The Top Serbian Wedding Traditions
A Serbian bride and groom walking through a chapel entrance. Image by Easy Weddings.
No matter the culture, each region of the world has beautiful and unique wedding traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. These traditions can be carried into ceremonies of elopement or traditional weddings. The country of Serbia is no different.
Known for its rich heritage and culture, Serbia offers bustling cities and stunning, sweeping natural landscapes. This beauty is reflected in its wedding traditions and symbols.
Whether you are honoring your own Serbian heritage or bringing in important traditions to represent your spouse, here are some of the most meaningful Serbian wedding traditions and what they represent.
Pre-Wedding Rituals
Buklija
This term refers to both a young man on the groom’s side and a small flask. For this tradition, the young man will invite wedding guests to his home to celebrate the upcoming wedding.
Guests will drink from the flask and decorate it with money. This money will be given to the couple to start their life together.
Shooting of the Apple
Probably the most popular Serbian wedding tradition, the shooting of the apple is just what it sounds like! The father-in-law will place an apple on a branch of the highest tree in the bride’s yard.
The groom’s job is to shoot the apple down from the tree. The bride cannot come out to greet her future husband until he has knocked down the apple. This is so he can show his skill and ability to protect his family.
A rack of Provodadzija’s. Image via Pinterest.
Provodadzija’s New Shoes
A provodadzija is a Serbian matchmaker. For this ritual, the matchmaker receives a brand new pair of shoes from the couple. This is to thank him/her for a good match. It’s also to encourage a long, happy union.
Predicting the Next Generation
Future generations are important to any culture. Serbians have a ritual believed to predict the gender of the happy couple’s first child.
Prior to the wedding ceremony, the bride will call a toast, drink from a glass, and then throw it. If the glass stays intact, she will birth a girl first. If it shatters, the couple’s first child will be a boy.
Serbian Wedding Ceremony Traditions
Pinning Corsages
Before the wedding ceremony, special family members will be invited to the bride’s house to receive their corsage from one or two young, unmarried female family members. They will each carry a basket of flowers to pin onto people’s clothing.
Other wedding guests will find a basket of corsages placed next to a basket of money. Guests will take a corsage and leave a symbolic amount of money, typically two dollars, for the flower girls. However, the closer you are to the couple, the more money you should leave.
Old, New, Borrowed, Blue
This tradition may seem familiar to many, but it has deep roots in Serbian culture! The bride will acquire and wear something old, something new, something she’s borrowed from a loved one, and something blue.
Collecting and incorporating these items into her wedding attire is said to be good luck and great fun as she thinks of new, creative ways to fulfill this ritual!
A Serbian bride and groom preparing to walk down the aisle. Image by Wedded Wonderland.
Buying of the Bride
Also known as picking up the bride, this tradition allows the groom to negotiate with the bride’s brother or closest male family member for her hand in marriage.
In modern times, there is some humor infused into this tradition, as “tricking” the bride’s family leads to many laughs. The groom will bring fake money or fake money. If the family isn’t satisfied with the gift, they will bring out a bridal imposter, typically a male family member dressed up as the bride.
Once the laughter subsides and the bride emerges in her wedding finery, it’s a very emotional moment. From here, the families mingle for a bit and then head to the official wedding ceremony.
The Zarac
Diverting the evil eye is a crucial ritual in Serbian culture. In order to achieve this, the couple will employ a Zarac.
This person will proceed the couple in the wedding ceremony. The Zarac will wear a wreath of peppers and carry a whip to draw any evil eyes away from the happy couple.
The Barjaktar
A Serbian wedding processional is an important part of the ceremony. Instead of family members leading this, the barjaktar will be at the head of the procession.
This person will hold a banner with an apple on top of it. The banner is also decorated with rosemary, towels, and flowers.
Post- Wedding Traditions
Throwing Coins
Similar to Bahamian wedding traditions, coins also play a large role in Serbian wedding rituals. They represent luck and prosperity for the couple. As the newlyweds leave the ceremony site, the bride’s godfather will toss coins into the crowd.
The Pulling of the Nose and Tossing of the Apple
Once the ceremony concludes, there’s typically a large, elaborate reception. Many weddings have a tradition of passing good luck to the next generation of brides, but you won’t find a bouquet toss at a traditional Serbian wedding!
The bride will ask if any of the single ladies would like her to pull their noses. The one who gets their nose tugged by the bride is believed to be the next one to get married.
The Serbian equivalent of the garter toss, the groom will throw an apple filled with coins over the bride's head towards a group of waiting single men. The man who catches the apple is believed to be the next groom!
A bride slipping her foot into her heel, held by the groom. Image by Wedding Chicks.
Stealing and Ransoming the Bride’s Shoe
During a Serbian wedding reception, no one can dance unless the bride is dancing. So when someone steals her shoe, the party must pause! The anointed “thief” will announce to the wedding guests that he or she has stolen the bride’s shoe and is collecting a ransom.
Guests will give money to the “thief” until they feel the ransom is fulfilled. Then, the money and shoes will be returned to the bride so the party can continue. This is a ritual that will help the bride and groom start their union off on a prosperous note and give the guests a good laugh!
Important Serbian Wedding Symbols
Along with wedding traditions, Serbian culture has an abundance of symbols and rituals that ensure good health, prosperity, fertility, and happiness for the newly wed couple.
Here are some of the most popular symbols you’ll find at a traditional Serbian wedding that you can incorporate into your celebration to honor the culture and bring luck to your union.
The Bridal Wreath: While brides can wear an array of gorgeous accessories, Serbian brides must wear a bridal wreath. It symbolizes fertility, good fortune, and helps her stand out from the other women at the celebration.
Wedding Crowns: The bride and groom can choose to wear ornate crowns as they exchange their vows. The priest will bless the union and the crowns, placing them on the couple. In the Orthodox faith, the crowns represent the couple’s union with Jesus.
Garlic in the Bodice: Serbian brides will hide cloves of garlic in their bosom to fight bad luck. Sure, it may cause wafts of garlicky scent to come from her dress, but she will often wear a beautiful perfume to cover it up!
Mirror of Protection: Another way to ward off the evil eye, brides will carry a small mirror to reflect the evil eye back to the sender, protecting them from any ill will on their wedding day.
No Other Brides: A big superstition for Serbian weddings is that if the bride sees another bride on her wedding day, she will die. So absolutely no seeing other brides on the big day! When sharing a venue space, the bride’s family will cover her and lead her to the event space to prevent her from laying eyes on another lady in white.
Conclusion
Weddings are beautiful milestones meant to bring families together and create new units that will carry on important traditions and rituals. Serbian wedding traditions are geared towards bringing the new couple good luck and prosperity while honoring their culture and families.
If you want to incorporate these traditions into your wedding, remember to be respectful of where they come from and honor the culture. No matter how you choose to celebrate, your big day is about you! So stay true to yourself and do what feels right.