Viva Los Novios!!

Wow! What a wedding! Galician people sure know how to celebrate. I kept noticing all through the day, and night, all the little details . So much thought went into this wedding.

Of course Laura looked beautiful. She shines from within and has so much love for Gonzalo, as you will see in the photos and videos. How could this man who said he never wanted to get married, not be besotted with her. I’m so happy for them.

Everything was perfect… masses of white flowers, butterfly bombs, rose petals, perfect weather, fantastic 16th century hotel as a venue, fairy lights, gorgeous table decorations…and did I mention masses of white flowers? Most of the time I didn’t know what was going on because they speak so fast that my brain was often still lingering on the first word of the sentence and they had changed the subject three times by then. It didn’t matter though. The room was filled with love and it was palpable.

So much yelling , and every now and then someone would yell out “Viva los novios” (long live the married couple) and then they had to stand up and kiss. it was a lot of fun. Gonzalo and Laura gave presents to family and special friends as well, dancing between the tables as people tried to guess who the gifts were for. We all stood up and waved our napkins in the air, people clapped and music blared.

We ate….boy did we eat! I could barely move after eating heaps of prawns, cheeses, Iberian ham, lobster, steak….so much food. Up to pussies bow, I danced a bit with Fermin, but mostly took photos and watched the night unfold, as Gonzalo and Laura danced, changed outfits, and cut the cake. It seemed that every 10 minutes, the music was interrupted and something else would happen. There was even a Photo Booth and a tattoo station.

You can take the girl out of Australia but you can’t take the Australian out of the girl! My shoes, pretty as they are, were cast off under the table and replaced by thongs only a few minutes after sitting down. 😂

So many beautiful details…. Each of us were given a bottle of Spanish beer with a bottle opener, the menu and place cards were designed and painted by Laura’s sister, the flowers were exceptionally beautiful. EVERYONE danced, the men especially, which is foreign to us Australians., and they really can dance!

So much was going on but I found it exhausting trying to keep up and understand people, although I was sitting with Juan and his wife who spoke a little English and were able to explain things. Juan is a taxi driver who used to drive me home at night after being at Gonzalo’s bar when I lived here.

Anyway, nothing witty to say because the wedding was not funny, although instead of the drunk uncle, there was a drunk aunt! Too much to write about, and I feel SO lucky to have been invited, included and welcomed as I have been. What a privilege it has been. There was indeed, a time when I thought this could not happen, but here I am, fighting fit and able to enjoy Galician life with such wonderful people once again. What an experience this has been.