Spangles: Jordan and Anca Get Hitched!

I have now been to a wedding in Romania. And not just ANY wedding, but one of two dear friends from my ACTS session. She's from Romania and he's from Seattle. They both love the Lord and want to serve Him with their lives, and her calm even nature nicely balances his zaney impulsivity. Since living in Romania means that I have had to miss a few weddings of friends from the States, I was thankful to be in the right place at the right time to be able to attend their wedding. In addition, I got to play a bit of tour guide as Jordan's mom, dad, brother, and two friends (one from our ACTS session) came over for the big day. So fun to be able to show people around my new home, translate, and generally explain the quirks of life in Romania!

In Romania, before the day before the religious ceremony you have to do a civil ceremony at the court house. Which basically involves signing paperwork so you are legally married. It is a small small gathering for the immediate family and a few friends. It was certainly a first for me, and I was grateful to have been included. Afterwards Anca's parents had us over for a HUGE HUGE lunch. It was quite interesting because it was her parents and brother and then 7 Americans. And her parents speak almost no English. Good good fun, and GREAT great food.

The next day was the wedding, outside in Dave and Erin's backyard. And oh what perrrfect weather the Lord gave us that day. Clear blue skies, light breeze- ideal. The wedding was a nice blend of Romanian and English, ie Romanglish, both in language and in the style. Or maybe it was mostly American, I dunno. It was simple but classy, just like Jordan and Anca. And though traditionally Romanian weddings can go 8-10 hours with a multiple hour service, 4-5 course meals, and hours of dancing, this one was pleasantly long without overdoing it. One thing I learned is that unlike in America where you cut the cake shortly after dinner, in Romania when you cut the cake it's THE GRAND FINALE. Like you cut the cake, eat it, and the party is over. Done. People leave. So you don't cut the cake until you're ready to call it a night. So you had a bunch of Americans being like "Where's the cake??? Bring the cake!!!" and then feeling all rude for essentially saying (to the Romanian mind), "We're ready for this to be over." Ahhhh cultural misunderstandings. I also loved how they alternated traditional Romanian music with "traditional" American music and allll the American music was country. Oh, and the Macarena. Eeeeexcellent. Glad to represent such class.

But for reals, it was a great wedding. So glad to have been there. And hoping there will be a few more weddings while I'm here in the Ro of Manias.