My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
 

I've only seen parts of this show on 2 occassons. One was where the groom was running late and/or could not find the church (I think the bride was 15? :eek: ), and tonight was with Bridget and her boo-hoo'ing cousin & the rest of the bridesmaids in neon pink tulle "monstrosities" of a dress. (see below for the bridal party)

One of the criticisms of the show is that the show also shows Irish Travellers, who are different from Romany Gypsies, so the title "Gypsy Wedding" is something of a misnomer, as it seems to lump the 2 distinctive groups into one.

For anyone else, watching the show, how do these travelling people earn a living? Are they always on the 'move'? I don't really get it. Those dresses that they buy must cost a fortune, so how are they bankrolling these weddings? And to book a hotel or a venue for a wedding, surely you need to have a credit card? How can you have a credit card if you don't have a fixed address?! (DETAILS! DETAILS!)

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/...25_634x375.jpg

I don't know much, but I do know that some do odd jobs for money. Some, though few, do actually have a stable job, or businesses of their own. The weddings are mostly a matter of saving up money. For the women, weddings are a huge deal and for many, their goal in life is to get married. The wedding is the one big event in the girl's life that she looks forward to and has control over, and most have been planning theirs pretty much from birth. Most families save money starting from the time of the girls birth because for them, it really is that big of a deal. Also, while they do tend to travel, it's a myth that they're constantly on the move. All this is what I've learned from watching the series from the beginning, so I could be wrong, but it seems about right.

I need to watch this. I have quite a few friends who live in Ireland and Scotland, and anytime they've talked about them, they've never had good things to say. Though one woman routinely hires any travelers in her area to do handy work around her farm. Most of them have told me that the travelers they know are all very very very well off financially.

All I know is that they developed a beautiful breed of horse, the gypsy vanner.
http://vanners.org/

i was driving through the small town just outside where dh & i live and we saw one of these weddings, i was shocked, the bridesmaids were wearing neon green tube tops and tutu's.....

I just started recently watching this show and am absolutely ADDICTED! The dresses and weddings sucked me in, but culturally, it's just astonishing. Their society is like what would happen if feminism never existed, and the way the men expect the women to act is just mindblowing

i have seen it, and it is definitely interesting-lifestyles so different from what most of us are used to. and humongus, ugly dresses!

it's awesome. And whenever you see a pic of the "world's biggest dress" or "world's dress with most petticoats" you can bet you top dollar it's from a Traveller wedding.

The title is misleading though.

^yes it is.^

Like a lot of people have said, they aren't all homeless or living in camps outside the city limits. Granted, I know more about the Romani than I do the Irish Travellers, but between begging, construction, and various forms of unskilled labor--they're able to do very well for themselves. Apparently they make a lot of money in scrap metal.

When I was studying in Rome, which is teeming with Romani gypsies, one of my classmates' parents came to visit. They are Romanian, and they were walking through one of the piazzas when they encountered a Gypsy woman speaking to her daughter in Romanian. My classmate's mom asked the woman, "how did you get here?" The woman's response? "I got on a plane and flew, how else was I supposed to get here?" None of these folks are broke.

I just watched my first few episodes yesterday and I'm officially hooked. :eek: is all I can say. My jaw spent a lot of time on the floor at these monstrosity weddings or laughing my ass off at them.

I've caught a few episodes here and there. I usually hate reality TV, but this has sucked me in. I think I read on a blog that Simon Cowell is one of the producers. I just wish these girls would realize there are fabrics other than tulle! Can't wait for the american version next year!

THIS! I wish there was a LIKE button. :)

Am watching it now for the first time. A reception at an animal shelter? This is unexpected.

I always like the superfab dudes with the mullets sportin' the shiny tuxes. You know they probably have on a heavy gold chain too.

I wondered about the animal shelter as a venue, too. Also, regarding that episode, if these girls (and their parents) spend a lifetime anticipating their wedding, why did they only allow three weeks for the planning?

It's a total train wreck. As a rule, there is NO WAY IN HELL DH would watch anything like this. We were chilling in our hotel yesterday and came upon this. He couldn't stop watching :o

Yeah. Mike is the same way. He sat on the couch reading while I was watching but his attention kept getting distracted by the TV until he finally put his book down & started watching. He was genuinely alternately horrified and entertained at these people. Lol! He asked me if I wanted him to DVR them for me to watch. Of course, I said yes.

If I understood correctly, a lot of these folks are discriminated against and, once a venue owner finds out that they are Travellers, they cancel the booking. So, the family may have had to book the animal shelter as it could have been the only place available that was willing to book to them. That also explains why the timelines are short and the wedding day guarded as a secret - venues will cancel on them if they find out.

.....Kelly :)

A few thoughts after watching 2 episodes tonight that I hadn't seen before (though to be fair, I only just started watching so I have a lot of catching up to do).

1. WTF is with dressing up little girls like tramps? Seriously? Culture or not, you'd think that anyone would draw the line at letting 6-11 year olds dress like strippers & dance like them as well. I was blown away by the dancing these little girls were doing after their first communions. Jeezuz! :eek:

2. That pink butterfly glow-in-the-dark dress was beyond belief. Lol!

3. Someone made a comment about it being as if the feminine movement never happened in these communities. I 100% agree! Wow. The only one that seemed to have a mind of her own was the one pastry assistant (can't recall her name) who said she didn't want to get married & be a housewive like her friends. She wanted to have her own life & career. Good for her!

4. These girls leaving school to become housewives is just sad to me. Again, I realize it's a cultural thing and they are NOT the only culture that does this to women but it's still just sad.

5. The dating ritual of "grabbing". Oh. Hell. No. 'Nuff said on this stupid ritual.


ETA: I kinda wish they'd do a "Where are they now" type of thing at the end of the episode. I'm curious as to how Sam is doing after being a non-Traveller marrying into their community. Is she accepted? Ostracized? Are they even together still?

I was wondering what the mothers are doing? I mean you see all these girls leaving school at 12 to look after their siblings and clean the trailer, but what are their mothers doing?

I can't comment about the travelers living in Britain, but Irish travelers in the US have a reputation for being involved in all sorts petty criminal enterprises. Shoddy home repair and shoplifting are a couple of examples. Just for the heck of it, I googled "Irish travelers in the US," (okay, I am bored and broke this summer) and came up with all sorts of stuff about this. Of course, many, if most, travelers are decent citizens, but I can't help but wonder if the moms of these girls are out doing God knows what to earn money.

There's a new episode this Sunday. YAY! It's about holiday Gypsy/Traveller holiday weddings. Can't wait! :D

Found out the other night that there was a group of gypsies that lived in Dearborn. They went to Fordson (high school on All American Muslim) with my friends. Pretty funny stories!

Just saw the commercial for the holiday special on TLC and immediately thought of this thread! I'm taking my fuchsia tulle number to the dry cleaner tomorrow so I'll be ready to watch in style!

Get out your tulle dresses and biggest tiaras! There is a brand new episode tonight! :D. I got my DVR set to record so I can enjoy it when the baby goes to sleep tonight.

ETA: There is a marathon on right now.

There was a new episode last night. Yay! It was My Big Fat Gypsy Valentine.


I did read about 2 of the brides featured. Joan and Josie both filed for divorce from their Traveler husbands. I'm trying to recall which 2 they were.

Joan was the one who was older - I want to say 22 when she got married, and never seemed super enthusiastic about her wedding.

Josie was the one who was featured on the first show, who met her husband Swanley via Facebook. I thought I read recently that she did file for divorce, but they got back together.

I watched last night with the football stadium long train. It came off as she was walking down the aisle ha ha!! I find this show extremely entertaining and love, love, love the dresses they get married in.

This show is one of my few TV weaknesses. Granted, I hate the way their culture devalues women, but I just can't bring myself to stop watching! I also wonder how much one of those dresses costs... beautiful artwork, though kind of gaudy :P