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A Symi wedding at Panormitis and reception at Pedi

I spent yesterday on the editing of the wedding video from Sunday, hence no post.
The wedding was a lovely occasion; the bride was originally from Symi (Pedi) and both her and the groom now live in Australia – though of course they are on Symi at the moment and are saying here for a while yet.

We arrived at the house in Horio for four pm, to record the dressing of both bride and groom, which happened in the same house. While the bride prepared the women sang in the room with her and then moved on to serenade the groom as his best man dressed him. (The Koumparo.) The party left the house, led by the musician (accordion in this case) and headed for the cars waiting at Campos. The procession drove over the mountains to Panormitis, arriving just as the sun was setting and walked in procession, with the tray of rings and almonds being carried in front and the musician ahead, to the church. The service lasted for just under an hour and included the giving of rings and the swapping of the crowns, the couple being led around the church by the Papas while the guests threw rice. The Metropolitan presided and gave the couple a speech, telling them how proud he was that they returned to Symi and Panormitis for their weddings, bringing some of the Australian culture to Symi and taking some of Symi away with them.

After the service and some more photos, the party drove back to Pedi for the reception and a meal at the taverna. It didn’t take long for the dancing to start, beginning with the ‘Isaiah’ where the newlyweds danced together first and later the ‘kaslamantiano’ with the entire party (almost) joining in a circle dance. We were in the middle of this at one point, for the photos and video, trying to avoid the plates and getting totally caught up in the atmosphere.

We left after midnight to walk (and limp) back up the Pedi road but didn’t get far before three girls in a car stopped and offered us a lift, for which we were very grateful. I don’t like to put too many photos of people’s private occasions here, but there are a few to give you an idea of the day.

As for other news – I have no idea! I was in the ‘editing suite’ all day yesterday and still have a few more hours to do today.