According to a Croatian tradition, when a couple marries, the priest doesn’t tell them that they’ve found the perfect person. Instead they say: “You have found your cross. It’s a cross to love, to carry with you, a cross not to throw away but to cherish”.
In Herzegovina the Cross represents the greatest love and the crucifixion is the treasure of the house.
When the bride and groom enter the church on their wedding day, they carry a crucifix. The priest is blessing the crucifix. When it is time for the exchange of vows, the bride places her right hand on the crucifix and the groom places his on top of his, so that both hands join together on the crucivix.
The priest covers their hands with the stool as they exchange vows, according to the Church rite, to be faithful to one another, in joy and in sadness, in health and in sickness, until death do they part.
So instead of kissing, the newlyweds kiss the crucifix. Those who attend the ceremony understand from what if one of them leaves the other, he leaves Christ on the Cross.
After the ceremony, the bride and groom take home the crucifix and place it in a place of honor. It will always be the point of reference and place of family prayer. In times of trouble, the family doesn’t go to a lawyer or a psychiatrist, but they kneel down together in front of the crucifixion asking for help from Jesus Christ. They kneel and maybe even cry and open their hearts asking forgiveness from the Lord and others. They go to sleep with peace in their hearts because they have received forgiveness from the only one who has the power to save.
Husband and wife will teach their children to kiss the crucifix every day and not to fall asleep like the heathens, without first thanking Jesus. They know Jesus has them in His arms and there is nothing to fear.
Source My Marriage From God’s Hand