Over 10 years ago, Erisa promised that if she ever got married, she’d invite me to celebrate with her in Albania and see her beautiful country of origin, and I promised I’d move mountains to be there. Obviously these types of promises can’t always be kept, so it was an honor that it worked out for Kurt and I to attend and be part of their belated wedding celebration and their son’s one year old birthday in Albania.

Almost immediately, it was obvious that Albanians know how to celebrate a special occasion! Over 350 people, young and old, gathered all night to celebrate until after 4am!!! That’s a small wedding by Albanian standards, but I think that’s very impressive especially considering the bride and her immediate family along with many cousins haven’t lived in Albania for over 10 years.

Thankfully we had been warned that Albanian weddings can literally go all night long. We prepared for the late night with an afternoon nap, and I was determined to make it to the end of the wedding no matter how late it went. And thankfully jet-lag worked in our favor that night!

We arrived at the wedding venue around 8:00pm. A magnificent, gorgeous ornate building surrounded by fountains and perfectly arranged pools of water and small bridges weaving between them. People gathered outside the building for cocktail hour. We were handed a glass of champagne and found a small cocktail table nearby. Everyone was chatting, laughing, drinking, and also dressed like they were attending a red carpet event. Feathers, sequins, glitter, you bet.

Just after 9:00, people started going into the building to find their tables. I don’t know if I’ve ever been inside of such an ornate building. There was not one piece of wall, table, seat, ceiling, fixture that was without incredible detail. Marble floors, an impressive chandelier, giant vase center-pieces overflowing with luxurious feathers plumes. We found our seats and were thrilled to be sitting next to Adela, a cousin more or less our age who lives in Houston that I’d met previously, and the only other non-Albanian who had flown all the way from Houston to be there. We were almost immediately brought the first spread of food, and our cups were filled with whatever we wanted.

And then it all started for real. The hall was filled with LOUD music, a live clarinetist, and 2 apparently famous Albanian singers as 8 traditional Albanian dancers entered to start off the event with traditional songs and dances of finding love. And then, the drummers entered banging 2 massive drums to the beat of the music followed by 2 guys waving giant Albanian flags. After them came the groom the the one-year old son, and fire shot from the corners of the dance floor as he entered! It was thrilling!

Next came the bride with her father. This portion was not done 100% traditionally as they wanted to blend Albanian traditions with the American tradition of the father walking the daughter down the aisle to meet the groom. The music was slower and sweeter but still accompanied by the impressive drums and waving flags. And as the bride approached the groom in the middle, the dance floor filled with clouds of smoke and the corners once again shot fire up from the ground as the bride and groom began their dance together, and they danced several dances in the “clouds” and among the fire together. It was beautiful and emotional, and people seemed to alternate between tears of joy and cheering for the couple. They did some dances with various family groups, and then the next course of food came around.

Courses of delicious food were served constantly all night, and our cups of wine, beer, water, tropical flavored Fanta (apparently all the rage), and whatever else you might have requested like espresso, never went below half full! The 2 lovely famous singers made sure the dance floor was happening all night long – with varying speeds of the Albanian valle or circle dance going from slow-the-4-year-olds-are-participating to super-fast-tripping-over-your-feet-warp-speed. Anxhela and the cousins and other English-speaking friends all made us feel like part of the family from the get-go, and before we knew it, we were dancing the traditional steps of the Albanian dance right along side everyone else!

Around 4am, the cake finally came out, and after a few closing dances and traditions, including one where the groom burns a handkerchief to symbolize burning away his single life, the wedding was over around 4:30am! We were most surprised and impressed that almost everyone stayed until the end – including young children and grandparents – dancing the night away in celebration!

It was an absolutely incredible experience that we will remember for a lifetime.