I'm coming out of a good, long weekend. A wedding Saturday followed the necessary drinks and celebrations Friday. The wedding was an American/Bulgarian affair, and civil was the way to describe it. There were about 15 guests in the "Ritual Room" at Silistra's cultural center. Jody, the American and the groom, walked down the aisle, stood to the side, and waited for Radost to come along with her father.
I stood at the front of the group of people on the right and took photos, acting as one-half of the photography team Jody had "hired" before the wedding. Next to me, a DJ was popping cds in and out of a changer, jumping from march to march and throwing in a quiet violin bit whenever the woman presiding over the ceremony began speaking after consulting her notecards and putting them back up her sleeve.
Not a very long ceremony, the usual questions (only this time in Bulgarian) and a couple of "da"s and most of it was over. The rings came out in a box designed like a rose that somebody working for the center held very regally by the stem. There was a bit of trouble getting the rings to fit, but they finally went on the right hands and everybody was happy.
Following that came a short reception line, where the audience got to congatulate the family and witnesses, then we all filed out to the center's foyer for chocolates and photos. The photos, like the rest of the procedure, didn't take nearly as long as they usually do at these things. Everybody even got pictures with their own cameras. The Americans all huddled together for a patriotic group shot and we all went outside and joked with Jody before everybody went their separate ways to rest up for the dinner.
An hour later the remaining non-married American contigent walked to a nearby restaurant for the dinner with our Bulgarian friend Stasko. Radost's family threw a terrific dinner, and everybody ate and drank until they'd had what they needed. There wasn't a wedding cake, and only a couple of presents were exchanged, but the emotions were great and everybody was having the kind of time you expect at wedding dinners.
A long night later, I woke up Sunday and spent the day doing the sort of lazy apartment-oriented things a person does after two big nights of partying. As it happens the apartment-working is necessary because I'll most likely be hosting THANKSGIVING SILISTRA 2004 on Thursday. Actually, if anyone's in the area and wants to join in, there'll be more than enough to go around. That's what this whole Thanksgiving thing is about, anyway.
Posted by Rob at November 22, 2004 03:47 PM