three days. In the past, the engagement ceremony was organized by the future groom as a formal family gathering, during which he asked his chosen lady to marry him. In recent years, this custom has changed, and today an engagement is much more personal and intimate. An elegant dinner party afterward is still a nice way to inform the closest family members about the couple's decision to get married. In some regions of Poland, the tradition to invite wedding guests in person is still upheld. Many young couples, accompanied by their parents, visit their family and friends to hand them the wedding invitations personally. According to old tradition, a groom arrives with his parents at the house of his bride just before the wedding ceremony. At that time, both parents and parents-in-law give the young couple their blessing. The couple enters the church together and walks up to the altar followed by their parents and two witnesses. In Poland, it is quite unusual for the bride to be walked down the aisle or to have bridesmaids and groomsmen in a wedding. The couple is assisted by two witnesses, a man (usually from the groom's side) and a woman (usually from the bride's side) who are either family members or close friends. The Polish bride traditionally wears a white dress and a veil; the groom usually wears a fitted suit with a bow tie and a boutonnière that matches the bride's bouquet. During the ceremony, wedding rings are exchanged and both husband and wife wear them on their right hands. Right after the ceremony, the closest family and all the guests form a line in the front of the church to congratulate the newlyweds and wish them love and happiness. As soon as the married couple leaves the church they get showered with rice for luck or guests drop coins at their feet for them to pick up. This is done to ensure a good and prosperous future for the newlyweds. Once all guests have showered the couple with kisses, hugs and flowers, everyone heads to the reception. It is a custom in Poland to prepare 'passing gates' on the way to the reception for the newlyweds who, in order to pass, have to give the 'gatekeepers' some vodka. This is a misinterpretation of an earlier tradition, where the 'passing gates' were built if the bride was an orphan and money