Seeing as My Darling Husband is Serbian I was interested to see what a traditional Serbian Wedding involved. I found this post of a western Bride’s account of her marriage to a Serb which is hilariously fabulous…makes me wish we’d have done it Serb-style! Check out the highlights:
Rent-a-dress
There is no dress frenzy. Rather than spending thousands of dollars on a dress you only get to wear once, Serbian brides simply rent one for a fraction of the cost. Brilliant, huh?
The bachelorette
Pre-wedding festivities in Serbia are radically different from the North American blitz of engagement parties, bridal showers, bachelorettes, spa days, and hair and makeup trials. There is little doting over brides in the days preceding (or even the day of) the wedding.
After several days of hard drinking and dancing in Belgrade’s numerous bars, cafes, and splavs (floating nightclubs), I found myself on my last day of singledom sitting in a small café with my sister-in-law, Aleksandra. Chain-smoking and pounding back vodka
The crowning moment
I insisted that the wedding take place in Belgrade’s Saborna Crkva, the cathedral in which Serbian King Peter was crowned in 1904.
This sense of majesty is extended even further in the symbolic crowning common to all Orthodox wedding ceremonies. The typical Saborna Crkva wedding involves large golden crowns.
My princess-excitement hit full throttle as the chanting priest crowned me and we walked around the cathedral, my train floating happily behind. I had no idea what the hell the choir was singing or what the Orthodox priest was asking me, but I felt pretty spectacular with a big-ass crown on my head.
Ain’t no party like a Belgrade party
This brings me to yet another difference between North American and Serbian wedding traditions: absent is the obscene “once in a lifetime” money-spending on tabletop decor, vintage-inspired Etsy finds, gourmet hors d’oeurves, photobooths, and commemorative take-home junk for guests.
There aren’t even any speeches, embarrassing garter belt removals, or “win the centerpiece” games. Rather, the hallmarks of solid Serbian wedding receptions are meat laden platters, hard drinking immediately following the ceremony, the kolo (joyous dancing in circular formation), and rambunctious Gypsy brass bands. I was on-the-floor drunk by the time the cake arrived, two giant firecrackers blazing out of its sides.
Read the full account here.