The Rosique Family

I can still remember the first day of my senior year of high school. My friends and I showed up thinking that we knew the school inside and out, only to be surprised with an influx of foreign exchange students…something that was pretty unusual for my small Ohio school system. It was so fun to, all of a sudden, have these new friends from all over the world. I have no doubt that it was one of the early contributing factors to this travel bug that I have developed.

From this I became very dear friends with a Spanish foreign exchange student named Maria del Carmen Rosique Hernandez…better known as Mamen. Andalucia is the home of Mamen and the amazing Rosique family. Whenever I visit their house in Malaga, they always make me feel like part of their family.

Last year Mamen’s sister, Virginia, and Virginia’s boyfriend, Angel, did a tour through the US and lived with Steve and I for two weeks in San Diego. We promised them that if they set their wedding date while we were in Europe, we would make every effort to be there. Fast forward a year later and here we are!

As always, the Rosiques are the warmest and most generous family. Thank you for your friendship and for spending so much time with us during the busy wedding week.

Congratulations are in order to the newlyweds, Virginia and Angel Garcia!

It was so fun to see a Spanish wedding and how it differs from American weddings. Here are my top 5 Spanish wedding customs that we need to bring to the US:

Fancy Outfits – the Spanish don’t just go to weddings…they go to weddings prom-style. Everyone is decked out in their best suits and formal dresses. I somehow forgot to pack my ball gown in my backpack, so luckily we had a team of Rosiques to hodgepodge outfits together for us. I think we cleaned up pretty well!

Fans – not only did they hand out Spanish fans, called “abanicos” to all of their guests, but the bride was also sporting a white lacy fan during the ceremony and reception. Looking around the church during the ceremony, it was a flurry of fan-waving action. By the way, it is completely acceptable for men to use an abanico.

Rice – Let’s bring the rice-throwing tradition back to the US! Forget about the birds. It’s fun!

Clowns – when I first saw the clowns appear into the reception tent, I was a little confused. Then I realized that they were there for the kiddos. The clowns kept them busy all night long playing games, jumping in the bouncy castle and getting their faces painted. This also meant that by the end of the night, they were so completely worn out, they fell asleep right next to the dance floor where the DJ was blaring dance music into their ears. 

All Nighters – Spanish weddings go LATE. How late? The first bus back to the hotel was at 1:00am. The last bus was at 5:00am. I was slightly embarrassed to admit that at our wedding, I think the last bus left the reception at 10:30pm. We are such boring losers when you think about it! This photo was snapped at about 2:30am when the flamenco arms, claps and finger snaps were still in full force.

My parents, Steve and I were honored to be invited and included in Virginia and Angel’s special Spanish wedding day in Malaga. Thank you Rosique family! When in America, our casa is your casa!