Wedding Season

August in Albania is reserved for weddings, and Gramsh has not disappointed so far.  I'm going to save a more detailed explanation of Albanian wedding traditions until I myself experience one in full but for now I'll provide a small glimpse into wedding season.

During PST I was lucky enough to experience many an Albanian wedding as my host family lived directly above their Lokal.  I learned quickly that Albanian weddings include a lot of circle dancing, a lot of clarinet, tons of meat, some fireworks and the occasional celebratory gun shot.

Here in Gramsh I've gotten to witness the pre-wedding festivities as well.  It is tradition for the families of those getting married to throw parties in the street on the days leading up to the wedding in order for the family and neighborhood to celebrate.  Depending on the family and their wealth, these can range from one night to up to 3 or 4 nights in a row.

This past week, a boy on the first floor of my apartment got married and the celebration was like nothing I've ever seen before.  The entire apartment entrance was decorated in streamers and balloons starting on Sunday.  On Monday and Tuesday night, from around 9 PM - 3 AM there was circle dancing and music on the street.  Wednesday night the celebration was taken to a Lokal but there was one last dance on the street when they returned home from the party.  Thursday was wedding day, so the neighborhood got going early with the music starting at 9 AM when the groom left to go pick up his bride.  They then drove around Gramsh in a caravan of cars honking their horns, until they returned to the apartment and the groom's family had one last dance around the couple.  From there their caravan departed again and the party continued throughout the night at the Lokal.

I myself only joined the party on Tuesday night, when my friend Anna and I decided to dance (yes I circle danced and no I did not make a fool of myself, at least not too much) but it was great just to be able to sit on my balcony and watch the party from above.  The video above is from Monday night.  So urime to the happy couple.  Thanks for letting me experience my first full wedding celebration!