History of čepčenie:

A basic, important wedding ceremony, symbolizing the transformation of a single girl into a married woman. In the past, it followed only after the wedding night. Later, the shortening of the wedding and the disappearance of placing the young couple on the bed combined with the folding of the wreath into one ceremony. Its importance is evidenced by the fact that it was preserved for a long time even after caps were no longer worn as part of the clothing of married women.

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Tapping used to be the exclusive business of married women, who sang ceremonial songs with motifs of farewell and changes in the bride's life, but also erotic songs about married life. The groom had to buy the trapped young from the women. The groom had the right to present the buttoned-up bride to the wedding guests. Tapping is still one of the most widespread traditional customs at weddings.

 

The taping was followed by the ceremonial dance of the already taped bride (called variously, e.g. redev, vručanka, etc.). This dance was according to the appointed order with all the wedding guests. There was usually a fee for the dance, and the money belonged to the bride. In the southern and eastern parts of Slovakia, the dance ended with the groom running away with the bride or paying the groom for her. The dance of the wedding party with the buttoned-up bride meant that she was recognized as a married woman and that she was accepted among the adult members of the community. This dance, in the form of capping, is one of the most widespread wedding customs preserved to this day.

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source: SLOVAKIA. European contexts of folk culture, Rastislava STOLIČNÁ (Ed.) Bratislava Veda 2000. ISBN 80-224-0646-5