You may now refer to me as Mrs. I....

The day of our wedding was cold and rainy.

I was cleaning the apartment when his family arrived (30 minutes early!). My fiance was out taking the food to the place where the reception was being held, so I was alone. I got them all settled (not easy, since my Serbian is weak and their English is pretty much non-existent) and went ahead and changed into my "wedding clothes". I don't have any fancy things here so I just wore a black skirt and a white blouse. He wore his tux, but no tie, which was fine by me. I thought he looked very handsome.

They all had some drinks and then we went to the Novi Sad City Hall to be married. When we arrived, there were Roma out on the streets playing music on their instruments, attempting to drum up business. That's fine. But, there were also many of them out begging for money from everyone. They would come right up next to us, interrupting our conversations, and being quite obnoxious. After the wedding, when we were leaving, they practically followed us into the cars!

The place where the weddings are held is nice. It's a long hall with a red carpet on the floor and a large desk at the head where the Justice of the Peace (we would call it that in LA) and our translator stood. I had to have a translator, since I am American.

Our Kums and friends and family all marched up to the desk with us when the strains of the "Wedding March" began. Then we stood and the service began. The JP wore a sash in the colors of the Serbian flag and she performed the ceremony very nicely. Our translator gave me a copy of the ceremony in both Serbian and English. The whole thing took about 10 minutes.

Afterwards, we posed for pictures and then I threw the wedding bouquet. There were only two single women there. Here's a pictures of me and the woman who caught it:


I am very happy that Donna caught the bouquet. She is my husband's Kum's girlfriend and has always been very kind to me. She does my hair for me and when we travel for Martial Arts events, she always comes with us. She's a lot of fun.

Our reception was held at a friend's bar. It was a typical celebration for this part of the world with lots of drink, food, and singing. Later that evening, after we came home, my husband's friends from work came over for more food and drink.

The whole experience was very low key and comfortable. I've never been to a wedding performed by a Justice of the Peace in America, so I don't know if it would be the same. Since we are both older (I won't say mature) and this is not a first marriage for either of us, I think it was just perfect. The most important thing is that our friends and his family were there.

A Ring and A Date

Our wedding is set for Oct. 28, 2007 - the day before my birthday. It's funny. Where I am from, people don't get married on Sunday. Here, it seems to be the busiest day.

We went last night and looked at rings. There is a street here in Novi Sad with jewelry stores one after another. Rings are priced together...the woman's and the man's.

We just walked down the street, going into each store in turn. We were looking for simple wedding bands and settled on one that is brushed with thin polished edges. I really like the ring and it's not too expensive. Some of the rings we looked at were over 300 Euro, which is quite out of our league - for that kind of money, I think there should be a diamond involved...haha.

We went to Novi Sad city hall after we got back from the American Consulate to turn in our papers to be married. The lady in the office there was very kind and efficient and got our papers in order and said that since this is an "international" marriage, I will receive a marriage certificate in English and in Serbian. I also must have someone there who is official to translate the ceremony for me. That's fine with me, I want to know what is said! This marriage will be legal in America.

She will perform the wedding. In Serbia, only civil marriages are recognized and they must be done in the city halls. The service takes 10 minutes, she said. There is a special room that the services are held in.

While we were in the city hall office, young couples came and went, scheduling their own weddings. When we were looking at rings, there were two other young couples doing the same thing. We kept running into them in the stores.

After the wedding, we will either come to our apartment for drinks, food and celebration or we may be able to rent a place in our building to hold this celebration. Depends on how much that will cost. There will be 12 of us altogether. In the meantime, I am doing some deep cleaning of our little place to be prepared.

Lots of people here have a church wedding after the civil ceremony. Since my love and I are both Catholics and this is the second marriage for each of us, we can't marry in the church. I don't want to get into all of that, but suffice it to say we are doing the best that we can with what we have. I feel blessed.

I spoke to my parents and both of my kids to let them know. It was very nice when I spoke to my daughter. I thought she would just hang up on me, but she didn't. We spoke for a few minutes. My love even said at one point, I laughed. I was so nervous and excited I don't remember much of what was said. It was very nice and again, I am grateful for answered prayers. There is still a long way to go, but at least there is a crack in the ice.

Saturday Weddings

It's a little after 2:30 in the afternoon on a Saturday and I hear outside my window cars going by and horns honking. I know without looking that someone else has married today.
People here drive their cars, in a line (like we in the US do for funerals) with the lights on, horns honking and flying large Serbian flags out of the window. The car carrying the bride and groom is usually decorated with white ribbon, etc. like the cars of bridal parties in the US. Those of us walking on the street smile and wave to them. It is a happy time for all.

An Evening Out

Recently, we went out to eat at the Fontana Restaurant in Novi Sad. It is located in the town center area. Delicious food and wonderful Cerni (Red)Vino. I had the chicken...a huge piece of chicken breast, cooked and covered with cheese, accompanied with fried potatoes and a tasty salad:



While we were there, a young couple was holding their wedding reception. As we ate, the wedding cake passed by and I took a quick photo:



The young couple had a Roma band playing. There were several horns and a drummer. The music was very interesting and our host, the owner's son, took me to the room where the reception was being held and I was able to watch and listen for a few minutes. The people were dancing and having a wonderful time.