April 25th-Wedding Time

Prelude: Times have not always been easy living in BA away from family and friends, my native tongue, and the diversity of food that we are spoiled with in the states (if I eat another empanada, I will soon become one). However, we have been lucky enough to build a community that keeps us going and invites us to various events such as weddings!

Maxi and Moni’s Wedding
Argentine Wedding Do’s and Don’ts OR Faux Paux Central

Our good friend from Frisbee named Maxi recently got married. He at first invited us to the reception around midnight after the ceremony and dinner. However, a few friends canceled last minute so we got to attend the entire event. It was really amazing to see and Maxi and his bride Moni, who happen to be the most perfect couple, it makes you want to puke. He’s a banker, she’s a preschool teacher. They run marathons, have a beautiful house, love to travel and are going to Asia and South Africa on their honeymoon. Yowzas¡

Take this quiz and experience some of the things we learned the hard way.

True or False Quiz

1) Bring a wedding gift to the wedding.
False. Unfortunately we didn’t know this and lugged around a big tea set with us from the wedding to the reception and than back home again. We first noticed when we arrived at the wedding that none of the other guests had gift bags. We asked our wedding translator (Ale-a good friend of Maxi and another Frisbee player) what the deal was. He explained that everyone sends a gift to the couple’s home or they buy something off a registry and the bride and groom pick it up after the wedding. DOH!

2) Dance close to the kitchen during the couple’s first waltz.
False. The actual first dance at the wedding was to Cher’s Do You Believe (which I could not believe any heterosexual couple would pick for their first dance). However, we were out on the outdoor patio when the song was playing so we didn’t know to come inside to watch the couple’s first dance. But we made it time to catch the first waltz, which is kind of like a snowball dance where a variety of people rotate dancing with the bride and groom.
Mike and I decided to have our own waltz next to the caterer kitchen. At one point, we started tipping over and so Mike put his hand out to support us against the wall. Unfortunately the wall was really a door to the kitchen and we fell into the kitchen while all the wait staff stared at these invasive guests. We were mortified so we decided to take our moves outside away from any walls.

3) Stay until at least 5 in the morning when the wedding reception officially ends.
True! Mike and I were worn out at about 3:30 although the party was still going strong . There was a 2 year old girl on the dance floor making everyone smile and dance like her; Maxi’s brother was still pouring shots of excellent Russian vodka (from where he lives now); and grandpa was flirting with the young single women. We knew if we didn’t leave soon, we may collapse on the dance floor. The next day we found out we had just missed the cutting and eating of the wedding cake which happened around 4am! We couldn’t believe how late these people celebrate.

All in all it was a fabulous experience and I have been pushing any Argentine couples I know to tie the knot before December so I can enjoy more good times.