Congratulations Marco and Patricia!
This past weekend was cause for celebration, the entire family gathered for my cousin Marco’s wedding. In general, weddings in Portugal are less extravagant than the detailed affairs we are so accustomed to in America. They don’t have crystals adorning centerpieces or bridal parties or hi-tech DJ’s, yet they are beautiful just the same. You can say the theme for the day is “Love” and the unity of a family. For us a day is not enough for such a momentous milestone, it requires two full days of revelry and endless, but endless, amounts of food.
The morning of the wedding begins with the bride and groom’s families each going to the parents’ homes for breakfast. You’ll find a variety of traditional fried cakes; including shrimp, cod-fish, chicken, beef…regional sweet cakes, like puff pastry custard cups or “bolinhos de feijao” {translated as bean cakes, but they’re a pecan pie like filling cake made instead with almonds}, chorizo and blood sausages, tartlets and tiny sandwiches filled with sautéed codfish and chicken, and homemade hearth bread to eat with creamy goat’s milk cheese and salty prosciutto. These are only just some of the staples you’ll find in any Portuguese home along with red and white wines made from the year before.
Rumbling stomachs enjoyed every tasty delight, as they filled up before making our way to the church. One thing for sure is Portuguese people like to eat, it’s part of our culture and we take pride in the traditions of our cuisine that has been passed down generation after generation.
Car after car we paraded to the small chapel in Patricia’s home village to watch the groom play saxophone as his blushing bride made her way to meet him at the altar. It was a tearful yet happy surprise for the family, as it had been years since we’ve heard him play.
With a balloon of every color of the rainbow in hand and others with bags of rice, we awaited as the couple walked out into the gorgeous day for the first time as husband and wife. The playful groom, with rice stuck in his socks, laughed happily as each person congratulated them.
Quinta do Baico, a traditional farmhouse on a vineyard, was the picturesque location to eat and dance the night away. I found myself stepping away from conversations to capture the little things that are so traditional of Portugal.
Course after course of mouth-watering dishes, which included a lemon sorbet that I just couldn’t get enough of. Fire works filled the starry night sky as we toasted the newly married couple while they cut into their wedding cake, topped with miniature figures of themselves.
It was a long night of dancing, smiling, laughing, reminiscing about the past and endearing messages of love, prosperity, health and happiness for the new chapter in Marco and Patricia’s life together.
[…] A Portuguese Wedding […]