Have you ever experienced a Polish wedding? It is unlike most American weddings that I have been to and in my opinion American weddings have nothing on Polish weddings! We’ve all gone to a typical American-style wedding and we have had a great time too. We eat and drink and we are happy right? Well imagine a normal American wedding…then crank it up to eleven baby!
I have got to tell you about the food first. Each table in the hall is set up with loads of different kinds of food all over. Smoked meats, fish, fruits and vegetables are within an arms reach for you to pick at throughout the evening. You are served soup upon entering the hall, usually a kind of chicken soup or traditional Flaki which is made from pork guts! For the rest of the evening you receive 3-5 more meals to enjoy consisting of beef, pork and chicken! If there are any vegetarians at the party (usually not) there are many different kinds of salad and potatoes with every meal!
Every polish person can dance, even if they say they can’t…they can. Poles love dancing in pairs no matter what the music is too. In fact, it is somewhat unacceptable to dance without a partner and if your are seen shuffling your feet off to the side you can be sure that some Polish man will grab you and force you to cut a rug with him! Most polish weddings usually have a band to play live music too, rarely do you go to a wedding with a DJ. The band plays for ten to twelve hours only stopping when a meal is served and to have a well deserved shot of vodka or bimber.
This brings me to my favourite aspect of a polish wedding…the booze! Along with food, tables are loaded with bottles of vodka, coke, natural juice and water. Taking shots of vodka is the norm in Poland and weddings are no exception! Everyone at your table is eating and drinking together and someone usually makes sure the shot glasses are never empty. An empty bottle of vodka you say? No problem, as soon as a bottle is empty a waitress (or the brides father) will replace it almost immediately.
You are probably thinking “wow that is a lot of food and vodka!”. Well my friend that is only the tip of the iceberg. Right about halfway through the wedding, the crown jewel is unveiled…The Village Table! The Village Table is a table with home made ham, sausages, bacon, bread, pork fat and moonshine aka bimber. The young couple get first dibs of course and the rest of the party lines up to enjoy the food and alcohol. You might have a little bit of food left over by the end of the night but I’m sure all the bimber will be gone!
If you are lucky enough to be invited to a real Polish wedding make sure you attend! You have an excellent opportunity to try new food, dance the night away, meet new people and probably get a little wasted too. Most importantly you learn a lot about a different culture and you have a great time as well!
