. The others were during my morning sickness phase and I don't think I would have been able to hold up. Speaking of holding up we had some fun experiences at this wedding the sister-in-law to the bride fainted during the ceremony, we either think she is pregnant, hadn't eaten anything all day or is hypoglycemic or a combination of any of those three.
We didn't take any photos at this one unfortunately we forgot the camera so we will just have to explain things via words.
We started at the brides home and had a cookie and water while we waited for the single men to come and bring the bride her shoes. This is were the bride can have some fun, the single guys fill the shoes with money until they fit her feet. So I would go a size up on my shoes, I think I saw the guys put in about 300euros, that's quick money. Then the bride comes out with a small bouquet and throws it at all of the single women, see I told you the Greeks do everything backwards compared to American weddings. We then followed the bride to the church and honked our horns the whole way, there were probably 30-40 cars driving along. I thought this was a large group, but when we got to the wedding there were over 600 people there.
After the wedding ceremony we did a quick escape through the side door in order to get to the reception hall for the after party. We made it safely after driving behind a Mercedes driver who didn't know how to turn corners and went inside to enjoy the party. At the door they hand you a card with the bride and grooms names, thank goodness they do that because we were at the wrong party hall. Of course I would have kept going not knowing the difference until the bride and groom showed up and realized they weren't the same people I had just seen getting married, but Arthur looked at the cards and realized that the names were not correct. Our wedding was located at the summer tent located in the back of the building, same location just two different wedding and two different building. Although to save money the couples should have just gotten together the food was the same and the music was the same. Speaking of music, in order for the music to be called Greek music the two requirements are that it be very loud, ear drum piercing loud, and that there should be a clarino player there. I think Greek music might actually be pretty nice to listen to if you are a mile away or have earmuffs on, but to be in the same room and to enjoy the people you are with you have to be deaf. Speaking of being deaf, our table mates were Katerina's deaf cousin and his deaf wife, so we had a grand time trying to communicate and we actually did a fairly good job at it. They understood I was American and pregnant and we understood they had 100 milking sheep and cotton.
Going back to the backwards way of doing weddings, when the groom and bride finally made it in, we had been there for a hour and half, they cut the cake and danced for an hour. Once again making us what to eat, I was famished, they give you little appetizers, but really I wanted sustenance. The food finally arrived after they sat down and we enjoyed beef and potatoes from the oven and rice.
Ohh I didn't tell you how many people were at the wedding reception, OVER 500 PEOPLE, (20euros a person, that's 10,000euros or 15,000 dollars) when we first arrived Arthur and I counted the tables and chairs, there were 50 tables and 10 chairs at each table this was not including the wedding table, but they brought in more tables and chairs as we sat there so I think another 30-50 people showed up. UNBELIEVABLE
This is why Arthur and I really have decided against having a church wedding, we would rather go to Australia for a honeymoon.
So January 2009 will be a baptism, these are much smaller only about 100 people and only close relatives and friends. We wont have to invite the butcher or our plumber for a baptism, but for a wedding we would.

My first Greek Wedding

Arthur and I were invited to a Traditional Greek wedding by the square butchers mother, her daughter married a man from Thessaloniki where she went to college. This photo was taken with Arthurs cousin Kostas and his wife Maria (who is expecting in a month), at the reception. Unfortunately the other photos didn't turn out so well, the hall was kind of dark.
The wedding started with the groom waiting outside of the church (along with the guest) for the bride to show up. When the bride shows up he hands her the flowers and they go into the church together. There is only one person as a maid of honor (koobara,κουμπαρα) or a best man (koοbaros,κουμπαρος) and this person will also be the first child's godparent. The priest does all of the speaking, there are no words exchanged between the bride and groom, just the fact that they are there means they want to be married. Everything is done in trinity (three times) the rings are blessed 3 times, the couple drink from the cup 3 times, the crowns are passed between them 3 times and then the couple walks around the alter 3 times while the congregation throws rice at them. All of this is done in Greek, I have asked Arthur if it is possible to have a translator at our wedding and we will look into that as it gets closer to our wedding date.
The reception was about 10 miles out of town at a restaurant in a small town called Mikani. We sat down with Arthurs cousins and had a small plate of appetizers while waiting for the wedding couple. When they arrived I kept telling Arthur they were doing everything backwards compared to our American standards of wedding receptions. The first thing the couple did as they walked in was cut the cake, then they did the couple dance (as we were served dinner), then the family got up to dance with the couple, then the groom did the money dance and then the bride did the money dance. All of the dancing was to Greek music and Greek style dancing, about an hour later the couple and the family finally sat down to eat their dinner. I told Arthur the first thing we are doing when we come in from the church is to sit down and eat our dinner with the rest of the guest, because I know I will be famished. There were about 350 guest at this wedding and only the older people were dancing because of the type of music, so we will also be playing both American and Greek music at our wedding.