A Catalan Wedding
Catalan is one of the three official languages spoken in Catalonia,
the region in the north-eastern corner of Spain. It is made up of four provinces;
Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona.
Independence rallies, Guardiola's rise and fall, and the search for the runaway ex-president have reached the headlines recently, but Catalonia has long been highlighted within Spain by Gaudi's architecture, its industrial and economic wealth, and the stunning scenery;
from the Pyrénées, to Montserrat, and along its coast.
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Sergi's hometown, Flix, is a proudly Catalan community. One of the Terres de l'Ebre, a stronghold in the Guerra Civil, then an industrial town, now leans into the rural landscape with its acres of fruit trees and olive groves. Creating a striking peninsular, the River Ebro sweeps around the town of Flix on its meander through Tarragona to the sea.
Sergi's family name comes from the Catalan word riu, meaning river. The Rius family have lived in Flix for around three hundred years and, unsurprisingly, the family now sprawls across the town with cousins and aunties on countless streets.
Continuing tradition, we too will walk through the town to be married in the parish church that has heard the vows of the Rius family for generations.​
The Traditions
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It is customary in Catalonia for a close relative of the groom to formally welcome the bride into the groom's family, and then to invite and escort her to the ceremony. The Padri de Boda, Sergi's uncle, will arrive at Vilar Riu de Baix once we are ready to go to the church and read the letter he has written in front of all of us gathered on the 'bride's side'.
The Padri de Boda is a witness to the marriage and often looks after the coins presented during the ceremony, used as a symbol of unity. In our service, the flower girls and page boys will deliver the coins and the rings in a merging of the traditions. The tradition is that there are thirteen coins but at Sergi's parents' wedding, they accidentally had an extra coin! Marta, Sergi's sister, decided to honour this mistake by using fourteen coins at her wedding and so we will do the same.
Sergi's family and friends will have walked from his house through the streets to the church. We will have taken a short ride in cars or coaches from the hotel to the edge of the river, then we will take a short walk up the main street to join them. Lots of the ceremony will be in Catalan but there will be service booklets with translations. Fr Patrick, a close Kettleton family friend, will also be presiding at the service so there will be some prayers and words in English too. Patrick has been present at lots of Kettleton family services so this tradition will be upheld as well.
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At the end of the ceremony, instead of throwing confetti, the ritual is to shower the married couple in dried rice to endow prosperity and fertility. After the service, people will go to the bars on the square for a drink - going for a drink in the early afternoon is called un vermut, you don't have to choose a Vermouth, but it is delicious.
​Usually, there are speeches during the service from the testimonis, the other witnesses of the marriage, but we have decided to save any speeches for the Reception, which is rare in Spain. The custom is for there to be lots of music during the meal, announcing the different courses and any gifts given by the couple or the couple's friends. ​The couple is usually welcomed into the room with celebratory napkin waving but generally there aren't any toasts made - we will definitely be swinging napkins and raising glasses.
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Expect lots of food, drink, and dancing.
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