This is my first time on the site and I need some help. In 2 months I will be getting married to a man who was born in the Czech Republic. We both now live in Canada. The only family he has in the country are his parents and brother who live 3500 km away. They will be flying in for the wedding and I would like to surprise his parents by having some Czech traditions incorporated in the ceremony. Can anyone suggest something? Also, in searching, I found the name of a traditional Czech wedding song called "Pisen Slavebni". I just can't find the actual song anywhere to download or buy it. I would really appreciate if someone could help me out with that. Thanks everyone.
it kind of depends - what region is his family from? Meaning, are they from Moravia or Bohemia, southern Bohemia, etc? When I was teaching in Brno, one of my students shared photos of his wedding. He couldn't understand my fascination, but the little things they did were very interesting. For example, they each fed each other from a bowl of soup. But I think many people in the CR as well as other countries do this. At the end of the ceremony the wedding party placed the bride in a wheelbarrow (a nice clean one ) and the groom rolled her down the street. It was of course all in fun and I think perhaps unique only to them - I'm not sure. But anway - my point! I would recommend looking into traditions common to the region where they're from. Hope that helps a little!
Brook, What a great idea. I'm sure his family will very much appreciate your efforts. I'm a wedding minister and love to learn of traditions from other cultures. If you find information, please share it here so we can learn from your experiences. I haven't done a Bohemian or Morvaian cultured ceremony yet, but you never know when I'll be asked to. I did 32 weddings last year alone. :shock:
I was looking around a bit and found a site that listed this: Czech Republican: Traditionally the bridesmaids make a wreath of rosemary for the bride to wear. An updated version can be made with roses and baby's breath. Czech Republican!!! Haha!! Sorry, I thought that was funny... :mrgreen: I think most czech weddings nowadays are similar to american weddings, but it appears sharing the soup is pretty common...or is it? That was my impression.
Okay, I have waaaay too much time on my hands today. But I find this interesting! Here is a link to one of my favorite restaurants/cafes in Brno - Zemanova (click on "fotogalerie" to view photos). They host wedding receptions and this link shows some nice photos from different wedding receptions they've hosted. As you'll see, it's not much different from what you might see at an average american or canadian wedding, however notice the nice looking couple sharing a bowl of soup, as well as a couple cleaning up the broken plate (this tradition is, I believe, when a couple breaks a plate and both bride and groom pick up the pieces together - that, or they're just really clumsy :wink: ). http://www.1926-zemanovakavarna.cz/cz/c ... a381fb3511 Mmmm...those cakes look good! Reverend Cindy - it must be interesting marrying people!!
Congratulation. Maybe you find this link usefull: http://www.pragueweddings.com/ This web site contains description of some of Czech wedding traditions. I think that most common traditions are:Threshold, Kidnapping of the bride, Inviting kolache, Union and Trust
brook, Great pictuers on the site. I love the place cards created by a ribbon hanging from the stick stuck in the apple/pear. What a great idea that is. Yes, it's a lot of fun to perform weddings. None of the stress, but all of the good times. :lol: I hope you are thrilled with your officiant. Your feelings toward him/her can really set a tone for the day. Remember, you are spending a LOT of money on that one day. It should be fun. If it isn't, your doing something wrong. My other philosphy about weddings is ... there are no mistakes, just last minute changes! If you expect something to go differently than planned, no matter how well you plan, then you won't be surprised when you have to drop back and punt. I've had weddings where flowers went to the wrong location, a birdie pooped on a bridesmaid coming down the aisle, :shock: another bridesmaid tripped and went down on her knees, music can go terribly wrong, and the wind blow out the just lit unity candle. What makes these things okay is how they are handled. Sorry, didn't mean to lecture/write a book on how to deal with a wedding, but it really is good advice. :wink:
