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Reid Sassman | Bulgaria Cell: 0887/036-850 |
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Trinora Sassman |
Europe Cell: +372/82794729 |
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Desi Krasteva |
Cell: 0887/309-726 - speaks both English and Bulgarian |
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The bride kindly asks that if you have any questions on Thursday or Friday before the wedding, to please call the above contact numbers.
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Date |
Events, Places and Addresses |
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Thursday June 23rd |
· Guests arrive to Sofia and travel to Plovdiv Hotel Trimontium · Optional free Plovdiv tour@ 11am / 6pm: www.freeplovdivtour.com or enjoying the hotel facilities and services (pool, massages, casino, etc.) |
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Friday June 24rd |
· Guests arrive to Sofia and travel to Plovdiv Hotel Trimontium _______________________________________________________________________________________________ · Optional free Plovdiv tour @ 11am / 6pm: www.freeplovdivtour.com or enjoying the hotel facilities and services (pool, massages, casino, etc.) · 7:30 - 10:30pm: welcoming dinner at Happy Bar & Grill (Patriarh Evtimiy St 13, +359 32 625 191) · Dress code for the welcoming dinner is casual. Suits/ties not expected. |
Saturday June 25th |
___________________________________________________________________________________ · Wedding Day Recommended Clothing: Everybody should dress for a warm day. Women should wear flats due to the 1500 year old cobble stone sidewalks. Men should dress smart, but suit jacket and tie are not required. · 2pm: gather at the Panoramic Bar on the 5th Floor of Hotel Trimontium for a Bulgarian
traditional arrival of the bride; bring a bottle of water with you because it will be hot · 3pm: take buses to the Church of St Constantine and Helena ("Hisar kapiya" Street in the Old Town, named after the Hisar Kapiya gate); find GALIA (the shaferka) who will be on the bus and will lead the group up the hill to where the church is · 3:50pm: wedding ceremony at the Church · ~4:30/5pm: visit the Ethnographic Museum (2 Doctor S.Chomakov St., 359 32 624 261) or take a walk around the ancient streets of the Old Town · 6pm: cocktails and appetizers in the yard of the Ethnographic Museum · 7pm: take bus to the wedding restaurant Megdana ("Odrin" 11 St., +359 32 624 694) · 8pm: arrival of the Bride and Groom, Bulgarian wedding traditions, dinner, speeches and dancing (Reception program to be distributed at the restaurant) · Shuttles available to take guests back to Hotel Trimontium between midnight and 2 am, or it's about a 10 minute walk |
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Sunday June 26th |
· Breakfast at your leisure at the hotel (included in the hotel room price) _______________________________________________________________________________________________ · Fom 6 to 8pm - NOTE TIME CHANGE DUE TO HOT WEATHER - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Optional Plovdiv walking tour to sights such as the Roman Amphitheater and Roman Stadium led by Mariya’s sister Desi Krasteva (tour guide!) – gather outside hotel Trimontium; Plovdiv is the European Union capital of culture in 2019! http://bulgariatravel.org/en/topical/129 · An alternative to the tour is enjoying the hotel facilities / services (pool, massages, casino, etc.) or exploring the town by yourself, which is easy since the hotel is very close to all key attractions _______________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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Monday June 27th |
· Tour bus leaves promptly at 9am from hotel Trimontium · Guests who are not on the tour make their way back to Sofia |
· The guests greet the newly-wedded couple, who walk in on a white cloth covered in flowers, symbolizing their bright future together.
· The mother of the groom feeds the bride and groom a piece of bread dipped in honey, wishing them a married life as blessed as the bread and as sweet as the honey.
· The mother of the groom hands a lit candle to the bride, giving her a small light from the parents’ home and hearth. The bride and groom will build together a home and hearth and the bride will be the protector of the flame.
· The mother of the bride passes glasses full of wine to the bride and groom. The wine is bitter like the tears shed by the mother sending her daughter away. The bride and groom take a sip and then break the glasses for good luck.
· The bride then jokingly steps on the groom’s foot as a symbol that her voice will be heard in the marriage.
· The dancers start dancing, waving colorful ribbons: white as the dress and the bride’s pure soul, red as the love and blood that connects the two families and creates new generations, and blue as the clear sky in their marriage.
· At the end of the ceremony the bride kicks over a copper vessel containing water, a red flower, and a white flower. If the white flower travels further their first born will be a boy, and if the red travels further it will be a girl
· The bride and groom stand with their backs against each other and hold up a round loaf of bread. They break it in two pieces and whoever gets the bigger piece will be the guide in family matters.
· Lastly comes the chicken dance! Disclaimer: there are no live chickens involved. The bride and groom give the kum and kuma a baked chicken and a cake. The shafer and shaferka try to steal it so they can sell it back to them for $.
Tour Info: June 27-July 2