Croatian Wedding

"The most original ESN event we've ever been to."

"The best event in the entire ESN network."

"The best local event I've ever heard of."

These are only a few of the many comments we've got for our Croatian Wedding event!

On June 1st, after months of planning and organizing, Croatian Wedding came to life! With approximately 30 volunteers who worked hard, we showcased the traditions Croatians do at weddings to our international students in the most unbelievable way - by organizing a proper wedding ceremony!

Roles played: bride, groom, their parents, čajo (the leader of the wedding festivity in Croatia), maid of honor, best man, bridesmaids, photographer and videographer, waiters, chefs, two fake brides, priest etc.

Croatian Wedding scenario:

We gathered in the old town at our student club where the festivity began. Čajo, the festivity leader, knocked on the door. The bride's brother opened them, and Čajo asked Where is the bride, I came to pick her up! Bride's brother responds It will cost you something! - The old Croatian tradition is for the Čajo to pay the bride's brother before the bride comes out. 

Čajo pays him, and the girl walks out - but it's not the bride! Another girl walks out - still not the bride! This is because our tradition is to have fake brides come out before the real one. Finally, the best man comes in, pays the brother's bride enough money, and here comes the real bride! The band starts to play traditional Croatian songs, the wedding party dances and sings, the best man and Čajo give a toast, and homemade spirits go from one person to another, as the tradition is for everyone to try it. 

The festivity continued at the park above the university, where we had a traditional wedding ceremony. One of our volunteers played the priest, as in Croatia people are mostly wed at church. The wedding party was sitting and waiting for the bride's father to bring her to the 'altar'. As they arrived, the wedding ceremony was performed, and we finally had our fake newlyweds! 

After the ceremony, the wedding party and the band went around the old town, walking, singing, dancing, and waving Croatian flags - this is what we do at every wedding. It is also common for the wedding party to drive around the city in cars, honking, singing, and stopping the traffic. Crazy, right? After the stroll around the city, and plenty of photos taken by tourists, we came to our student club, where we waited for the bride and the groom to make their special entrance followed by music. We then continued with the dinner, where our waiters served homemade delicacies and various salads that were donated by a local, family-owned farm. The newlyweds performed the first dance while the song Vjeruj u ljubav (Believe in Love) by famous Croatian singer Oliver Dragojević was playing. This song is often used as the first dance song in Croatia. 

A local pastry shop donated us a real wedding cake, so it was time for newlyweds to cut it. The tradition says that the first one to grab the knife will be the man of the house - in this case, it would be our bride, as she managed to grab it first! They cut the cake, traditionally fed each other a piece, and then each guest got a slice. 

The festivity continued until late hours with a party that was open for local university students as well.

Big thanks to our donors who gave us a wedding veil, wedding cake, bread, salads, drinks, bouquets, etc., and the most amazing volunteers of ESN the network has ever seen!