The Wedding Party (part 3 of 3)

After several hours of running around making all the last minute preparations for the party, everything appeared set. Finally, this was it. Pranvera and I had reservations at the nicest hotel in Pristina (certainly not five star) for our rendezvous pre and post party. It felt so good walking there after I had made a final last minute inspection of the bar/lounge. Pristina felt and looked different. I realized that for better or for worse, this place was always going to be one of my homes. I will continue to always return and see Kosovo to hopefully develop to a place only now we can dream about.

Our 'suite' was ready at the hotel (the same room Nicole Kidman stayed in during here recent UNHCR visit) with rose pedals scattered across the floor and bed, a beautiful bouquet of roses on the bed and our terry cloth robes stacked in the corner. The benefit was only truly realized after the wedding when we had a place with both water and power to shower off the day's festivities before falling into bed. A nice sofa and seating area with a table upon which I placed the champagne my sister had brought and a gift box of Truffles from England. Almost perfect. Just missing my bride until there was a knock on the door. Someone was standing there but for the second time that day, a woman of beauty I almost did not recognize. Wow. Here she was with her hair completely up in a beautiful swirl weave and a professional make over by the women who does all the local models. Complemented by her t-shirt and tennis shoes she was ready to go;-)

We enjoyed an hour of alone down time before getting dressed and heading casually late to our own party (supposed to make an entrance). It was so nice to sit arm in arm enjoying the champagne and chocolate while sharing laughs and stories from the ceremony, lunch and other various preparation snafus. It was here in our final pre-party preparations that we romantically exchanged our wedding rings in the bathroom so we could each read the others engraving. At the time it just seemed a lot more practical than carrying and worrying about 2 big ring boxes at the party. So off we went, arriving just before the sun set and the relatively chilly night embraced Pristina. It was great seeing her little nephew in the garden in his tux sprint back inside when he noticed our arrival. As we slowly walked down the entryway we could see all our guests inside through the floor to ceiling glass. Her sister-in-law signaled for us to wait a moment as all the cameras came out and our arrival was announced.

Entering to the sound of all our family and friends clapping and cheering and to the shower of flower pedals was truly an out of body experience. Immediately we were being grabbed and greeted by all her family and we then paired off to make our way through the entire crowd greeting each one of our guests. Many were her relatives I had yet to meet so all I could say was hello, welcome and thank youin Albanian! Everyone seemed so happy for us and I was smiling so big (and at that point so long) the back of my head started to hurt and felt bruised even the next day. The place also looked fantastic. All the final food had arrived and was all over with the drinks flowing and the music pumping. I advanced the ipod set we had prepared and the party really began. For about the first hour it was mostly upbeat talking music allowing us to chat with our guests and for everyone to consume the food. As soon as we made the announcement the grill was outside and for everyone to eat, the food must have been cleared in 15 minutes. As we suspected, we forgot to eat. We always had our full glass of wine and I did grab a fresh kebab just to 'test' the meat. Wonderful.

It wasn't too long before the Albanian traditional wedding and dance music kicked in and everyone was on their feet in the traditional circle dance. Of course Pranvera leading the way (she does this even when it isn't her wedding) we knew there was no stopping her now. The circle made its way through the entire place collecting all our friends and relatives at various times. Pranvera's nieces even dragged my sister into the circle to celebrate Albanian style. I remember at one point Pranvera and I being in the center doing some swirling dancing exchange with all her extended family cheering me on as I 'embraced' them and their culture. It was just perfect!

Finally needing to take a break and realizing if we didn't do our announcement and vows soon we might be too drunk to do so or some of our guests would have already left. So I grabbed the microphone and made sure the staff started pouring and rushing a glass of champagne to each guest. With everyone's attention I thanked all the guests for coming, especially my sister and friends from London and then proceeded to read my vows to my lovely wife Pranvera (see the video on the earlier blog). I was able to make it through without breaking down or getting caught up in the moment. Wow. This was really me. This is really happening. Oh my God, I'm getting married to the most beautiful woman I have ever met. Ok, bringing myself back it was her turn to translate for me which she summarized as "He loves me very very much":-) Then it was her turn but since some of the music was still playing I was trying to get them to turn it off as she cracked as joke saying, "We've been married less than a day and you are already ignoring me". Ah yes, we are perfect for each other.

Pranvera's words were also from the heart and made me realize once again that a power much greater than our own brought us together and has now ensured that we will forever stay that way. As we embraced each other and then toasted our glasses to everyone, all was complete. We then cut the cake, ate our piece, and then hit the dance floor the rest of the night. Time seemed to stand still at moments as it was just us. Otherstimes we were bouncing around with all our friends telling the stories, sharing in their gifts and just loving life. The music kept people up and I had time to share with her family, mine until it was finally time to leave our party before no one was left. Still it was close to two and the bar tab had just run out so we bid our remaining guests a farewell and raced outside in the pure darkness of a powerless Pristina to take a cab back to our generator operated hotel and unfortunatley bring an end to the happiest day in both our lives.