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Since 1979 till today is regularly performed, on an annual basis, the three-day event of "Representation of rustic wedding", which is considered one of the most important cultural events in the Prefecture of Lefkada.
In 1977, the event was filmed by Nestor Matsas, while in 1980 the Rustic Wedding is shown on Speech and Art Feasts of Lefkada, an event that the then Prime Minister of Greece, Mr Georgios Rallis had watched.

In 1954, for the first time, the "Representation of rustic wedding" performed in Karya’s Square, with locals bride and groom, while is done the detailed presentation of all customs of marriage from the first to the last day. The entire village participates in this event, which was the spark for the planning of the Celebrations of Literature and Art in Lefkada, since it was based on the idea of Tzevelekis Anthony, who was the instigator of these events.
Today, the event takes place during the first weekend of August every year and lasts three days, while the majority of Karya residents and a large number of volunteers, mainly young people, participate, contributing to this with their great taste and fantasy.
The first day is the day of the presentation of all the customs that are preceding the mystery. It is a series of preparations concerning the dowry of the bride, the house, her costume and everything needed for the mystery and revelry.


The whole ritual of Wedding

• The matchmaking
  The matchmaker goes to the bride's home and announces to her father the interest of groom’s family for the girl. Then, the parents of the two young come in contact and arrange the dowry or otherwise “ligato”.
• The dowry papers
  This is a written agreement between the two families, which includes everything the bride takes as dowry. Usually, this is written by the teacher or the priest of the village.
• The Engagement
  The family of the groom goes to the bride's house with gifts but mostly with "ornaments". These are jewels with which they adorn the bride.
• The hair wash
  The hairs are come from sheep’s coat. These serve for the filling of mattresses and pillows the bride takes as dowry. In the representation of wedding, the women load on their head large baskets with these sheep's hair and, while singing, they go to wash them at village fountain, located in the central square of Karya. There, after washing them, they load them on horses and go to the bride's house, with the accompaniment of musical instruments. 
• The leavens
  It is a ritual, in which the "Cookies for the bride and groom" are made and have the shape of large bread and are shared in the feast that follows the ritual of wedding.
• Karfomata
  Karfomata is the ritual of counting the bride’s dowry. The process is generally done by women. In this participates also the groom and it is as follows: The in-laws collect the bride's dowry. The groom is holding the paper on his hand, reads the bride's dowry and invites women, which hold the items of dowry in their hands, to show them one by one. Then, they embroider a red string for good luck.

On the second day of the event take place the mystery and the revelry. The couple, the priest and the best man, on horses, with the accompaniment of music instruments and of many people, go to a traditional stone house, where there will be the representation of the mystery, as it was done in the past. After the ritual, the dowry is loaded on horses and is transported to the groom's house, while the procession is accompanied by musical instruments.
After this, follows the traditional feast in the village square accompaniment of musical instruments.

On the third day, the event is completed with the custom of the “wedding cake". It is about the making of the traditional Lefkadian olive-oil pie, a sweet that is made exclusively in Lefkada in all the important moments of social and family life.
It is prepared in front of the eyes of all attendees, and then it is shared. At the end of the event, a feast is taking place with traditional orchestra, in which many people participate.

Information - Photos: Municipality of Karya

Accommodation
For your stay in Lefkada, near Karya in Lefkada, for the event of "Rustic wedding", you can book a room in one of the hotels and Bed & Breakfast inns.
In the town of Lefkada and in many areas of the island, near Karya Lefkas, for the event of "Rustic wedding", there are hotels and accommodations of various categories and types (rooms to let, residences, Bed & Breakfast inns, studios, hostels, guesthouses and furnished apartments) that can satisfy every visitor's demands and needs for a pleasant and enjoyable stay.
You will find wonderful hotels, rooms and apartments to let of all categories and price ranges.


Access
Access to Karya of Lefkada from the town of Lefkada, to watch the events of “Rustic Wedding”, is easy and convenient via the existing road network. The distance from the town of Lefkada is about 15 km and the time you will need is about 22 minutes via a beautiful and interesting journey.

See details for   Access, Useful information, Transportation

For your convenience, you can use the route map on the field “"Routes”" with information about the mileage, the time you need and the route you will follow, selecting the points of interest.

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