We went to our first wedding in Ukraine yesterday. We left the house about 2:00 for the 3:00 start. We pulled into our driveway at 12:40 a.m. You might think we broke down somewhere and had to wait hours for help.
Nope. We were at the wedding the whole time. The ceremony was about 30 minutes long. It was a nice ceremony. It was simple and beautiful. It was outside and even though the heat was pretty intense, there was a nice breeze and in the shade it was quite nice.
We adjourned into the restaurant following the ceremony for a sit down meal. When I say meal, I should say, event. The food kept coming. And coming. Then there was dancing. Disco lights, loud-loud-loud music, strobe lights, a DJ… the whole enchilada. Then everyone sat down for more food. Then more dancing. And probably a couple of dozen “toasts.” I lifted my glass with lemonade. 🙂 I was the designated driver for the people that rode with us from Brovary — not that really mattered. I wouldn’t have been toasting with vodka anyway.
About 8:00 we thought the party was surely winding down. But nope. It was dinner time. When I say dinner, I mean DINNER. Salmon, chicken, amazingly-tasty duck — and lots of sides. Oh…and a bunch more toasts. Then lots more dancing. Near the end there was some very meaningful traditional activities.
We had the cake about 11:30 then we were off for home…
I cut it short because my computer is about to die! We had a wonderful day with our Ukrainian friends. Congratulations Andre and Olena!
