One of the most impressive aspects of this wedding was the size and supportive nature of the grooms party and brides party. They marched as a collective whole with Solomon as he went to deliver flowers to his bride to be and see her for the first time at this authentic Ethiopian wedding.
Family, friends, and elders gather around the living room awaiting to greet the couple at this Authentic Portland Ethiopian Wedding.
In case you missed breakfast or cant eat from wedding jitters, Ethiopian culture can help you with a goorsha, which I refer to as a handful of food and love. Its customary for the family to feed the groom before he meets his bride.
Its Ethiopian tradition for the couple to walk past everyone after the first look and are welcomed with cheers and well wishes from all guests. In many cases be prepared for singing, clapping, and sometimes the sound of musical instruments like a drum.
When having a "so called" Ethnic Wedding its nice to have authentic symbolic items and wedding favors to showcase and educate wedding guests which are from a different county or have a different ethnic background.
I'm in love with these bright colors and infusing special cultural traditions in weddings. Authentic Ethiopian gift and food baskets, called messobs were presented to the wedding couple before the ceremony. You will find these in most Ethiopian homes which are used as decor, storage, etc.
Its always great seeing how much a family comes together for a wedding. The women are all in the kitchen cooking and the men are running around taking care of vendors like transportation, venue, etc. More and more I see the younger generation seeking professional wedding planners like myself to take the stress away from the family so they can really take part and enjoy the full day or week of wedding festivities. Authentic Ethiopian food was in abundance at this Ethiopian wedding. All prepared by friends and family for the 600+ guests.
That's a lot of cooking! I bet the bride and groom were very thankful.
Photo credit: Evrim Iconz Photography
