Before the wedding, the bride's friends traditionally plant a tree in her yard and decorate it with colored ribbons and painted eggshells, because, according to legend, the bride will live as long as the tree.
Reproduction plays a central role in the Czechoslovakian wedding ceremony. Before the marriage vows, a baby is placed in the couple's bed, to bless their fertility. The bride is also given three motherhood-promoting dishes: wheat for fertility, millet mixed with ashes that she must sort through in order to prove her patience, and in the third a sparrow hides under the lid.
During the wedding ceremony, Czech woman surround the bride, dancing and singing. They then remove her veil and put on a handmade babushka.