Romanian Wedding

This is the Wedding I was a Bridesmaid in. I worked with Roxanna (far left) and Carmen (bride) at the Mayor's Social Assistance Office in Ploieşti during PC training. I love them and we became great friends. I was really excited when asked to be a bridesmaid!! I was also extremely nervous. As you can see, the maids don't all wear the same dresses so I didn't know if mine would be okay. Plus I live about 7 hours away from them now, so I couldn't even see the other dresses. I was excited to find my dress for suck a great deal, and all I had to do was get it tailored to fit. I was also lucky to be able to borrow the shall, a jacket, and purse from my Gazda sister. In the morning when we were at the Coafura (salon) they did my hair and it was so big. I swear it was like the 50's!! It flattened nicely during the day.

This is Eric, another PCV. He also worked with us. It was great having another American with me because the Romanian Men would not leave me alone!! The boss of Ciprian (the Groom who works for Ursus a beer company) got so drunk and kept grabbing me and telling me he would leave his wife and 3 month old baby for me. I could not believe it!! Once they found out Eric was in fact not my boyfriend they got worse. The guys here are crazy.
This is the Civil Ceremony. First comes this then the actual Church Ceremony. This is the Wedding House and here they signed the official papers. It was weird to do that on the same day of the wedding. After the ceremony everyone files into a small room and drinks Sherry and Ţuica, the traditional Romanian Brewed Moonshine. We were handed out a flower to make an alter and then could not believe that they gave us handfuls of rice!! That has not been done in the US forever!! Eric and I put all our rice into his suit pocket to hide it. Later he emptied it into the toilet at the reception.
Outside of the Civil Ceremony there were poor people coming into the wedding party to beg. The men quickly and meanly chased them away. Begging is such a problem here because people do not know the concept of volunteerism, homeless shelters or soup kitchens. They also will stand on top of you until you give them money which makes me mad.
I am like a foot taller than all the girls. Hehe. My stiletto boots probably didn't help.
This is Carmen and Ciprian at home before we left for the Civil Ceremony. Ciprian is from Transylvania and was so nervous because his traditions are completely different. At least Eric and I were not the only ones in awe.
This guy is hired to play and sing the whole morning while we get ready. It was really fun!! He would just walk around the house and follow everyone. Then he serenaded Ciprian, which was hilarious!!
My camera decided to stop working, AGAIN, during the reception so I can't get it to turn on to give me any pictures. These are all from Eric, who hardly takes any pictures!! The reception was fun. There was a bucket full of water in the entrance to put money in. The money is plastic here and doesn't even rip!! Through the night the meal is brought out. First there was the colf appetizer plate with Salami, veggies, pork ham, dips and of course bread. Second came the hot appetizer, Liver, which I will not touch!! They eat that a lot here and Pate. I cant stand the fact of eating liver, plus it is really solid and weird looking. I can stomach pate sometimes. Then came Sarmale (cabbage wrapped over meats and rice), MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE food here. Then came steak, which is not at all like the steak we eat in America. There was also pitchers of wine, ţsuica, brandy and sherry on the tables all night. People were falling over drunk at like 4am when the party ended. It was quite funny. We slept in a hostel style building next to the reception. This is where I probably got sick!! It is where I drank the untreated water. I ate the unwashed fruit at the beginning of the reception that was on the tables. I figured they would be clean!!!

The next day we awoke at noon and went back down for another party. We ate traditional Romanian wedding Ciorba (soup) that is supposed to cure the hangover. Then there was chicken and pickles. People also got drunk again with the same alcohol. It was crazy. By the time I got to the train station at 7pm I was already sick and had to endure a 45 minute ride to Bucureşti on the train standing because a bunch of students blocked the aisle to me seat with luggage. It was miserable!!