A Wedding in Casablanca, Part 1

A Moroccan bride carried by attendants

I went to a wedding in Casablanca. The wedding was 5 hrs long, and the bride had 5 dress changes. Welcome to a Moroccan wedding.

In the first phase, the bride is carried on a small silver boat on poles carried by 4 men in white with white capes. Her first outfit is a white dress and veil with zirconium, dangling earings and a belt with a zirconium oval-shaped belt buckle about 6 inches across. Dazzling. Then there was the red dress with matching jewelry, followed by the emerald green one followed by this very heavy red, white and gold horizontal stripped brocade with a headdress that flared out and down from the top of her head like a sphinx. It's a traditonal outfit. Finally there was the white American-style wedding dress. She had her hair restyled and had matching jewelry each time.

Each dress change signalled a different phase of the wedding. First the photo-op in the white dress with family and close friends, then in the red dress came a display of the gifts the groom given were brought by him and his family in huge trays with cone-shaped lids that were removed for viewing. There were clothes, shoes, purses, a box of dates that must have weighed 10 or15 lbs.The groom also brought a floral arrangement about 3' tall.

The gifts were removed for the next change and phase and the green dress, when we were served dinner. They bride and groom ate some at the dinner, but had to leave to change clothes again.

At dinner, each guest had a chance to wash their hands first as the waiters carried water and towels to each table. Then each guest had a small round indiviual loaf or bread. In the center of the table we had a platter with 4 whole roasted chickens. We were supposed to break the bread, and use the bread to tear off the chicken. After that course, we had a huge mound of a fine, short strand spaghetti topped not with sauce, but with finely gound nuts and a small bowl of powdered sugar to sprinkle on the spagetti as we ate. I know that sounds weird, but think of powdered doughnuts--it was delicious.

Next, while the bride wore the spinx-type outfit, it was the groom's turn to be carried in the silver boat. When they carried the groom, he stood in the boat and did his happy dance to the music that lasted about 4 or 5 minutes. It was happy, funny, joyous. Even the guys carrying him were laughing. It was wonderful.

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Last was the American-style dress, a few more pictures, and they were done.