The in-laws arrive. They come on horses covered with red and green kilims...
In front is the pope with his white beard. There is also the banner with a red apple on the top.
Then follows the godfather, the husband and the parents; the men in fustanelle, all white, the women with gold necklaces on their chests.
All the children are invited to the wedding. They set off with Mr Stephan and go to the Vlachs' cabins.
In one cabin, the women and girls prepare the bride. During the preparation, violins played a sad refrain.
As soon as she was ready, they asked a child to bring the bride's white shoes which her husband has brought. The child chosen for that must still have his father and his mother.
They chose Foudoulis. He has his mother, his father, his grandma and his grandpa; and they all have strong teeth. He leaned over to put the shoes on the bride and she kissed him on his pink cheeks.
In the evening the marriage took place. The pope recited many vows, from a book covered in wax. The pope sang with the cantor, and old Athanase helped a bit too.
Old Athanase has heard this so many times. He has married so many daughters and sons that he knows all this almost by heart.
After the crowning, the godfather threw a pink silk cloth over the shoulders of the bride and her husband.
In the evening the table was prepared in front of the cabins. The bride was seated on one side with the mother-in-law and on the other side were the men. The bride's first cousins and with them Lambros brought the dishes and served the wine.
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When the pope raised his hand to adjust his hat, everyone was quiet, as they understood that he was going to chant the troparion – a short hymn. And then the old pope from Colombe, with his white beard, sang the hymn to the Virgin Mary in his beautiful strong voice.
Then it was old Athanase's turn to sing.
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At the weddings in his family he always sang the first song after the troparion.
The breeder, holding his white head still, recited this song, quietly and surely: