Romanian Wedding

When I stayed with the Golea family as a student and volunteer (2001-2004), I got to know not only their immediate family here in Sighișoara, but also much of their extended family in a village about an hour away. After finishing high school, my former host father’s nephew Neluțu stayed here in Sighișoara with us for several months back in 2003, and we became good friends. In 2003, I attended Neluțu’s baptism in his home church in the village, and then a few months later I attended a farewell at the church for him before he left for a mandatory 2 years of military service.

Neluțu now lives and works in Italy, where he met his future bride. They were married today in Neluțu’s home church. Since they’re just in Romania for a short time, I was glad I got to see him (first time in almost 6 years) and meet his bride. It was also nice to spend time with my former host family again.

Here are a few pictures from the wedding & reception:

Ministers praying for the bride and groom:

The Golea family & I:
The wedding cake (complete with fireworks!):

Romanian weddings are a bit different than American weddings. Even though this wasn't the most traditional Romanian wedding, there are a few things I'd like to share about it. First, as is traditional in Romania, the marriage license is issued at the city hall, usually before the church ceremony.

The church ceremony, held today in a Baptist church, was a two and a half hours long, complete with special music from three different groups and a very good sermon, followed by the exchange of vows. After the conclusion of the service, the bride and groom greeted each person in attendance as they left the church in the traditional way - a kiss on each cheek.

Following the church ceremony, the reception was at a restaurant in a nearby town. Romanians like to celebrate weddings with big meals (with many courses). First was an appetizer course, followed by coffee, then a piece of cake, then soup, then the main course, followed by more coffee, then the wedding cake was brought out, cut, and eaten, and then a final plate of stuffed cabbage rolls (a Romanian specialty) was served, all in the span of about 5 hours -- while different musicians sang or played instruments.

At the end of the day, I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to witness this important event in Neluțu's life as well as spend time with my former host family.

I took some other pictures at the wedding. Click here to view them.