My Cousin’s Beautiful Engagement Party
by Weam Namou
Firas & Nora’s Engagement Party
Getting engaged in the Chaldean (Christian Iraqi) tradition is no small affair – not even in America. First you go to the girl’s house to ask for her hand in marriage. After her parents consent, another gathering is held at her house where the suitor dresses her with a piece of jewelry that announces to the public she is spoken for. Then comes the engagement party, where a priest and more jewelry is involved and which could be as intimate as 50 guests or as elaborate as 300 guests. My engagement party was right in between, with 150 guests.
Today was my cousin’s engagement party and he had some 300 guest. That’s the number of people I had at my wedding (my wedding was considered very small). The average Chaldean-American wedding now-a-days is anywhere from 500 to 700 guests. Of course, there will be other ceremonies between the engagement and the wedding, such as the henna and maybe a bachelor/bachelorette party, among other things.
Regardless of size or elaborateness, in the end, it is always nice to watch two people’s joy in sharing their happiness with loved ones.
Congratulations Firas & Nora!
Cultural Glimpse 
What a wonderful tradition! Would not be hard to get swept up into that. It makes me think of other cultural traditions of marriage: Italian, Jewish, Greek – all with joyous celebrations. What a wonderful, colorful world we live in!
That’s why I LOVE watching movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and my favorite parts in “The Godfather” are the two weddings that take place – the first one at the Corleone’s house and the second one in Sicily.
This is so great! I absolutely love the video but I love the description even more! Our culture is so foreign to many of my friends and this is will be an amazing way to give them a little insight. There is such beauty in tradition and now that I am going through the steps towards marriage, I am feeling so appreciative of it all. Thank you for being a part of our day, we are blessed to have had you there!