Egyptian weddings
The wedding season is starting now here in Luxor, school is almost over and Ramadan is approaching. Many hurry to get married before Ramadan.
Weddings here are lots of fun, but they can also be very noisy. Most couples choose to just keep it simple and put up lights and a small stage in their street and then get a DJ for the night, it can be very crowded and noisy since there always are way too many people attending. Not many here do the traditional invitations, most just tell their friends to tell their friends who then tell their cousins and their friends and so on, so you end up with a very large amount of guests. And forget about food! Maybe the rich people in Cairo have a wedding dinner but here in Upper Egypt most people only serve food the day before the wedding, at the Henna party, the Henna party is like a bachelor and bachelorette party, the bride throws one with her friends and family and the groom throws one with his friends and family, these parties can go on until the sun rises!
The brides day usually starts after noon, she goes to the beauty salon where she gets her nails and hair done and then her dress arrives, which usually is rented, she then tries it on a couple of times because it needs to be either taken in or out to fit her. The bride then gets dressed and the makeup gets done, the makeup used to be a mix of pale powder mixed with a bit of water (clown makeup pretty much, it's called pancake) and then some crazy smokey and dark eyemakeup and pink lips. Now, however they have started using foundation (still pale, but it's a start) some match the foundation to the brides skin tone others don't, and they have started doing a much more natural eye as well.
After the makeup the scarf gets created, the woman who did my scarf asked me if I wanted it simple or all out, I told her to go all out (why not, I'm only getting married once), some choose to not wear a scarf (not just Christians) others choose to let a bit of hair hang out, which is a big mistake because the turban slips during the night when you're dancing.
The bride usually finishes in the beauty salon around 7 o'clock, then the camera man arrives and does some filming (yes, you are followed by a camera man throughout the night), then the groom and his friends and family arrives (along with the brides') then they do some more filming before they step outside where there's drums and trumpets playing, then you stand there for awhile, maybe some are dancing.
Next comes the photo studio, when you finally get the big dress out of the car the music starts again, it's played live and usually they do a little dance for the bride and groom as well, then you slowly make your way from the car to the studio where the wedding album is created. Then all your friends and family comes in (not all at once) and takes some photos with the couple. When the studio is finished the couple goes for a little drive around town, with the huge entourage of cars and motorcycles.
Then they either go to a wedding club or to the street where they've set up lights and music, I used to be okay with either, but after having a baby, who's now a toddler, street wedding freak me out, there's no place to sit and it's overcrowded, not a nice place to have a young child.
The party usually lasts till after midnight, then the couple drives to the apartment the groom has spent a long time building, usually it's in his family's home, the bride is then greeted by the grooms family and she says goodbye to her mom and or sister (whoever followed her), also the bride's family are the ones who cook the food for the couple's first night, it's usually pigeon and then some rice, molekheir and potatoes or beans.
The next day, the bride's family comes to visit, they usually bring rice with milk (rice cooked in milk), the bride then shows them around her new home and serve them some cake and juice. The couple then gets one week that are just for them, but after that week the craziness starts, everybody who knows the bride or the groom or their families comes to visit (again, not all at once), the bride then shows them around and serves some cake and juice, the visitors usually give a small amount of money (depends how close they are).
That's pretty much it, I could easily go on and on, but let's stop here before it gets waaaayy too long :)