Cypriot wedding

I went to my first Cypriot wedding this week.  The tradition here is unique- everyone that the family has ever met is invited to the church and the reception.  This often means 1500-2500 people are invited.  This wedding was for the AISC account's son- I had never met him, but it was a status symbol for her family to bring in a lot of guests.  A group of us from school went together, and met up with a dozen other staff members at the reception.

from left:  Laramie, Brian, Stephen, Cody, Laura

The tradition is to have a church wedding (which anyone can attend, but few people do) followed by a cocktail reception for all invited.  Following the cocktail reception, the 150-250 closest friends are invited for dinner and dancing.  

The venue

When the bride and groom arrive, there is a 90 minute period of receiving guests.  The receiving line can get quite long, so there were decorations in the line to keep us entertained. 

some lovely decoration

Couples do not register for gifts here.  Instead, the expectation is that every attendee will bring an envelope with 50 Euro for the couple.  The parents pay for the reception and dinner, and the couple gets to keep the cash.  50 euro x 1500 guests is a pretty good haul.  I put my 50 Euro in a card, and wrote them a little note of good wishes, but I saw a lot of people who had plain envelopes stuffed with cash.  

Platform for bride and groom, plus parents, during the receiving line

In the receiving line, you shake hands with bride, groom, and both sets of parents.  Generally, most people know one person in that line.  I said "nice to meet you" to bride and groom, with best wishes, and handed over my cash filled card (which went into a huge box for that purpose behind them) .  But when I reached our accountant, I gave cheek kisses and a hug and a sincere congratulations.

The receiving line can be 500 people long.  Friends told me stories of being in line for an hour to give over their cards.  But this wedding moved the line along quickly, which was nice.

The reception line (which wrapped around the pond), with the bride and groom in the spotlight at the right

After the receiving line, guests receive a small gift (in this case, a very tasty macaroon), and head to the appetizers and drinks.  There are no chairs in the cocktail lounge, but open bar and lots of appetizers. All of us ate a dinner's worth of apps- fried shrimp, kofte, chicken satay, pizza, mini sliders, lots of desserts, and drank a lot of sparkling wine.  

Guests can stay as long as they choose- apparently most stay 30 minutes and head out, but we were there for almost two hours.  After all, we had to try to consume 50 Euro worth of food and wine.

It was a lovely little reception, but the music was a surprise;  Muzak versions of depressing American songs about heartbreak (Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers, Careless Whisper by Wham, One More Night by Phil Collins).  No one else seemed to notice.  

the reception

There was no dancing at the reception, just a lot of standing around talking and eating.  Around 8:30, the close family dinner started, and the reception area started to clear out.  But there was still plenty of food and drink left, so I guess reception guests can stay as long as there is food out.

Overall, I am very glad that I got to experience a Cypriot wedding.  I was never invited to a wedding in Panama, and was excited to have a cultural experience like this so early in Cyprus.  You learn a lot about a culture by observing how they celebrate and gift.

My 50 Euros bought me some very good finger foods, and unlimited free wine- with the well lit bride and groom behind