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The second day of Ewen and Saule's Wedding, Butauto Beer Factory, Birzai 1998. The two Musicians are there, me, Vaidas and Valdas, the Co-op Mafia, Tricky and Derek. Click on Photo for a bonus photo of the great Spike!
EWEN AND SAULE'S WEDDING
Neil and I went over in 1998 for Ewen's Wedding, where I was to be one of the two Best Men. I had already visited Ewen in June, so this visit in September was my second visit of the year. On our first Saturday there, Ewen, Neil and I caught the bus down to Vilnius where Scotland were playing Lithuania at football, meeting Big Geroge and Jamesie on the way, at Ukmerge. That's another story I'll relate later, a tale of football, beer and men in skirts! This was Ewen's Stag Do. The week before the wedding was hectic with preparations, there were certificates to collect, dispensations from Archbishops to allow the Protestant Ewen to marry Catholic Saule(and Religious Studies, or Tikyba, Teacher at the Birzai Gymnasium, in a Lithuanian Church. It was without doubt one of the best two weeks I have experienced. Women were constantly around the house, baking and cooking, scrubbing and washing. Kostas, Saule's father was busy buying the alcohol and making other preparations for the reception. We took a trip down to Panevezys to purchase provisions, the weather was gorgeous. To keep out of the way midweek, I took a trip to Linkuva, where as already related, Neil turned up with Ewen's friend Derek who had flown in for the wedding from Glasgow.
One of the classes I took as a subsitute teacher for Ewen, the day before his wedding!
The day before the wedding I had an unexpected return to teaching. Ewen's mother and Gran were arriving from Scotland and needed to be picked up from Vilnius Airport. Ewen was still working away at school, but had brought over his Lada from Scotland. He asked the school if he could have the day off in order to take the trip down to the Airport. The school, surprisingly, declined. Ewen asked me if I would do the honours, but I had forgotten to bring my Driving Licence. Luckily I didn't take the risk, as when Ewen drove down, he was stopped by the Police for having a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side, and had his papers checked. Saule came up with a bright get-out clause. Ewen went to the school and asked that if he was given the day off, would they accept me with my 2 years experience as a substitute Ewen and teach his classes for the day! The school accepted this compromise! So on the Friday I went into school and taught 6 classes! Well, when I say taught, we played language games like Twenty Questions and Hangman. It was an odd experience for me and not one that I particularly enjoyed,I have to admit!
Another class I took for Ewen, the day before his wedding.
In the evening we had to go to the Church for a rehearsal of the ceremony, then it was off to the pub to celebrate Ewen's last night of bachelorhood. The next morning, we went to the hotel where Ewen's mother and Gran were staying, in order to get washed, there being not enough hot water in the house for us all to have a shower. Ewen's Gran was pouring large duty-free sherries for everyone and we were all becoming very excited. After sprucing up, we went back to the house to get dressed in our full highland regalia. Neil and I had borrowed kilts from friends, and we swapped since the one Neil had borrowed fitted me better than the one I had and vice versa. Derek and Ewen also had kilts, as did Ewen's brother-in-law, Craig, who had arrived that day with Ewen's sister. Our friends Tricky and Big Geroge both Scottish Teachers we had worked with in Lithuania also arrived from Vilnius and Ukmerge, so there was quite a collection of Scots there. At about one o'clock, all the men were shepherded into a downstairs room, as is tradition, the groom not being allowed to witness the Bride putting her dress on. Saule Kvedariviciute (for the last day before becoming Saule Cameron, Ewen and I are not related by the way) got ready, having been given Ewen's Aunties Wedding Dress for the occassion. Ewen had not warned us that we would be stuck in this room for up to two hours, and so were not prepared. We considered sending someone out the window to get a hold of some cherry brandy or something, but decided against it. Eventually, the waiting was over and it was time for the ceremonies to begin. These started with Saule arriving at our prison-cell with her family, where toasts were made. It was a very emotional little ceremony, as it represented Saule taking leave of her family to join her husband (although after the wedding, they continued to live with Kostas and Maria for another 3 years).
Before heading to Church, the Bride and Groom are presented to friends and family by the Matron of Honour outside the house. Click on the photo for more pictures of the wedding.
Then the Bride was presented outside the house to close friends and family, the principle guests at the Wedding, and we then went off to the Church. In Lithuania, there are traditionally two Best Men at the wedding festivites. The first is the chief witness at the Wedding ceremony itself, and Ewen had chosen John Brown, the Peace Corps worker in Birzai to do this honour, because it relied on someone who had quite good Lithuanian, and John's was better than mine. I was the second best man, who normally had quite a large role at the Wedding Reception. Unfortunately, as the Wedding was a mixture of Lithuanian and Scottish Tradtions, that role was more diminished than we had expected, although this suited me as, again, my Lithuanian was quite rusty, and one of the traditions has this Best Man symbolically hanged in an odd ceremony, I still don't quite understand!
Big George arrives at the Wedding
The ceremony itself was a pleasant affair, lasting an hour, naturally quite difficult to follow for the Scots as it was all conducted in Lithuanian. Ewen and Saule exchanged vows and rings and were united as man and wife (sorry for the cliches!) Then it was outside for photographs and congratulations. A bus took all the guests to Butauto Beer Factory, where the Reception was to be held, while the Principle guests accompanied Ewen and Saule to the photographers studio for the Official Wedding Photograph. As they had their pictures taken, we waited outside and Saule's Auntie, the Matron of Honour, and Mistress of Ceremonies, opened a bottle of champagne that we drank on the pavement from plastic cups. I will always remeber that every window in every house and shop had people staring out at us, clearly interested by the sight of six Scotsmen dressed in skirts, Scotland's national dress, the Kilt. We felt like true celebrities, and every car that drove passed slowed almost to a halt as the occupants craned their necks for a glimpse of the Highlanders
Children hold the Wedding Party to ransom!
Then it was off to the Party! Butauto is about 5 miles into the country and we witnessed another wedding tradition on the way. Children who lived in houses on the route are entitled to make barriers out of grass and plants and to hold them up to stop the cars of the Wedding Party. Once stopped, the children then demand a toll of sweeties before allowing the party to progress. We were stopped several times and the Matron of Honour had to despatch sweets from a large basket in order to make sure we arrived at the reception. When we arrived, there were more traditional toasts and the extremely funny sight of four Lithuanian Men dancing a traditional dance dressed in the National Costume for Lithuanian women! They said that they had done this because they felt left out by all the Scotsmen wearing skirts!
Guests enjoying themselves!
We then adjourned to the Hall for the Wedding Meal, the toasts, the speeches, the reading of cards from friends who could not be present, both from Lithuania and Blighty, and then an evening of drinking and dancing and talking. We mixed very well with all the Lithuanian friends and family of Saule, and because I had a smattering of Lithuanian, I was quite often called on to act as a translator for any non-English speaking Lithuanian who wanted to communicate with the non-Lithuanian speaking Scots, getting on especially well with the Musicians. Ewen's Gran had a great night, spent in the company of one of Saule's elderly Aunts who was telling people's fortune. Neither spoke the other's language, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely. The musicians who had been hired from Pasvalys were excellent, both with modern turns and with the more traditional accordian-based folk music. It was without doubt the most enjoyable wedding I have ever been to. We were partying until 6am, although Ewen and Saule went home at about one, a whole hour after is traditional!, before going to bed in the bedrooms attached to the factory.
Derek makes a speech at the wedding
It was a case of find a bed, claim it and go to sleep. As one of the last to go to bed, this was a difficult task. I tried all the doors, and virtually all the rooms were full. Eventually I found a room with two beds, both empty. I noticed that there was a jacket on the back of the door, but was too tired to care and fell asleep. About an hour later I was shaken awake by the 6 foot 6 frame of Saule's Uncle who intimated, in a jovial manner that I was sleeping in his wife's bed and she wanted to go to sleep. I blearily got up and began another search for a bed, eventually finding the last free one and falling back to sleep. When Neil tells this story, he says that the woman was in the bed with me when the husband woke me up, but I can assure you that this was not the case! Our sleep was not to last much longer. At 9am, the musicians barged into the room and started playing the accordian and singing. They forced everyone to have a glass of beer (which I'm sure you can imagine was the last thing most people wanted) before moving onto the next room. The second day of partying started. It followed much the same pattern as the night before, eating, drinking, dancing and more speeches and traditions. Each of the principle guests were given an appropriate gift for their help during the two days, mine being a ceramic beer mug! As sundown approached, the guests started to leave, but for some close friends, it continued into the night back at Kostas place. It had been one of the best week-ends of my life and I was so glad I had been present when too close friends were married!
Derek and I looking mean and moody at the wedding!
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