This month Jen and I got invited to our first Serbian wedding. We were so honored and excited. The groom, Nemanja, had been a regular attender at our fellowship and his bride to be, Jelena, is a strong believer. Not only were we invited but we hosted the maid of honor as a house guest and got to pick up other guests from the train station. We were excited to get to help out.
Serbian weddings are not like American weddings in a number of ways. First they last all day, not kidding we left the house at 11am and got home around 8pm. Second you get married twice here. The church wedding is not official (regardless of orthodox or protestant). So the couple first gets married at the court. Now I was expecting something really simple but the court had a room for weddings that was super nice and it was a great ceremony with lots of clapping and cheering. After the vows are said, the roma are all hanging around outside the court because people throw money not rice (Jen and I are thinking about renewing our vows before our next vacation). After the court wedding everyone heads to the church for the church wedding. Since this couple are believers we headed to the Baptist church for second wedding and the reception.
After second wedding the new couple does pictures and every guest gets a picture with the newlyweds. It was very hot on the wedding day and Jen and I being unaware hung out inside. We had to get our picture at the end. After pictures are done a great party starts as family and friends celebrate the new couple. Now the reception was a blast as food was delivered for hours. Meat, bread, cheeses, fresh veggies, and pies, lots of pies. Meat pies, cheese pies, veggie pies. And of course there was cake. Lots and Lots of cake. It was delicious. Jen and I just sat and visited with people and ate and the ate some more. There was lots of dancing and again more cheering and clapping.
The bride and groom foot the bill for the entire wedding and reception and Jelena and Nemanja did a great job providing for their guests. We know that they started this marriage with God as the focus and look forward to seeing how God uses them to change the world around them.
Some Pics:
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| The First ceremony at the Court |
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| Gypsy Band celebrating the new bride and groom |
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| Dancing, lots of dancing |
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| Cutting the cake (after pictures they brought out about 5 more cakes ) |
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| Jen and I with the happy couple |
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