Only one more post on Europe 2010 after this one! We leave for Europe once again 4 months from now so it won’t be long before I’m recapping once again. 
I took several Folklore classes in college, which I loved, and it sparked an interest in traditions and customs in different cultures and regions. I wanted to put together a video from the wedding that shows some of the unique traditions that Polish weddings have, but I was restricted a bit by the groom who insisted that his face not be shown online. Some tricky editing helped cut him out or focus on other areas when he showed up in the frame, but there are definitely clips from the video below that are much more beautiful when they aren’t cropped in. The video is also quite long, but it was hard to eliminate things! I’ve placed subtitles throughout that help explain what is going on, but do keep in mind that these explanations come from my experience (remember I don’t speak Polish!) and may not be the full story.
Enjoy!
Polish Wedding Traditions from Jenna on Vimeo.
If you are Polish and have some experience with Polish weddings I’d love to hear your comments below!
May 3rd, 2011 on 9:39 am
I don’t have any experience with Polish weddings, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching some of these traditions! It seems like the traditions in Poland are way more interactive than our wedding traditions here!
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May 3rd, 2011 on 10:18 am
Thanks for sharing!I also have an interest in other cultures and traditions. I live in Belgium and the presentation of the cake is also always very dramatic. No idea why they do that, though.
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May 3rd, 2011 on 11:37 am
That looks like soooo much fun! No wonder they stay up so late to party.
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May 3rd, 2011 on 1:08 pm
That was so cool to watch. It’s so interesting looking at the customs of other cultures. And I agree with Lisa, it looks way more interactive than the weddings here!
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May 3rd, 2011 on 7:41 pm
I studied abroad in Prague, and the counting reminded me of Czech. Jedna! Dva! Tri! Ctryri! Piet! Sest! Sedm! Osm! Devet! Deset!
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May 3rd, 2011 on 7:49 pm
That was fun! I love cool tradition. Watching TH run around the chairs made me giggle. We miss you guys!
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May 3rd, 2011 on 11:44 pm
Oh, I love the partnered dances, especially the “fast, swirly” one (polka?). I lived in a small village (~60 people) in the French Pyrénées last year, and there was an annual village party. A DJ came and played music, and everyone partnered up & danced in the middle of the street! Some of the older folk partnered up with me to teach me the steps; it was really sweet.
I really, really wish we still had dancing like that at parties in the US!
PS: Haha, I’m lovin’ their interpretation of “Billie Jean”!
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Shelley Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 7:05 am
We do! I’m from a small town (ending with ‘ski’) and we continue to have strong Polish traditions. Many Fridays/Saturday evenings, you can find a Polka bank playing somewhere and people of all ages are out. Some of our polka bands are quite famous – nationally and the tradition has been passed down to some in the younger generation. I’m 27, and a Polka band that started when I was in hs, filled with highschoolers, is still playing.
One of the best events in my hometown is “Polka Days” and you will find kids as young as 3-4 attempting to Polka. I learned when I was young from an Aunt and my gym classes growing up had the Polka as one of the units – it is a workout!
Polkas – and some of the other traditions shown in the video – are strong in present at many Polish-American weddings I’ve gone to from my hometown (my parents’ reception in the 70′s featured a Polka band). I suggest finding a town near you that had a strong Polish background. You may be surprised at the things that have been retained throughout the years.
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Shelley Reply:
May 10th, 2011 at 7:06 am
*band
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May 4th, 2011 on 10:11 am
Jenna! You did such a great work making this video. I really love it and enjoy watching it all over again. Thank you very very much
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