Development director renews marriage vows in Poland

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Dana Lucka and her husband enjoy a vodka glass toss at the reception for their traditional wedding in Poland.

by April Schulthies

At American wedding receptions you throw a bouquet over your shoulder, but Fresno state alumna Dana Lucka threw a vodka glass.

In a Catholic ceremony July 17 in Poland, Lucka and her husband renewed their vows and enjoyed Polish wedding traditions.

Lucka started working on campus in May 1997 as the development director for the School of Engineering and Computer Science. "Shortly thereafter I met my husband by stepping on his foot while dancing with friends," Lucka said.

Her husband, Wojciech, actually proposed to her just south of Santa Cruz on a beach in Rio Del Mar, where her dad proposed to her mom.

"He proposed while we were both standing in the water," said Lucka. "It was very romantic."

The first wedding - which took place March 21, 1998, in Fresno - went without a hitch, said Lucka. Judge Robert Oliver, a Fresno State alumnus, performed the ceremony on a crisp sunny day.

"It rained every day that month except the day of the wedding," Lucka said. "It was a beautiful ceremony."

The wedding in Poland was equally beautiful but not quite so simple. It required many preliminary meetings and a great deal of paperwork that had to be translated and notarized. But there was an even greater problem.

"My biggest hurdle was that the priest wanted me to say my vows in Polish," Lucka explained. "Polish is fraught with consonants. I tried my best, but it was not easy."

Lucka described the pitfalls of speaking Polish. Since her heritage is Croatian, Lucka speaks that language, which proved a complication during her practice sessions. "There was a line that was supposed to mean 'I will love you until I die,'" Lucka said. "My Croatian accent made it sound like 'I will love you until you stink.'"

While Lucka did not have a problem with pronunciation during the ceremony, her friends, and even the priest, grinned as she said her vows, waiting to see if she might make the same mistake she made while practicing.

The Catholic ceremony took place at Przemienienia Panskiego Church in a small town an hour south of Warsaw. The church - which dates from the 1300s - was chosen because it is in Sierzchowy, where Lucka's father-in-law grew up.

For the reception there was no shortage of flowers, said Lucka, since a Polish tradition is to greet the new bride and groom with many bouquets of flowers. Instead of throwing rice, the guests throw coins. "The tradition is that, for good luck, you must pick up all the coins," Lucka said. "My husband and I spent half an hour gathering them up."

At the reception, the bride and groom were greeted with bread and salt, which represent wishes from their parents for a prosperous life. Afterward guests sang a song wishing the couple 100 years of happiness.

"The Polish people are a warm and wonderfully spiritual people," Lucka said. "We enjoyed sharing this ceremony with our parents in Poland."

Lucka's parents accompanied her to Poland, along with her husband's sons, Dominik and Nikodem.

Lucka holds dual citizenship - American and Polish - which she applied for one month after her marriage. She described the process of becoming a Polish citizen as being a pleasant one compared to her husband's ordeal getting U.S. citizenship. She was actually served tea at the Polish consulate and even welcomed as a new citizen by a charming Polish official who kissed her hand.

As for their 25th wedding anniversary, Lucka thinks she and her husband may again make exciting plans. "Maybe we'll find another country in which to renew our vows," Lucka said, smiling. "Maybe this time it will be Croatia."

Lucka is currently earning a master's degree in higher education administration at Fresno State. Lucka's husband, Wojciech, has a master's degree from the University of Warsaw in entomology and now teaches zoology in the Riverdale Unified School District.