Eight years

This picture was taken during mičošana, the Latvian “capping ceremony.” Mičošana was a very important part of the ancient Latvian wedding, which usually lasted three days. During mičošana, the bride and groom say goodbye to their single status and don symbolic hats to represent their new roles as husband and wife. At one part of the ceremony, the unmarried men gather around the bride and groom to sing their goodbyes, after which the married men break into the circle to welcome the newly married couple to their ranks. As you can see, it is a literal (as well as symbolic) capping; I am wearing an aube, the traditional headwear worn with the Latvian folk costume for married women, and Roberts has a hūte and pipe. Some of our guests are wearing hats also, which announce their membership in various Latvian fraternities, organizations that promote education in Latvian traditions and history. It is customary for fraternity members to have krāsu kāzas, inviting guests to wear their fraternal colors to the wedding. 

Mičošana traditionally occurs around midnight.