Jim and Kryzsia's big fat Polish wedding, Part 1

A thunderstorm rolled through the area just minutes before the ceremony was about to start, sending the guests scurrying to the church’s front door. J and K arrived last; their journey from home had been interrupted several times by “roadblocks” put up by the locals. This was one of the traditions-neighbors who were not attending the wedding block the bride and groom’s caravan, their free passage to the church in exchange for some vodka (most Polish traditions seem to involve vodka in some fashion-gotta love it). The ceremony itself was not all that different than the Catholic weddings I’ve attended here, which made it easy to follow along, even though I couldn’t understand what exactly was being said all the time.

After mass, we went outside and did the receiving line thing, threw rice then coins at the bride and groom (there’s a saying: “Throw rice at their head, and coins at their feet.”). J and K had arranged bus transportation for us yankees between the church and the reception hall in Pabianice, about 15 minutes away. I don’t think any of us knew what to expect, just that there would be a lot of food and a lot of vodka. *cue threatening music*