Veiled and dressed, Nada is not permitted to leave home for the wedding ceremony until Jovo/Joey's brothers jokingly negotiate a bride price with her father, who must seal the bargain by drinking a cup of slivovitz (plum brandy). The bridegroom is waiting for Nada at the church.
Katrina Thomas's notes: Serbian society centers around the Orthodox Church, as does the community in Milwaukee, where I photograph two weddings in a splendid cathedral, built in 1956-58, in which couples celebrate both the nuptial rite and the reception. One couple belongs to a folk dance group and elects to wear national dress, keeping many old-world customs at the home of the bride before the church ceremony as well as later during the reception in the church hall.
