milan is married!!

just got back from a great few days in slovakia, for Milan's wedding to Marcelka (sorry for wrong spelling!!) brenda and i travelled together, and we joined the rest of the international aiesec crew there in levoca, beautiful small home town of the bride...even though we were late for the wedding we managed to enjoy the festivities...

which included the groom carrying the bride over the threshold, smashing a glass and then cleaning it up, despite the best efforts of the parents! the couple also ate a piece of salty bread to show their commitment to the good times and the bad, and after a welcome speech by the restaurant owner, the party began. after copious amounts of wine, beer, spirit shots and several servings of food, the bride was "kidnapped" by the groom's friends and taken to a nearby bar...where they waited for the groom to find them, meanwhile racking up a bill for the groom to pay.

after the bride was "rescued" she sat in the centre of a circle, surrounded by females, singing with candles...then the best man of the groom entered carrying a big knife - he said to the bride, "remove your wedding veil and put a scarf on your head to show you're a wife, or i'll chop off your head"....the bride defied him and said, "no". so he then brought out a bigger knife, more like a sword, and again repeated his threat....again the bride defied him....so he brought out a HUGE AXE!!! this time the bride agreed after he made the same threat...her veil was removed and replaced with a nice scarf on her head. luckily we were prepared for this ritual and didn't freak out!

the bride and groom were hoisted into the air on their chairs, where they performed a couple of feats, then the guests made a donation and took a vodka shot in order to dance with the bride and groom...

all in all it was a great night and we were very happy to be a part of milan and marcelka's special day :)