Summer Wedding Part 1

As the song goes : Simera, simera gamos ginetai – Today a wedding is taking place.

 Kalia and Omar and their families not only invited us to the wedding but also to the pre-wedding party which was held last night at the Yacht Club, in Kalimaria, Thessaloniki.  Here we are – the yacht’s not ours!- and I left the intrusive wine glass there as a symbol of how the evening went. Cousins Dimos and Eleni are famed for their hospitality and, as the parents of the bride, they take their responsibilities very seriously.

 

All of the many bottles that graced the table – ouzo, grappa, wines - are personally brewed by Dimos. Being the excellent host he is, he has also arranged musicians to entertain us - the bagpipes starting out the evening with stirring Thracian music.

            

 

It was hard to get them still even for a couple of seconds, so excuse the poor pic quality, but here is a shot of the happy couple, being photo-bombed by the bride’s bruv, Christos!

Kalia has a wee dance with mother-in-law who cuts a fine oriental dance on the sand.

            

 

After a bit, the spirits are rising – having been downed! Here Z turns emotionally incontinent as Dimos regales him with his unparalleled raconteur skills.

Here he is, too, literally having a stab at the famous Panorama triangles, filo pastry filled with crème patisserie and drenched in syrup. I find them so sweet they feel capable of making my teeth melt - Z can make a tray of them simply disappear. He did not down them all but …….took a box of them home with him!

We got home at 3 am – and this was just a warm-up: the actual ceremony and reception is tonight.  Let’s hope our spirits and stamina see us through all the events.

   

 

My departure, incidentally, was more demure than Z’s boxed-sweet-swagger: I had kindly been gifted a pot of basil used as décor on the tables. Since basil is said to symbolize love and good wishes, these are exactly what we wish for Kalia and Omar.