{"id":392700,"date":"2025-06-10T15:42:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:42:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/?page_id=392700"},"modified":"2025-06-10T15:42:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T13:42:27","slug":"weddings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/about-vlkolinec\/customs\/weddings\/","title":{"rendered":"Weddings"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Vlkol\u00ednec, girls usually married between the ages of 16 and 18. Boys married a little later, typically after returning from their compulsory military service, around the age of 21.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first step before the wedding was the courtship ritual known as <\/span>pyta\u010dky<\/i><\/span>. Usually on a Sunday, the suitor and his godfather would visit the home of the girl whose hand he wished to ask for. They would formally request her father\u2019s permission to marry her. If he agreed, he would then ask his daughter whether she consented as well. If she agreed, the match was made; they would toast the occasion, and the hosts would offer hospitality to their visitors.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before the wedding, the groom chose his best man (<\/span>predn\u00fd dru\u017eba<\/i><\/span>), and the bride chose her maid of honour (<\/span>predn\u00e1 dru\u017eica<\/i><\/span>). These two served as witnesses. The groom\u2019s godfather and his wife became the wedding elders, while the bride\u2019s godmother took on the role of <\/span>ruchovn\u00e1<\/i><\/span>, responsible for delivering the <\/span>ruch<\/i><\/span> (the bedding and other household items) to the newlyweds\u2019 home. The groomsmen and bridesmaids were typically unmarried siblings and cousins of the bride and groom. The wedding was always attended by musicians, godparents, grandparents, brothers- and sisters-in-law, other family members, and, naturally, friends of the bride and groom.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the wedding day, a large Vlkol\u00ednec wedding cake called the <\/span>radostn\u00edk<\/i><\/span> was baked. A room was prepared for the wedding feast. At the head of the room sat the bride and groom, their parents and godparents, the best man, the maid of honour, and the elders. The groomsmen, bridesmaids, and other guests were seated along the sides. In the centre was a space for dancing, with musicians gathered in a corner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the afternoon, first of all, the best man met the maid of honour, who wore a traditional folk costume.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, at her home, the young bride was dressed in a white dress, with a white ribbon tied in her hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

At an elder\u2019s house, the groomsmen, bridesmaids, and musicians gathered. After fortifying themselves with a glass of hriat\u00f4, they set off singing towards the groom. The best man and maid of honour joined the procession on the way. When they reached the groom\u2019s house, he knelt before his parents, thanked them for all they had done, asked forgiveness if he had ever upset them, and requested their parental blessing. His mother and father made the sign of the cross on his forehead and blessed him.<\/span><\/p>\n

The entire party, now with the groom, then proceeded to the home of the bride \u2013 the <\/span>mladucha<\/i><\/span>, led by the maid of honour. Upon their arrival, the bride \u2013 just as the groom had done \u2013 knelt before her parents, thanked them, and asked for their blessing. Her parents made the sign of the cross on her forehead and blessed her. An elder then asked for permission for the group to take the bride to the altar, which was granted by the ceremonial usher \u2013 the husband of the bride\u2019s godmother.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The procession then made its way to the church for the wedding ceremony. The priest and altar servers were dressed in their finest robes. After the ceremony, the priest led the newlyweds outside the church and handed them over to their relatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

The party returned home for the wedding feast. Along the way, a customary obstacle awaited, set by the young men. An elder had to pay a \u201cransom\u201d in the form of a bottle of spirits and some cakes before the procession could continue.<\/span><\/p>\n

The feast began with a toast and sweets, followed by the wedding supper. First came meat soup with noodles, then roast meat, sometimes accompanied by <\/span>opekance<\/i><\/span> (baked dumplings) with poppy seeds.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After dinner, everyone danced \u2013 young and old, even the children. Throughout the celebration, villagers would come to watch and were offered a glass of spirits and a sweet treat.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the stroke of midnight, the music stopped. The bride was made to sit on a chair in the middle of the room. The best man asked her, \u201cDo you want to give up your wreath, or lose your head?\u201d She replied, \u201cTake my head.\u201d Only on the third asking did she answer, \u201cRemove the wreath.\u201d The best man then loosened it and took it from her head. This was followed by an auction for the wreath, which the groom was required to win. The bride\u2019s braid was then undone, ribbons removed, and replaced by a simple cord, before a traditional cap was placed on her head.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was followed by the wreath dance. First, the newlyweds danced with each other, then with their parents, and afterwards all the guests joined in. Anyone who danced with the newlyweds placed money on the plate that held the wreath.<\/span><\/p>\n

A second supper followed, consisting of either <\/span>kapustnica<\/i><\/span> (thick cabbage soup) or lamb goulash.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The dancing continued after supper. Men sometimes lifted the women into the air to their joyful shrieks. All the while, food and drink were enjoyed. The celebration lasted nearly until dawn. At the end, every guest received a take-home parcel of cakes and other treats.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Vlkol\u00ednec, girls usually married between the ages of 16 and 18. Boys married a little later, typically after returning from their compulsory military service, around the age of 21.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":392660,"parent":392632,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-392700","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"featured_media_image":{"width":1200,"height":800,"file":"2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje.jpg","filesize":568901,"sizes":{"medium":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-300x200.jpg","width":300,"height":200,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":11768,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-300x200.jpg"},"large":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-1024x683.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":79612,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-1024x683.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-150x150.jpg","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":5924,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-768x512.jpg","width":768,"height":512,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":48679,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-768x512.jpg"},"wpsimplegallery_admin_thumb":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-109x109.jpg","width":109,"height":109,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":3685,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-109x109.jpg"},"wpsimplegallery_thumb":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-100x100.jpg","width":100,"height":100,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":3333,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-100x100.jpg"},"catalogue":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-400x250.jpg","width":400,"height":250,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":17081,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-400x250.jpg"},"mid-rectangle":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-600x400.jpg","width":600,"height":400,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":32822,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-600x400.jpg"},"grandtour-gallery-grid":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-700x466.jpg","width":700,"height":466,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":42440,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-700x466.jpg"},"grandtour-gallery-list":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-500x500.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":36297,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-500x500.jpg"},"grandtour-blog":{"file":"Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-960x636.jpg","width":960,"height":636,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":70368,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje-960x636.jpg"}},"url":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Produkt_liptova_Produkt_liptova_Kroje-9-of-31jsmall_simcekova_kroje.jpg"},"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/392700"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vlkolinec.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/392700\/revisions"}],"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