Albanian (Catholic) Wedding, Yonkers, NY, 1990
After her the nuptial mass, Age accompanies the bridegroom's best man to her new home, where she is instructed to put her right foot first over the door sill. The best man will then lead her three times around the dining table, which at a modern wedding may replace what was in former times the home's central hearth. The bridegroom is not present.
Katrina Thomas's notes: An Albanian wedding in the Bronx, NY in 1986 retains unique customs based on tribal culture which signal that a bride is joining another clan. Marriages are arranged but a matched pair may refuse the partner. On the morning of the wedding, while the bride dresses, her family entertains guests at a large celebration. When she is ready to go to church, they say farewell to their daughter because they will not attend either her nuptials or the bridegroom's reception in the evening. In fact, after the wedding she is not permitted to see her family or return to her childhood home for a specified number of days. When she does visit, she is no longer treated like a daughter but as a guest. For a year after marriage, she is considered to be a bride and when her own sisters enter a room she stands in respect. As Albanians have become Americanized many of these customs have been dropped.
Thomas, Katrina (photographer)
1990
1 photograph : black-and-white
reformatted digital
North and Central America--United States--New York--Westchester--Yonkers
BMC-M59
Photographer's categories: Conjugal home , Bride , Threshold custom , Best man , Circling
BMC-M59_07-04