i didn't find out myself i was going to said wedding until about 20 minutes before we left. the girls had been shopping for weeks, trying to find the right dresses and shoes. since there was no mention of it to me, i assumed i wouldn't be joining them. i barely had time to wash my hair and throw on the only thing i had that was halfway decent (covering the knees). i was told it was just a "typical" wedding so i thought perhaps it wouldn't be too different. well, i was a little off.
we arrived in zarqa, a town just north of amman, where our first stop was the groom's house. guests were gathered outside, along with the palestinian band (all playing the drums). the mother of the groom held a large silver tray with the groom's clothes over her head and as the band began to play people gathered around, dancing, clapping and passing the tray among them. one of the elderly guests had a handgun that he fired into the air, a practice that's now illegal (since, you know, it's recklessly dangerous) but still happens pretty often.eventually we made it upstairs to the apartment where the festivities continued. all the furniture was pushed aside to make room for the guests and the band that all crowded in for more dancing around the groom (who, at this point, was in an undershirt). eventually the beat subsided and trays of soda were brought around to be offered to the guests. during this interlude, i presume, the groom got dressed in his finery (a fancy suit) and the next set of singing and dancing began as he was getting his hair done (blowdryer and all) in the middle of the room.
after about 30 minutes of this the guests went to their cars where we all drove to the next destinations. from time to time around the city you'll hear these caravans of cars honking, people shouting and air horns. well, that was us. our next stop was another house - perhaps the mother's? where the guests gathered out front and a different (syrian) band joined us. the beat and dancing were similar; even more clapping and gathering around the groom. then the swordplay began. two men came out with swords and shields, and soon it was just a blur of fabric and clashing metal.
at this point it was back to the car again, this time to pick up the bride. here i should mention that at first i had thought perhaps the bride was already among the crowd at the first stop. at first i thought she might be the woman all in red and gold with about a pound of makeup on her face. as it turns out, this is pretty standard wedding attire. the best way i can describe it like a mask at carnevale - exquisitely painted but still a little over the top. the elaborate bunches of fabric that make up the hijab only add to the carnevale effect. other fashion novelties: lots of kids with mullets, some choice unibrows, and little girls with crazy beehives and elaborate sequined dresses that make them look like the bride of frankenstein at a beauty pageant. so anyway, we finally picked up the bride. as you've probably guessed by now, this process consisted of guests singing, clapping, and dancing their way down to (eventually) retrieve the bride. oddly enough her attire (and the groom's) were probably the most westernized aspect of the affair. she wore a typical (typical for us) white wedding dress, complete with lots of crinoline and adorned with enough sequins and sparkles to match her glittering tiara. she was surrounded by several women who were quite dolled up themselves (venetian mask-style). we rounded them up, covered them with confetti, and were on our way.the next, and final, stop was the reception hall. as you can imagine the guests crowded around the couple, dancing and clapping along to the beat of the drums. the guests filtered in to the hall, complete with the covered chairs a dance floor and a throne-cum-sofa for the happy couple (they did look genuinely happy, too, which i wasn't entirely expecting given the fact that they were cousins). the videographer, who had been recording the entire proceedings, had the recording being simultaneously broadcast on several screens throughout the room. as you can imagine, there was much celebration when the bride and groom entered. they made their way to the dance floor where they danced, alone at first, but then joined by several couples. on the way they exchanged rings, which i suppose represented the actual ceremony itself.
the first song we heard after entering was lil john's 'shots' (charming little ditty), which i imagine was breaking with tradition somewhat. luckily this music gave way to a steady stream of traditional, and newer, arabic music that was much better for dancing. as the lights dimmed the colored lights and disco ball lit up the dance floor and smoke flooded in from the fog machine. this was just as well, as it masked the smoke coming from the cigars and cigarettes of all the men (including the groom). the dancing was interrupted only for the 'cake show', where a cake (presumably ceremonial, since the cake we ate looked quite different) with two-foot sparklers was rolled out, which the bride and groom cut with a large sword. and the dancing continued. i discovered arabic dancing is basically a combination of swiveling hips and graceful hand gestures, which luckily wasn't too hard to pick up. there was also quite a bit of rhythmic clapping and joining hands in circles. it was lots of fun and thoroughly exhausting.
and all on a monday night!
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