Dress code/riietus

No shoes, no shirts, no service.

The only restrictions for ladies are no white or black dresses.

Men can go up to black-tie if they'd like, but it's a summer wedding, so we'd suggest shooting for "Sunday service" best.

Edit: Scott is wearing a tux

Eesti keeles:
Meil on suvised pulmad, seega pole riietus ka rangelt määratletud. Päris rannarõivad ja teksad võiksid muidugi jääda koju paremaid aegu ootama. Vihjeks vaid, et Scott kannab smokingut, nii et härrased, frakid peavad seekord koju kurvalt riidepuule rippuma jääma...

Edit 2: Scott is also wearing a bow-tie. Bow ties are cool.

"Mommy, I gotta pee..."

Toilets work just like they do everywhere else (except for the icky squat versions in the Mediterranean countries), but there can be some confusion about how to find one and which one to use.

The sign to look for is "WC", which stands for "Water Closet". In any kind of public venue, the toilets may be broken down more by gender, with a "M" for male "Mees", and an "N" for women "Naine".

It's not uncommon in Tallinn for bathrooms to be unisex. The toilets are lockable with their own little cubicle, so they only thing that people end up sharing is the sink.

Most staff in Tallinn speak a fair amount of English, so you can just ask them where the toilet is. If you want to be cool, ask them for the WC (pronounced 'vey'-'say').

Some establishments (malls, public toilets) require you to pay to use the bathroom. A lot of these places are coin-operated, so it's a good idea for you to have at least 2 one-krooni coins (the big gold ones) in your pocket.

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Mobile phones

Mobile phones are everywhere in the Baltic States; in fact, a lot of people don't use land lines in favorite of their favorite personal device.

Bring your mobile phone with you on your trip. You fees would be outrageous if you use a phone account from outside of the EU, but all the EMT (Estonian Mobile Telephone) shops located around town (any large mall or shopping center will have one) sell rechargeable SIM cards that will give you a local number and rates. That's the best way to stay in the know while you're here.

White Nights

One thing you might want to consider when coming to Estonia is that in July, we basically have 24 hours of daylight.

We're not above the Arctic Circle, but we're close enough that the sun "sets" for about an hour, around 1 a.m., but doesn't really. We enter into a twilight stage, and then sun rises again about 2 a.m. The birds start singing and chirping, and it can be very disconcerting. Scott's gone through a lot of years in Estonia, and the strangeness of the sun has been something he still hasn't adjusted to.

Even today in May, the sun came up at 5:30 a.m., and it now sets about 9:30.

The hotels have heavy window shades, but a suggestion - buy yourself a sleep mask and earplugs before you come. It might save your sanity.

Kicking our ash

You might have caught on the news that we've been having some difficulties here in Europe in the last week.
Flights are now open, and authorities have decided that they overreacted to the ash cloud that Iceland sent our way a week ago.
However, there is another volcano near the one that exploded that often erupts when the other one does.
This volcano, news quotes suggest, would sent out TEN TIMES the amount of ash as the first volcano, and probably would have us riding in horse and buggies by the time it's through.
So, for those buying plane tickets to Europe this summer, a suggestion. Make certain that you understand how such an eruption would affect you financially if your plane flight is canceled. Mother Nature can be fickle.

Meie pulmakommetest / About our wedding

Eesti pulmakombed on teatavasti üsna rikkalikud - mängud, väravad, ametid ja nii edasi. Kas nüüd kurbuseks või kergenduseks, aga meie otsustasime neist loobuda. Kommetest on palju kirjutatud, aga sedakorda jäävad need mängud mängimata. Mis ei tähenda, et rõõmu koosolemisest ja meie jaoks olulise hetke tähistamisest võiks väheseks jääda.

Eriliseks teeb meie päeva see, et lisaks kahele erinevale inimesele saavad kokku ka kaks kultuuri. Siin mõned mõtted, mis võiksid abiks olla:

• laulatus. Tseremoonia saab olema eesti traditsioonide kohane. Pruutpaar kõnnib altari ette õpetaja järel, pruut peigmehe vasakul käel. Tseremoonia järel on pruut paremal käel (ehk et jõujooned on paika loksunud). Laulud ja kõne peaksid olema mõlemas keeles, nii et kõik saaksid toimuvast osa. Laulatus kestab umbes pool tundi. Seejärel saate tasapisi hakata samme seadma Õpetajate Maja poole, kus kell 17 algab vastuvõtt.
  

• lilled, lilled, lilled. Eestlased armastavad lilli ja kingivad neid igal võimalikul juhul. Sünnipäevadel täiendavad lilled kingitust, ja need antakse alati üle paberist välja võetuna, et kogu ilu oleks näha ja nuusutada. Üks meie värvidest on sirelililla, seda tooni, nagu oli kutsel pael. Võimalusel palumegi teil vaadata just seda tooni või sellega haakuvates toonides lilli. Teie toodud õitega kaunistame lauad Õpetajate Majas.

• parim kink mahub ümbrikusse ehk meid rõõmustaks kõige enam, kui teeksite panuse meie eesseisva pulmareisi fondi.
  

English:

A traditional Estonian wedding has many customs and traditions: games, road blocks, changing diapers, chopping wood, bridestealing, and weddings that usually lasted for three days. You can read about these customs here (be warned that at the end of the page you see what comes next after wedding - LOL). For your relief or sadness, these games will not be a part of our wedding.

What makes our day even more special is that two cultures will be joined. It is sometimes tricky to find the best way and balance, and here are some tips for you as well:

• wedding ceremony. We will follow Estonian Lutheran traditions here where bride and groom walk together to the altar when the ceremony starts. When going, the bride will be at groom's left hand, and after the wedding the bride will be on the right hand (note the power change here :). Songs and speech should be in two languages so nobody would feel left out. Ceremony will last about 30 minutes. After that you can enjoy a hopefully summery old town on your way to the Teachers' House where the reception will start at 5. It is about 7 minutes on foot.
  

• flowers, flowers, flowers. Estonians love flowers and love to give these for almost any occasion. In birthdays you are always expected to bring a present AND flowers. Flowers are always unwrapped before given, so that the whole beauty is out in the open. Flowers are natural part of all weddings. Usually it works so that when the ceremony is over, everybody comes and congratulates the bride and groom, and gives flowers (there are flowergirls assisting the couple). As one of our wedding's colors is light purple or lilac, it would be wonderful to bring flowers that match the color. We will use these flowers to decorate the reception hall at the Teachers' House.

• it is said that the best present fits into an envelope. Therefore we would be very happy if instead of traditional present - we don't need any blenders - you would make a donation to our honeymoon fund. We don't have any certain destination in mind yet, but we aim for the sun.
  

Please check back later for more tips and thoughts!

Indrek's star turn

Kristel's brother gets some TV time in a fictional parody as the unemployed Estonian.