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| Iglesia de San Manuel y San Benito |
Five minutes until the wedding was to begin, we stood on a busy sidewalk across from Retiro Park, groom a few feet away checking his iPhone for a just-arrived text. Up the few steps that separated us from the cathedral entrance a parade of exiting people flooded out. They went left; we were on the right. Slowly it became apparent that one wedding needed to end before ours could begin. Our first Spanish wedding but apparently the third or fourth wedding in that cathedral that evening (ours was set to begin at 7). It's hard to imagine a U.S. bride putting up with this scenario but for the Spaniards this all seemed normal. The ceremony is only the beginning of the process, and they were all out for the long haul. Unfortunately, we weren't. We only had childcare coverage for the ceremony, not for the hour and a half bus ride, the dinner, the dancing or the 6 am bus ride home that would follow.
So, we enjoyed the curiousities of the ceremony and look forward to attending a full wedding in the future. We were late additions to the invite list (one of Eric's colleagues) since we’d only met a few weeks earlier. It was quick for a Catholic ceremony, about 35 minutes, but very beautiful. We were on time as we only had to walk over but many of the guests were late, we think for lack of parking. One particular guest made her way down the isle ten minutes into the ceremony and proceeded to have the first pew of attendees all scoot over so she could squeeze in. I'd love to know who she was! No attendants here. No ring bearer. Only the bride, groom, mother and father. The bride and groom sat in the middle with the priest and the parents on either side, to help arrange the long train and provide the rings are the appropriate time. I understood very little of the wedding as the grand setting and somewhat muffled acoustics made it simpler just to enjoy the ambience rather than to focus on any details. The only major sections I picked up were the Lord's prayer and obviously the vows.
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| Street greetings |
I should note one other Spanish wedding tradition that I am sure our American friends would wince at. With the invitation the bride and groom provide their bank account details. No wedding gifts from Crate and Barrel here. Just send the money from your home computer in advance. This is one of the few areas of Spanish life where they are oddly efficient and non-emotional. We spent more time kissing in greeting and on exit than in looking for the wedding gift.
So, we enjoyed the curiousities of the ceremony and look forward to attending a full wedding in the future. We were late additions to the invite list (one of Eric's colleagues) since we’d only met a few weeks earlier. It was quick for a Catholic ceremony, about 35 minutes, but very beautiful. We were on time as we only had to walk over but many of the guests were late, we think for lack of parking. One particular guest made her way down the isle ten minutes into the ceremony and proceeded to have the first pew of attendees all scoot over so she could squeeze in. I'd love to know who she was! No attendants here. No ring bearer. Only the bride, groom, mother and father. The bride and groom sat in the middle with the priest and the parents on either side, to help arrange the long train and provide the rings are the appropriate time. I understood very little of the wedding as the grand setting and somewhat muffled acoustics made it simpler just to enjoy the ambience rather than to focus on any details. The only major sections I picked up were the Lord's prayer and obviously the vows. 
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