When we first arrived at the house of the bride, we were all pinned with small white fabric roses that showed that we were a part of the wedding. From there we were offered more pastries and drinks than we could handle, which was a good thing because we were missing dinner!

The groom was not allowed in the house to see his future wife until she was fully dressed and ready to go to the church. About an hour after we got there, she was still getting her hair and makeup done, so I'm sure the groom was getting a little restless -- they were already two hours behind schedule. The bride was in her room with the bridal party and her family while about 50 people waited outside for her to get dressed. Getting a bride dressed is an old tradition that involves her removing her clothes and her family dressing her. Usually this is done in a living room with everyone watching and singing, but she was shy and wanted it to be done in her own room. (I dont really blame her.)

A man playing an accordion and another playing a violin went into her room and all the elderly women sang as she was dressed. After about 20 minutes of singing she was finally ready and everyone lined the street outside her house to throw nuts and candy at the couple as they began the short walk to the church. I think the entire village may have been there, and a few of my friends were pelted with walnuts by a few of the younger attendants.

We all followed the bride and groom to the church, which was about a 10 minute walk. The bells from the church rang out with the traditional wedding song. An interesting side note -- the bells only ring for a person three times in life: when they are baptized, when they are married, and at their funeral.

At the church everyone gathered around the men with the violin and the accordion and they began to play once again. First the bride and groom started to dance in a circle, and soon other members of their family joined. The dancing was cut short because the wedding was behind schedule, so we all entered the church.

The most dramatic difference between this Greek wedding and an American wedding was evident once the ceremony started. Everyone who was there to see the bride and groom get married did not sit quietly and take in every detail of what was going on. Instead, everyone walked around freely while having full conversations with the person next to them and did not hide the fact that they were being loud.

However, this did not seem to distract the bride and groom as they went through the motions of the rings, of switching a crown-like veil on their heads, and of dancing around in a circle while getting rice thrown at them. They were married within one hour, and then everyone in the chuch lined up to give their congratulations to the happy couple.

At this point my friends and I left, but not without getting one of the small goody bags filled with chocolate that were being passed out as we left the church!