wedding, anyone?

Since arriving in Macedonia on Wednesday, I've seen two weddings - a Roma wedding and a Macedonian wedding. They were such great fun!!!! I love how they make a BIG deal out of weddings here. Here are a few pictures from the Roma wedding...

Here are the ladies celebrating the wedding!

I like to think of this as the "bridal shower." They start out with just a stick that the guy is holding up, and then as they walk along, people put things (jackets, blankets, etc.) over it for the bride. Neat, eh? Unless you're the guy carrying the stick - I bet it's heavy heavy!

And now for the Macedonian Wedding:
(Let me say that I was taking a nap when this wedding came into our area. It woke me up because apparently they blow their car horn the entire way to wherever it is they're going for a particular part of the wedding. So, after I woke up to blaring horns, I disorientedly listened to a brass band play. lol)

See the bride standing there? See the trumpet in front of her face? lol They have a band, just like the Roma, and they play and play and play. As they play....

The people dance! They get in a circle and hold hands. Then, they do this little step dance thing in a circle until it's time to leave while the band continues to play in the middle. Looks fun!!

Well, I'll post more in a bit. Running to the store! :)