Wedding Season

Well the wedding season is on. With the abundant fruits and vegetables found in the shooga (market), this is the time when most people tie the knot. I went to my first wedding of this year last night. It was the wedding of a friend of mine named Eric. His bride Nona comes from a well-respected family. Her father, Hyeaser, owns one of the better bread factories in Martuni city. He also bottles pear, cherry and lemon drinks, along with his new line of wheat Vodka. In the afternoon, they had a large gathering in the local high-school auditorium, which was arranged by the bride's family. The gathering was followed by a drive to a village in the Martuni region called Spitakashen (white village) where my friend Eric's family home is located and where the celebration continued. Here in Artstakh, very few people take marriage vows in church. As in this case, they usually have a civil wedding, followed by a large reception. I would estimate that there were about 250 people in attendance, all of whom had a great time. The celebration went on until the early hours of the morning with singing and dancing. It was great fun and I'm really happy to be a part the celebration of the start of this new Armenian family. May they grow old on the same pillow.