Weddings

I have not been to many weddings in my life, but Moroccan ones are something else.  The first wedding I ever went to was for a third cousin I was so young the only thing I cared about was running around with my little cousin Emma and not being the next one to be tagged. The next wedding I went to was for my cousin Louisa and well it as a party from landing France till we left, it was really an amazing time.

Weddings here in Morocco have no ceremony it is all just one big event. Women get dressed up in the dresses called Caftans and the men were everything from suits to jeans. The bride wares as many different dresses as she can during the event to show of wealth. These dresses are bright and bedazzled, but what confuses me most is that most of the time they are made out of really cheap material and generally not really pretty.

The first Moroccan wedding I went to was in Fez and it was horrible. My friend N came along for this crazy night. We went over to her host families house around three o’clock the caftan I got made me look like a leprechaun and N was a great looking red flying carpet, and I have never worn that much makeup in my life as her host sister Z put on us. The wedding started at 5 and went until 4:30 the next morning. I have never seen people look so unhappy as the couple that was getting married. This was the first wedding I ever cried at, and not because I was happy. I was so over stressed from CBT, a heat stroke was coming on, and when I asked to go out and get some air the ball of horrible that was my host mom started to yell at me. Basically it was a night of horrible dresses, unhappy people, and getting yelled at for no reason.

The second wedding was a lot better. It was here in Oued Zem. It lasted just as long but I had a nice time chatting with people, and there was some lovely food. The dresses were just as bad, but the people were nice. One of the things that I found odd was that men and women were separated. It was one big venue but all the women were to sit on the left and all the men on the right, and they were separated by some odd looking decorations.

Today I got to go to another wedding in Jamaa it is a really rural area, and the wedding was really traditional.  This family was really wonderful; they are the most welcoming people and have a lovely farm. The mother of the family officially adopted me when she yelled for one of the kids to get some water. I was the first one at the well. Everyone was shocked that I could work it, never thought anyone would think it as complicated. Once I got the water from the well I got to go with uncle to get honey from the beehives and then put bread in the clay stoves outside.  Once the family decided I earned my keep off to the wedding we went. Their front yard had two tents the tent for the men and the family tent.

The bride had 4 dresses the first one white, second red and yellow, third orange, forth blue. The colors were a little bright but they were all well made. I got the chance to peak into the guys tent all the men sat around the outside with tables set up with tea, there was a band and three women in black caftans and sparkly scarf’s wrapped around their waist. The family tent was much more fun, the bride and groom walked in and out with their many different outfits. Four guys preformed traditional dances and lifted the bride and groom in the air.  Family and friends sat round the outside of the tent as everyone danced in the middle. All around it was a fun and exhausting time and it was from 3 in the afternoon to 6:30 at night.

I still don’t understand quite how this is a wedding because the couple are never declared as married. The whole event is outrageous and makes no sense (much like a marriage). Anyway I don’t understand any of the traditions I have come across in Morocco and weddings can go right to the top of the list.