What an intriguing and exciting event wedding is! I suppose everyone agrees with me! Girls imagine themselves wearing beautiful white dresses and veils, young men desire their beloved to be the most glamorous of all the brides.
Normally the ceremony is prepared half a year beforehand. Everything starts from the proposal of the fiancé that is done solemnly on some family holiday or tête-à-tête in a restaurant, café or whatever. Sometimes the two just come to that decision together. From then on all the wedding cares begin. This period is both tiresome and pleasant. The engaged decide on the date, place, the guests invited from the both parties, photographers… oh! But poor engaged are helped by the chosen best man and bridesmaid (there is only one bridesmaid on Russian weddings). They are in charge of plenty of things; actually they are responsible for the ceremony organized well.
From time to time especially in small towns in order to submit the wedding application to the registry office couples have to spend a night near the entrance as the competition for the dates and time is very tough! In Russia the marriage is to be registered officially in these special registry offices. If the couple wishes they may additionally get married in church. But that is not obligatory. Friday is one of the most popular days for a wedding ceremony as the weekends are following and there is enough time for celebration! Several days before the wedding the engaged organize the hen-party and a stag-party to say goodbye to their previous life together with their close friends.
The very day is extremely nervous for everyone. From the early morning a bride is getting prepared for the ceremony with the help of her bridesmaid. Before going to the register office for the official ceremony there is usually a tradition called the ransom of the bride (Vykup nevesty) Historically grooms had to pay some amount of money, a ransom for their future wife but currently money does not mean much and is only symbolic. What does matter is special trials for a groom and his friends to overcome and prove the groom’s right to marry the bride. Some of the tasks are really challenging and they show how smart and witty the groom is! For instanc, the men should find the bride on the childhood photo among other children, come up with a song, dance, confess in love in some unusual way…The main aim of the groom is to step by step reach the bride and gift her a wedding bouquet.
After that there is usually a small celebration when the guests and the relatives wish good luck to the couple and give some advice and then everyone set off to the registry office.
The atmosphere in the office is very solemn and plenty of couples feel sensation and even fear! Inside the office the couple is separated; the bride and all the women go the Bride’s room, the groom and the rest of the men – to the Groom’s room. There everyone wishes good luck to the future wife and the groom and have the chance to spend a few last minutes together, the bride makes the last preparations, the photographer makes snapshots in both of the rooms.
Soon all the fears vanish when the couple is invited to the hall for the registration. They are asked about their free will to marry and exchange the rings as the symbols of their marriage, trust and love. The new-weds leave their signatures in the register book and from now on they are called husband and wife. They kiss each other to confirm their alliance.
When you go down the street it’s impossible not to notice a wedding procession; the cars are decorated with flowers, balloons and dolls, they are beeping all the time - that means that the couple is just married and everyone expresses happiness that way.
Between a wedding ceremony and an informal party there is usually a couple of hours. That’s a good chance for the guests to rest a bit and for the new-weds and their close friends and relatives to do some more rituals. For instance, one of the most exciting traditions is the wedding stroll. During the stroll the new-weds visit some famous places of their town, make a photoset. Besides there are traditions that are kind of a must for every wedding; the husband should carry the wife across seven bridges on his arms, the couple should lock a padlock on a bridge in the name of their love, they should break the glasses after drinking champagne and many others. That’s a chance to spend time with their nearest and dearest and to visit some important for the couple places.
In the evening everyone gathers together in a restaurant, a café or other place for the party. The new-weds are met with the bread and salt (“hleb-da-sol’). The husband and wife should bite off a piece of bread – the one whose piece is more is supposed to have more power in the relationships. The new-weds are in the centre of attention and it demands much preparation as well, for example, the couple usually learns a wedding dance; before their first dance noone is allowed to stand up from the table. Usually there is a special toast-maker (tamada) to entertain the guests: so the party is full of competitions, plays, jokes, dances and toasts. Every toast is ended with the words “gorko!” as the signal for the new-weds to kiss. The tradition is to count the seconds while they are kissing. By the end of the party they can’t do that at all as they are tired! Much depends on the best man and bridesmaid; they organize a couple of plays to help the toast-maker and keep everything under control.
The party usually lasts till the midnight when everyone comes back home exhausted but happy! The most close people will meet the next day - this also a tradition; the celebration continues at the new-weds’ place. There are plays, competitions, dances as well…
There is a belief: the more joyful the wedding parties are the better the life of the couple will be.
And after wedding new-weds usually spend their honey-moon in some warm countries, enjoying their new status and remembering about their wedding day!
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