A Spanish Wedding

I just returned from 18 days in Spain and had the pleasure of attending the wedding of my girlfriend's Brother, Óscar and his fiancée Marta. It was a beautiful (and hot) day in L' Scala ( a cool little pueblo 90 minutes north of Barcelona). We all thought about jumping in the Mediterranean Sea many times since the wedding was at a resort right on the water, but we knew that soggy suits and weddings wouldn't mix. Here is a photo of us in the hotel room before the wedding. Silvi bought me a cool tie for my birthday that matched her dress. She is so sweet!
We had such a great time and I was very surprised at how much music in English is played on the radio stations over there. (And at Weddings too!) It was also interesting to see the differences between weddings over there and those here in the Bay Area. One big difference is that the officiant and the witness sign the marriage license right in the middle of the actual ceremony. I have never seen that before here. They also like to throw rice and rose petals directly after the rings as shown below.Man, those Spanish people love to eat! There were over 15 different appetizers that lasted over 90 minutes and we stuffed our faces. The food was incredible. I thought maybe it was just an appetizer-only reception until they informed us that we needed to head to the dining room because the main meal was ready to be served. We wobbled inside to find our reserved seats.

The one odd thing that I noticed is that the DJ did not say one single word during the entire reception or interact with the guests. Nothing! That was a little odd to me since the Master of Ceremonies role is so important here. I requested some of Silvi's favorite songs and she was a happy-camper as we danced to "Mambo #5" and "Suavemente".

What a great night. But it did not end there! 7 hours after the ceremony, it was announced that we would all be going to another location to start the second celebration organized by some of their friends. What?!? Another party? Wow! I was also told not to worry because there would be plenty of food available. Unbelievable. What a wonderful wedding and vacation. I can't wait to go back again. (Although next time I will eat less)