Socialising 87addition to being a useful tool in completing transactions,
such as school registration, it is an important symbol,
because it is proof of a formal, legal relationship. In most
families, it is the woman who guards the libreta because it
is a source of pride and gives legal status to her family. A
common joke says that women will only sleep with a man
con libreta (with the book).
The civil ceremony is very simple, the men wear suits
and the women wear dresses, not bridal gowns. The offices
are small, so only the couple, the witnesses and maybe the
parents are present. Following the ceremony, the couple,
accompanied by family and intimate friends, enjoys a
celebratory lunch.
Religious Ceremony
As little as a few days to as many as a few months following
the civil ceremony, the couple may choose to be married in
a religious service. This is the ‘real’ wedding, in the sense
that the bride wears a white gown, the church is filled with
flowers and music, and the reception comes complete
with food and dancing. Most weddings are held in the
evening, around 8:00 pm, on a Saturday. In the Catholic
Church a full mass is not celebrated, just a short 20-minute
wedding ceremony with Communion. In Chile, there are no
‘wedding parties’, i.e. bridesmaids or groomsmen. Instead,
the bride and groom are each accompanied by padrinos de
matrimonio—a madrina (a woman) and a padrino (a man)
who stand beside them and pledge to support them in their
future life together. Most often the parents are asked to be
the padrinos de matrimonio. However, if a parent is absent,
another close relative or close friend may be asked.
Following the church service, everyone is invited to a
reception. This may be at a restaurant, a casa de eventos
(rental hall) or a private home. After greeting their guests,
the couple will dance their first dance together, the Blue
Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss. After dinner, the couple will
cut the cake, the bride will toss her bouquet and the groom
will remove her garter and throw it to the single men. The
dancing and partying will continue for a few hours.