These Boots are made for Hiking: Wedding Azerbaijan Style AKA "Toy"

I have made friends with a couple who owns the largest and (in my opinion) the nicest wedding palace in Zaqatala. Wedding's (or Toy- Azerbaijani go figure!!) here is a VERY big deal and they are very expensive. The Ag Saray (White Palace) is the popular place to get married. I was invited to one of the weddings and I asked if I could take pictures and write about it on my blog. The couples are sometimes matched by families or they see each other from a far and they go out (probably with a chaperon) for a month, then they are engaged for one to two months and then they get married within 3-6 months. This seems really quick but it's the culture. The wedding is usually two weddings, one for the bride and her family relatives and friends (this is generally the day before). The hall holds about 350-450 people. The one I went to took place the second night or the grooms night with his side of the family or 430 people. Esmira (aka wedding planner) loves to decorate the hall and outside of the building to match what the bride is wearing. She did a beautiful job and makes sure every detail is attended to. The day before the bride wore red so Esmira did everything in red and white. Tonight is blue and white (the bride wore white today). Every wedding party is basically the same. Tradition and culture here is all about the food. The more food and drinks you have the richer the family is. They do not give presents, they give money as the cost of all the food is very expensive and more so when it is out of season. You can have the wedding palace prepare the food or the family prepares it at home and bring it to the palace to be serve. The food prepared by the wedding palace is delicious and is prepared as we Americans would do, all cooks and helpers wear gloves and hair nets. Esmira is very health conscious, making sure everything is clean and anti bacterial. They run around continuously from start (around 6 PM) to finish (Midnight) making sure everything is running smoothly and everyone is happy. Esmira and Aruz have around 40-50 part time employees that handle all aspects of the wedding and the results are outstanding, amazing and everyone is happy!!! See the results below!!! Thank you for sharing this with me Esmira and Aruz.