Buy the Bride! (or why I wish I was Serbian)

Coming up soon (as in, as soon as I can get it together) I am going to feature the adorable and absolutely romantic wedding of Vedrana and Josh, but before I do I wanted to first tell you about this awesome tradition they incorporated into their wedding.  Vedrana's family is Serbian and so before the wedding, they participated in an event known as the buying of the bride.  Ok, so maybe I've taken enough feminist legal theory to know that one might argue this is unfeminist- you know, the whole "women are not chattel" thing.  But with those days long gone, the way I see it, embracing a tradition like this is exactly what weddings are all about.   Personal, meaningful, and fun.  And when you see these pictures, I think you will agree.

On the big day, while Vedrana and her girls got their hair done, her parents pitched big white tents in their front yard, decorated, got out loads of tasty food, and invited over a slew of family and friends.  The groomsmen then brought Josh to "buy" Vedrana from her cousin Danilo.  Before she was "sold", two fake brides were paraded out of the house (guys dressed as girls) and "heated negotiations" ensued (all in hilariously good fun).  Eventually Josh left (clearly fed up with the faux-bride antics), and the best man finally negotiated a "price" and bought Vedrana for the groom- which in actuality, was the best man's wedding gift to the couple.  Afterwards, everyone celebrated until it was time to head to the church!

I mean, isn't this the best way you can think of to get rid of those pre-wedding jitters?  I love it!