My big fat Spanish wedding

I arrived back in Spain a few weeks ago just in time for a vow renewal ceremony with my Spanish family. Silly me, I thought I would get here, get pretty and celebrate since Jose and his parents had been planning for the last few months. Ha. I was wrong. The first week I was here we were running all over the place with last minute errands, meetings, decisions etc. Though I appreciate that they wanted me to be involved, I also would have been fine to just go with the flow (as was seen by my agreeing with just about everything people wanted except for having 9 bridesmaids). Just FYI, if you are ever planning on eloping, you can contract flowers 3 days before your ceremony here in Spain and they will turn out great.

Even with all the stress of trying to get a lot done in a short amount of time, I ended up having a wonderful celebration here and feel very lucky to have been able to share this experience with both sides of our families. Like my sister back home said, a lot of people get married twice but it isn't usually to the same person. I am also very lucky that I was able to have people here from home. My parents came from Michigan as well as my Aunt Laura and Uncle Get. My sister Chrissie also took time off work to travel (for the second time-see earlier blog post) and represent for my other sisters who were sorely missed. We all did some sightseeing when they arrived a few days before the ceremony and it was nice to be able to relax somewhat with my people before another big day.

The ceremony was a nice vow renewal at Jose's local church. His mother and my (heathen) father were the godparents of the ceremony which is a Spanish tradition. My mother-in-law wore the traditional mantilla which is a type of long veil held in place by a comb. Here is a picture with my sister-in-law.

Women in Spain also tend to wear fascinators (delicate hats usually adorned with feathers, ribbons, mesh etc.) to weddings and my family had a good time picking theirs out before flying over. You will probably notice them in the rest of the pictures (see my sister-in-law above and sister below). Everyone looked wonderful despite the ridiculous heatwave we suffered through that weekend.

My sister ended up acting as a bridesmaid during the ceremony as well as the keeper of all my bride baggage throughout the evening. Her bulging clutch saved me several times with lipstick, fan etc. She lent an ear to hear me vent about my frustrations with planning and did great while reading during the mass. Everyone couldn't stop telling me how much we look alike (I wish!). I can't imagine not having her there and it wouldn't have been the same since she stood in for everyone else I was desperately missing that day. (Many, many thanks!).

After the ceremony we had a reception which was fairly similar to one in the States except the meal lasted longer. We ate a lot of Spanish food and cut our cake with a sword. Then the open bar started and our super gay DJ led the party with a lot of choreographed dancing which included an odd macarena-type song where we acted like sexy cars. I didn't quite get it but had a great time anyway.

Though traditionally in Spain wedding gifts usually consist of an envelope with money. Jose and I received an AMAZING painting from one of his friends who commissioned a caricature of us at our wedding back in Michigan. I love it!

All in all, it was a wonderful experience and I feel very lucky to have been able to celebrate one of the best choices I ever made again. I appreciate everyone who made our day special especially my family who made the trip and those (friends and family) back home who kept us in their thoughts that day. Thank you! Muchas gracias.