Alternate title: How I came to be in a Catholic wedding
A few months ago, my closest friend in Bulgaria shared this news and request with me. I was astounded that she would want me not only to attend the wedding, but to be one of the official witnesses. But we quickly began laughing about the improbability of this wedding: a Polish Catholic marrying a Bulgarian Orthodox whose maid of honor was an American protestant.
The months flew by and suddenly it was the day of the wedding! Peter met me at the metro around 10 in the morning to walk me to their apartment, where I helped Tanya finish getting ready.
As 12:00 rolled around we all jumped into taxies and headed to the municipality building where the civil ceremony would take place. Family and friends started arriving as we waited outside of the wedding hall and handed off coats, hats, scarves and purses so that the couple and their best man and maid of honor didn't carry anything (other than the bouquet). Everyone entered the hall while Tanya and Peter and Peter's best man, Slavik, and I lined up ready to begin the ceremony. The music began and we followed Tanya and Peter into the hall. They stood before the Justice of the Peace with us a stair behind/below them. Most of the ceremony was similar to ours, but some differences are that each of us signed the legal documents as part of the ceremony, there was a toast, and everything was far more low key and relaxed than American weddings!
After that ceremony, we got back into some taxies and went back to the flat to have lunch before going to the religious ceremony at the Catholic church in the center of town. Peter and Tanya live close to the center of town, so we walked together, pausing to take some photos before getting to the church. Tanya had asked me to do a reading in Bulgarian (I'll tell you what, I practiced that reading over and over for the two days between her asking me to read and the wedding!), so before the service the priest walked me through what to expect. Knowing that half of the people there were Polish and didn't speak Bulgarian helped my confidence a lot! My favorite part of the ceremony was when the priest walked around to the guests and asked them to pray for the new couple as they began their married life together.
The reception was on the second floor at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant. When Tanya and Peter arrived, Slavik and I joined them outside the room to prepare for some of the traditions. The DJ explained the traditions in Bulgarian as Peter translated for Slavik. First was the large bread with honey and salt. Traditionally, the Кумът & Кума are married to each other, so I was curious to see how that would play out in these traditions. First the mother of the groom pulled off a piece of the bread and dipped it in the honey, feeding it to Tanya and Peter (each got a bite) to represent the sweet times of marriage. Then she did the same with Slavik and me! I'm glad I got to get the first bite! Next the mother of the bride took a piece of bread and dipped it in the salt to represent the difficult times in marriage. She fed it to the newlyweds, but the best man and I escaped that part! Following that was a toast to the new couple, in which we all had to finish the champaign in one drink. Then Tanya had to kick a metal bucket with fake flowers in it. The DJ explained as the flowers flew out, that the white flower represented a girl and the red a boy. Since the white flower was ahead of the red, the girl would be born first!
The traditions ended, we began on the food and dancing. Tanya and Peter met at a Salsa party and they wowed us with their bachata. The music was a great mix of salsa, traditional Bulgarian dances, Polish songs, and music from the 70s and 80s. What fun it was to see everyone belting out the songs in English with Bulgarian and Polish accents! I inadvertently ended up teaching la Macarena to everyone. And then one of my friends asked me, "Lizzy, teach us that left right dance we do at English club parties." So I checked with the DJ and ended up teaching the whole reception the Cupid Shuffle! It was a wonderful day spent with dear friends!