Might sound scary, but no worries - we're just having a party with only a few accents typical for the Polish wedding. Mostly vodka and dancing! :)

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Toasts & songs 

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It's quite likely you will here this song that works also as a toast. The song is known as “Sto lat” (“100 years”) and is the same song you will hear at Polish birthday parties. Here are the words and might to hear it few times!

 

Sto lat, sto lat, niech żyje/żyją, żyje/żyją nam.
Sto lat, sto lat, niech żyje/żyją, żyje/żyją nam,
Jeszcze raz, jeszcze raz, niech żyje/żyją, żyje/żyją nam, niech żyje/żyją nam!

(żyje – singular / żyją – plural)

Which translates roughly into English as:

 

A hundred years, a hundred years, we want him/her/them to live.
A hundred years, a hundred years, we want him/her/them to live,
Once again, once again, we want him/her/them to live, we want him/her/them to live.

Here is the link if you want to practice: Sto lat.

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Or a bit extended version

 

 

Food, food & more food

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Second dinner, third dinner and even more food. It shouldn't run out, so you might want to have a light snack for lunch;) Why so much food? It will all be explained in the vodka section.

Unlike at the typical Polish do's where another warm dish is being served every couple of hours we will have a buffet after dinner - so please make sure to help yourself frequently throughout the night (and then dance!). 

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What's this "vodka situation" 

 

Vodka is a big deal at Polish weddings.

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We will have an open bar with other drinks available - so please don't feel like you need to drink vodka. However if you decide to follow the trend, or give it a go with some of the Polish wedding guests, here are some things you must know before you take the first shot into your hand.

Most of the Poles drink only vodka at weddings, prefer to stick to vodka and don't mix with other drinks. You will definitely see few bottles with shot glasses leaving the bar :) Once emptied - glasses are immediately refilled and the shots are drunk one after another. Here's the trick - don't feel obliged to drink another one straight away when the glass gets refilled. If you choose to have some vodka - take some breaks, skip some rounds and eat between the shots(!) - take some fatty food, it will help you to slow the absorption of alcohol.

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Few basic rules of drinking vodka​

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• Never drink alone – drinking vodka is a social thing. Glasses are filled, somebody proposes a toast, vodka is drunk, then glasses are refilled in readiness for the next toast. If you give it a go do not launch straight away and proceed with the freshly refilled glass - might turn deadly ;) It's ok to pause, leave it for later, or even cheat with a shot of water instead! But seriously - there’s no casual solitary sipping. 

• Raise the glass and make a toast. You are free to drink whenever you feel like – there is always going to be a person at your table to keep you company. But if you want to make everybody else drink there is a one easy rule: start chanting the toast. he most common polish toast is: “na zdrowie” (which means: to health). Although you can drink for whatever you want, the most common wedding toast is “za młodą parę” (which means: to newly wedded). Other very important toasts are:– STO LAT (hundred years) – people might start singing it at any time.– NA ZDROWIE (for a good health) – somebody will stand up and say it and everybody else will repeat and drink.You might also hear GORZKO, GORZKO, GORZKO [goshko, goshko, goshko) (bitter, bitter, bitter) – this is a typical wedding chant. Guests complain that the vodka is too bitter to drink, so the young couple should kiss on the lips to make it sweeter. 

• Do not mix – As the wedding goes on till late night you should try to stay as long as possible. If you drink one type of alcohol and eat lots of food you will be more than fine. Filling time between the vodka shots with a beer or a glass of wine can be very risky.

• Poles usually have a sip of soft drink after the shot - to soften the blow. Or take a bite of something to eat, hence more food after the dinner! (marinated herring is usually the thing to go for;)). So make sure you line your stomach with plenty of food before you start tackling vodka (hotel team will be topping up buffet as we go - so no worries, things shouldn't run out! :)

• And one last important rule regarding "social" vodka drinking ;) or pouring! You shouldn't fill your own glass! :) 

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There will be plenty of other drinks available too with wines and beer - as we're having an open bar. So don't feel obliged to taste the vodka. But if you do - do not try to outdrink the Polish wedding party, as they will most likely win ;) 

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Dance with as many people as you can 

 

Poles love to dance at the weddings, so don't worry whether you know some moves or not - you will definitely learn few when moving from person to person. It’s a wedding - Poles love dance with everyone! :)

Poles dance a lot at the weddings, especially with a partner (proper ballroom dancing style - with holding hands etc;). Be prepared for hours of dance, remember to wear comfortable shoes. Don't worry if you don't have a partner for a wedding, it is very common to change the dancing partners and dance with everybody. So it is quite likely you will be asked to the dance floor at some point;)

 

It is also compulsory to dance with the bride and a groom! (Nige can't wait to dance with everyone!! He's taking his special dancing shoes!)

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We might not have the ska music but there is one type of music that is very popular at weddings in Poland (Nige don't kill me) - disco polo; quite uptempo, embarrassing lyrics (in Polish); but after few drinks who cares;). You might hear few throughout the course of the night (along the Five Finger Death Punch, AC/DC and 70's funk ;)

 

So enjoy your time and make sure to take the full advantage of the buffet and dance floor! ;)

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