Wedding traditions

     For many traditions and rituals that follow the wedding ceremony, it's believed that the will bring happiness and joy to newlyweds. They are inseparable part of wedding in Serbia, not only because, according to folk tale they bring happiness and well-being, but they are also authentic for our region. Besides the symbolism, traditions represent an excellent way to include relatives and friends in wedding. These are some of the most popular wedding traditions:

    When newlyweds decide to get married, they have to buy shoes to their matchmaker - which is a person who participated in their first meeting. Belief: So they can live happily ever after.

     Between engagement and wedding, the bride must not wear mourning. Belief: Her marriage will be very sad.

    

     After bestowal of gifts, and before the main dish, bridesman goes in front of the house and with his back turned to the wedding guest, mostly unmarried men, he tosses the "pogača" (johnnycake) which was made by mother-in-law for that occasion. Belief: Who catches it will be getting married soon, and it's tradition that every wedding guest receives one piece of it. 

     When newlyweds arrive after the wedding into their new home, bride takes a sieve which contains an apple. She tosses the apple behind her back, and sieve to the roof of the house. If the sieve stay on the roof - so will the bride.

     When groom goes to get bride, it's tradition that his father-in-law put an apple on top of the highest tree in yard. Groom can't take the bride until he shoots the apple with a rifle.

    Bride's gate is ornamented with fresh flowers and tulle and is decorated with ribbons. That wreath is kept long after the wedding and it stand in the garden, at least until religious holiday "mladenaca" which celebrates newlyweds who started their life together in that year. 

   Also traditionally, when you come to the wedding, you leave your gifts to a woman who notes what you brought so that newlyweds can know who brought them what, and more importantly, so they can know what they need to return as a gift. 

  In some parts of Serbia, it's tradition that bride changes her wedding dress with a red dress, which symbolizes great love in marriage.