Ukrainian families have been in Canada since the 1890s, and their wedding traditions are woven into Prairie life, from Edmonton and Winnipeg to Saskatoon, Regina and rural halls across Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Many Polish, Slovak, Romanian and other Eastern European families share similar customs.
Families do things in their own ways, so ask your parents and grandparents what matters most to them.
The korovai
The korovai is a large, round, beautifully decorated wedding bread, often topped with dough birds, braids and periwinkle. Traditionally it was baked by married women in the family while singing. Today many couples ask a relative or a Ukrainian bakery to make one. It is blessed, displayed at the reception and shared with guests.
The rushnyk
The rushnyk is an embroidered ritual cloth, usually white with red and black patterns that carry meaning in each region. The couple stand on a rushnyk during the ceremony, and a rushnyk is often used to bind their hands or to hold the korovai and the icons during the blessing. Many families keep one for each generation.
The blessing and the ceremony
Before the ceremony, parents often bless the couple with bread, salt and an icon. In a Ukrainian Catholic or Orthodox church, the ceremony includes crowns held or placed over the couple's heads and a walk around the tetrapod (the small table) three times.
The zabava
The zabava is the dance, and on the Prairies it is often a big community party in a hall, with a live band playing polkas, the kolomyika and the hopak. Late in the night, many weddings serve a midnight lunch of kielbasa, buns and pickles. Ask your venue about live bands and a late-night food service.
What to ask venues and vendors
- ✦Is there a Ukrainian or community hall near you that hosts weddings?
- ✦Can the caterer make perogies, holubtsi and kielbasa, or can you bring a family caterer?
- ✦Does the band or DJ know the kolomyika and the polkas your family loves?
- ✦Is there a bakery that makes a korovai?
On OpenDates, businesses can tick the traditions they know well. Browse Ukrainian and Eastern European wedding businesses across Canada.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes the korovai?
Traditionally married women in the family. Many couples now ask a relative or a Ukrainian bakery, often in Edmonton, Winnipeg or Toronto.
What does it mean to step onto the rushnyk first?
In folk tradition, whoever steps onto the rushnyk first will lead the household. Many couples step on together.
What is a midnight lunch?
A late snack served during the dance, often kielbasa, cheese, buns and pickles, so the party can keep going.
Plan it in one place
Find venues and vendors free on your date with OpenDates, and keep the guest list, budget, wedding website and seating chart together in OpenDates Ever After, free for couples.
Congratulations! Kristina
Photos from Pexels.