118 days to go

Wow - time is flying by quickly, it'll only be a couple of weeks and the "1" will finally disappear from in front of "days to go". I like it!
Alright, I'm not sure if that's made any sense, but hey, I'm kinda tired. Allison is back, and I managed to see her already this weekend, it's awesome. Oh yeah, wedding stuff... ooopsies.

Okay, I really like the comments about updates and stuff. And so it gives me some ideas to talk about - thanx for that everyone. So hair, make up, and traditions eh? Alright let's see what I can do.

I finally got my hair trimmed. I've been growing it out for a year, but the day finally came, and I got it trimmed. It actually looks pretty healthy now, I'll have to take a pic sometime, but unfortunately my digital camera no longer works. =( hmm - I'll have to convince other people to do it. I really like my hair, and like it's versatility; that's why the thought of cutting it always makes me on edge. My goal is to actually test out a different hair style everyweek - to find one that I can wear all day - like ceremony and reception. It's funny, 'cause everyone likes it in a different style. I've heard people saying that I should "put it up", "wear it down", "add ringlets to it", have it "half up, half down", and a bunch of other things. So I think I'll actually try it out.

As for having the Egyptian flair in the wedding, I have my aunts scoping out wedding favours now. The shops in Egypt have an enormous selection of wedding favours, and I'm sure they'll be unique - especially for a wedding in Canada. So I'm really excited about it.

Apparently I have to spend the next week making sure a couple of my friends don't meet. ;) They are both trying to plan a bachelorette, and between the two of them, that spells trouble. lol So I'll have to seperate them for a while. Oh yeah... and did I mention, I don't really want a bachelorette? I guess it is for the friends afterall -lol. My friends know that they are a big part of my life though, so I'll always make time for them - EVEN when I get married. Anyway, everything should be good.

Just to make this posting more interesting, since you're probably bored by now... I recieved a really cute picture of Jeff, so I think I should post it now. awww - he's a cutie! I'll try posting it in the "Then and Now" section too.

Hope you had a great Valentine's week, although mine was quick - it was great!

Cheers,
Nora

More about Egyptian Wedding Traditions

Well back in August, I had talked a little bit about Egyptian traditions. With the holiday season, and the chance to actually relax for a minute, I finally got the opportunity to watch my Aunt's wedding video (where I was candle girl - the one 15 years ago). This sparked memories of a few other Egytian Weddings that I've been to more recently - in Egypt. I'll talk about the Egyptian Weddings in Egypt for this entry, then maybe talk about Egyptian-Canadian ones a little later.

Actually before I get to that... for those of you who are wondering why I wear the engagement ring on the "right" hand, instead of the left hand. Egyptians (and many other cultures actually - like many Europeans, Jews, Arabs, Spanish (Spain, Venezuala, Chile), ... I think they even do it in Poland ...), wear their engagement rings on their right hand. At the wedding, the bride and groom switch it to the left hand. It stays on the "ring" finger the whole time, and usually goes on after the wedding ring - making it closer to the heart. Even more practically, the ring fits better on my right hand, ever since I sprained in Stonecliffe last August. (Although I'm not totally sure why it originated as the "right" hand, I think it has to do with the greek or latin (or arabic) words for "right" and "left"; the right is supposed to be better.)

Okay, so back to Wedding traditions. People are starting to ask me about Bridal showers, and Bachelorette parties. I think this is because some of them live out of town, and want to know when to head back to Ottawa. Anyway, this whole "bachelor/stag" and "bachelorette/stagette" thing, don't really happen the same way in Egyptian culture, as in Canadian culture.

The night before the big day (or a couple of nights before the wedding), the relatives, the friends and the neighbors got together to celebrate "the Henna Night". While the men went to the groom's house, we got to party it up at the Bride's house.
At the bride's house the women belly-dance and sing all night (well there's always the eating and talking bit too). The bride wears a dress (often pink) made with silk or cotton fibers, and her hands and feet are decorated with henna. "The Henna lady" that caters to the henna decorations of the bride, often does waxing as well. The other women often jump in at the chance to get henna tattoos and waxing done too. So it's just a night of indoor, outgoing, loud, dancing, singing, and spa-ing fun! The bride sometimes also shows her new jewellery (a gift that the groom buys the bride for the wedding). Meanwhile, the men dance and sing all night at the groom's house, and in case you were wondering, the groom wears a suit (not like a galabaya or something).

The next day, the marriage contract /wedding ceremony is signed and registered in the mosque/church/temple. Other than the couple and most of their families and very close friends. Usually the families take up a lot of the room, so not everyone is invited to attend the ceremony.

Okay, so I didn't make it to the candle part yet, but at least the pre-wedding traditions are mostly covered now. It's getting late and I'm getting tired. But please let me know what you think of this post, so I know if it's a good idea to talk about traditions or not.

Cheers,
Nora

P.S. There are 168 days to go! =)
P.P.S Happy Eid! =) - It starts today.

Traditions

Wow it's really interesting how different traditions and culture can actually be! There are a lot of tradiations I've learned about so far (through experience, and reading bridal books/magazines). Here are some that I can share with you, that may affect our wedding.

Egyptian traditions include:
Groom is in charge of getting the place to live (matrimonial home)
Bride is in charge of furnishing it
Groom's parents pay for the wedding
(Yup, a lot of the money comes from the Groom's family.)

Wedding ceremony and reception-
Your "attendants" are family. Traditionally, the mothers do a lot of the planning, in conjunciton with the couple of course. But there are no attendants. No Matron of Honour, or Bride's maids... people already know that the family helped you out.

The ceremony is an intimate affair, or only your closest friends (just a couple), and your family. The reception is widely celebrated though.

Candle Girls - yup that's right, there are candle girls. I was lucky enough to be a candle girl at one of my aunt's weddings. I think it's instead of the flower girl, since the ceremony is an intimate affair usually done 1 day to 2 weeks before the wedding reception. For my aunt's wedding, each girl (like 20 of us) got candles to hold. I'll explain soon how it's done and what I remember now (15 years later), or how I'd like to do it.

Zaffa (prounounced Zeff-a) - is the entrance to the wedding reception. This usually includes: belly dancers, daffouf (spinning dancers/artists), drummers, candles, and loud Music. Although seeing it would be best, I'll try my best to describe it simply. hmmm - it's kinda like a parade party. Yup, summed up it's a "Parade Party". It's like taking the crazy indian twins (P&P) we know, multiplying them by ten, and releasing them to party and dance there way to the reception hall, with drums, etc. Puj, if you are reading this, it would be like you participating in the "I like to Move it, move it" scene from Madagascar while dancing your way 500m to the reception area. =)The Zaffa continues until the Bride and Groom reach their "throne". At that point the Zaffa performers continue the show for the couple for a while.

Chair lifting - is common at Arab weddings. Usually the equivalent of the groomsmen, would get together and lift the chairs of the Bride and Groom up above their heads. Yes, while the couple is still sitting on the chairs. They then parade the couple around the dance floor, and make them chair dance together. It's a lot of fun to watch! =)

Dancing, dancing, and more dancing. Dancing is always the theme of the evening whenever Egyptians get together. There's no sitting around waiting for the first dance, the second dance, the bridal party dance, the father-daughter dance, the mother-son dance, the sibbling dance, the ... dance .... The bride and groom would be lucky to make it through their dance before the guests come up and dance. =) Through the whole time they are still bobbing (even clapping and singing) to the music while you dance. It's fun! =) It would seem that this dancing theme would require a lot of alcohol (for some reason it's as if Egyptians are the drunkest party goers because of their constant smiling and dancing), but that's the thing - it's just natural. No Alcohol required (or in many cases, even permitted).


Canadian traditions include:
Bride's parents host/pay for the wedding
Groom's parents host/pay for the rehearsal dinner
(Here, a lot of the money comes from the Bride's family.)

Wedding ceremony and reception-
Attendants- are usually close friends, possibly family - if you are close (but not required).

Ceremony- Usually everyone invited to the reception is also invited to the ceremony. This is pretty cool because then you get to celebrate that special moment with everyone who is dear to you. I'm pretty close to all my friends, and vice-versa (usually even more so than I know), so that's awesome!

Flower girl - usually between 3 and 7 years of age. Very cute, and sprinkles flowers in the aisle (or on the carpet) for the Bride who's future husband is already standing with his best man and the officiant, waiting for the Bride (hahaha something most men eventually get used to). =)

Ring Bearer - usually a young boy (good luck for the couple to have children too) who bring up the rings (or model rings) in a pillow for the the bride and groom to exchange. (Correct me if I am wrong, but that's the most common answer I am getting from the magazines.)

Entrance to reception- The MC usually announces the couple's entrance as "Mr. and Mrs. ...), and also introduces the wedding party (usually first).

Dance. There are many slow dances. Bride and Groom, father-daughter, mother-son, sibblings, future in-laws, bridal party, you name it (even a dollar dance?), it exists. lol But pretty much those are the standards.

Toasts. There are usually toasts, champagne/wine, etc.


Yeah, there are a lot of customs, traditions, and differences. The cool thing is that Jeff and I will be able to pick the best of both worlds, to make it our own. =)