Big Fat Greek Wedding

August 17, 2015

Raining in Chicago

After arriving in the Chicago area, we had a wonderful time visiting with Bill and Lola. We had planned a weekend seeing all the Chicago sites, but it just so happens that after a long stretch of beautiful summer weather, the weekend we rolled into Chicago, it rained all day. So our stroll along the Chicago River and visiting Montrose Beach had to be cancelled. Instead, we sat around Dolly and told stories and laughed and had a fine dining experience at Cracker Barrel.

Next on our trip was the drive to Youngstown to see Mom. It's just a little too long a drive for one day in an RV, so we drove as far as Toledo and boondocked at a Walmart. On the way, we drove across Indiana on the Indiana Through-way. This stretch of highway has "Service Areas" to get gas and food. We were horrified to see that the only food choices were fast food restaurants. We had planned to make our own lunch at one of the stops, but when we saw the loaf of fresh bread had turned moldy, we looked for something to eat. McDonald's was about the only choice, so it was a visit to Mickey D's, our first stop there in decades. The food didn't exactly agree with Cheri's system.

Mickey D for D&C

People who have known me for a long time know that both Cheri and I are into health. Conscious food choices have been our trademark, and the fact that we now find ourselves sleeping in Walmart parking lots and eating at McDonald's doesn't necessarily fit that model. However, we find that living in an RV in places where choices are limited means that we sometimes have to make compromises. Believe me, if we could camp in a Whole Foods parking lot and eat veggie burgers, we would.

Arriving in Youngstown, we pulled Dolly up in front of Mom's home. We unloaded a week's worth of clothes and supplies and moved into her spare bedroom for the week. Satch and Bebop are enjoying being in a bigger space with a big yard they can run around.

Youngstown door wreath

There's an interesting practice in Youngstown - people put wreaths on their door. At first, I thought my Mom had just left her Christmas Wreath up and never took it down, but as I walked around the neighborhood, I noticed that most every house has a wreath on their door. New people moved in next door, and the first thing they did was put a wreath on the door. I've never seen that anywhere else. My brother Tom and his wife Vasiliki came by to visit with some of their kids. We all celebrated with a huge dinner around Mom's dining room table. My sister Chris and her husband Mickey and my son Sean showed up the next day as we prepare for the Big Fat Greek Wedding Weekend.

The Constantine kids

If you don't know, my brother Tom has nine kids! This is the third of his tribe to get married: Demetri and the love of his life Maria. The weekend festivities include a Saturday Rehearsal Lunch that was held at a Pennsylvania Winery. We all gathered in an outside pavilion where food and wine flowed all afternoon. it was great to see all our nieces and nephews, and the small children of the ones who have already married.

Rehearsal Luncheon at Pennsylvania Winery

There was a cover band playing '60s oldies at the winery. I watched with curiousity as they ran through a set of songs by The Beatles, Stones, Byrds, and other bands of the era. What was interesting to me was that everyone, from the adults down to the teenagers all knew this music. "Eight Days a Week," "So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star," and "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" were sing-a-longs. And when the band broke into "I'm A Believer," a bunch of the teenagers in the crowd formed an impromptu line dance while they sang along. Of course, this song was brought back to life by Shrek, but the point is that these songs are timeless. They aren't nostalgia, but rather relevant songs of the day. It doesn't really matter that they were released in the 60s. I think this is one of the problems with radio today. Radio programmers judge songs by their release date, not necessarily by their relevance. Songs released last year can completely lose their relevance, but timeless songs that are kept alive through the years can remain appealing to people of all ages. When I tune in to an "Oldies" station and hear '80s songs and hardly any songs from the '60s, I feel like there's a great opportunity for someone who has the guts to play great timeless music, no matter when it was released.

Big Fat Greek Wedding - 8 Priests; 2 Bishops; 26 attendants; one couple

Maria & Demetri's first kiss

Finally, wedding day! The Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony is full of tradition. And this one was no exception. There were so many people attending that it was broadcast over an internal audio and video system at the church for those who couldn't get into the church. There were eight priests and two bishops performing the ceremony. Add on 13 bridesmaids and 13 groomsmen, and it was quite the ceremony. It's a beautiful service where crowns are placed on the heads of the groom and the bride as they are led around the altar. After the service, there were two receptions. One at the church that included everyone in attendance at the service where the bride and groom greeted everyone personally. This reception was held out a large lawn area of the church. There was a classical quartet playing with all kinds of delicious finger food. The wedding cake was cut and a wonderful time was had by all.

Greek Dancing is a tradition at Greek Weddings

After this reception and the family photo sessions, we headed to the second reception, which is the official Big Fat Greek Wedding Party. Hundreds of us assembled for a feast, followed by Greek dancing. The wedding party started it off and then everyone joined in, arm-in-arm in a line, kicking, jumping and having a fun time. The bishop even celebrated the life of Elvis, by breaking into an Elvis song on the microphone commemorating his passing 38 years ago.

Wedding cookies

There's a tradition at weddings in Youngstown - the cookie table. Besides the traditional wedding cake, there is another table filled with cookies. Everyone grabs a box, and fills it with cookies to take home. I love discovering the nuances of the different parts of our country. There's another one here in Youngstown that seems appropriate to this posting... Italian Wedding Soup - a meatball soup. However, none was to be found on the Greek wedding reception menu.

It was a fun weekend of activities. Now, Cheri and I will spend a few more days with family before heading North and East on our next adventure with Dolly and the Boys.

Introducing Maria & Demetri Constantine