Albanian (Catholic) Wedding, Bronx, NY, 1986

The bridegroom Mark, whose only role at his family's reception has been to escort Julie to the bridal table, arrives several hours later to pose for a photograph with her before they cut a western wedding cake. After cutting it, without feeding each other, he departs, leaving his friends and family to celebrate his marriage, while Julie returns to her place at the table, standing beside his aunt.

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.