Raluca and Andrei, City Hall Ceremony and Cocktail Party, Brasov, Romania
Back with Raluca and Andrei for their first Wedding Day. In Romania a couple wishing to tie the knot still has to go for an official wedding and the marriage license to the City Hall before they can have a traditional Church Ceremony. Rather than rush and cram everything in a single day, Raluca and Andrei decided to have relaxed, separate ceremonies in two different days. We’re always very happy to participate in events like this but in this particular case I had tiny little knots of emotion going through pretty much thru the whole event. We’re photographers documenting the proceedings however this couple is very dear to us, they are family. And there is another personal reason to have this mix of emotions, undoubtedly shared by my Mom and my Sister also present. My late Father, Andrei’s Grandfather would have loved to be part of it all. Raluca and Andrei and their future together were about the only thing he would talk about before losing his fight with cancer last year.
A word of note of how everyone participating in this event was welcomed by Raluca’s family and Godparents in Brasov. Extraordinary warm would be perhaps an understatement as the way everyone pulled together to make this day memorable was simply incredible.
This is but a small photographic snippet of that day. Enjoy!
We’re going in !!! This is it !!!
Here comes the kiss … but…
The Judge went like: ” Wow! Nice kiss but you were not supposed to do it just yet”…
OK now is the actual time to seal the deal :-).
After the ceremony we were invited for an intimate cocktail party in Laura and Catalin’s carefully groomed and decorated backyard. Good food (lots of it), Prosecco (also lots of it) and later a bit of rain made for a great, joyous atmosphere.
Three VERY important ladies in my life… This is one of those rare opportunities we’re actually part of family photos…
Beware of yellowish, almost oily, unknown Romanian spirits served in little glasses. The stuff’s strong enough to wipe clean open wounds even though most people will mainly use it to fight infections from the inside out :-)… That’s Palinca, a double distilled plum brandy, at least 60 degrees proof, best served with a side of bacon, red onions and a fire extinguisher…
In the evening we went to dinner in Poiana Brasov at a place called Coliba Haiducilor ( Outlaw’s Hut would be an approximate translation). The place is decorated using a Traditional Romanian interpretation of Minimalism which roughly means “Having a Minimum of One of Everything”.
It was pouring rain so unfortunately the roasted pig on the spit was cancelled. We still had the open fire pit and a great appetizer of “mititei”, blueberry liqueur and boiled Palinca to keep us warm.
Raluca, exhausted but happy at the end of the day.
