Features of a Russian wedding

Having met the chosen one in another country, you decided to get married. The question immediately arises in which country it is better to register a marriage. The point is in documentary features, and in the fact that the pleasure of the event must be shared with friends, relatives of both the groom and the bride. All couples deal with this issue in their own way. Someone has a wedding in Russia, in the homeland of the bride, someone has a wedding in the homeland of the groom. Some couples celebrate their wedding twice - in Russia and in the country of the groom. All people try to celebrate a magnificent wedding, because this is a joyful event - the creation of a new family! In Russia, there are original traditions of celebrating a wedding, rooted in antiquity. Now the wedding ceremony has become easier. However, the Russian wedding has retained some features.

Bride-show

Sometimes they still arrange brides in accordance with the preserved Russian traditions. The groom's relatives come to the bride's house to assess the conditions in which the girl lives, to get acquainted with her parents, to assess the appearance, charm, ability to meet guests, and the bride's culinary skills. The groom's relatives unobtrusively evaluate the bride and approve or disapprove of the future marriage. In pre-revolutionary Russia, the decision to marry was mainly made by the parents of the parties, so there were often cases of disapproval of the bride. Not all couples dare to get married without the blessing of their parents. Nowadays, such "shows" are considered a tribute to tradition. However, the assessment of the groom's relatives is extremely important for the future bride.

Matchmaking

The groom's representatives come to the bride's house and officially ask for her hand in marriage. This visit is called "matchmaking". Among the representatives of the groom may be relatives and close friends. Friends and relatives talk about the merits of the groom, present him in the best light and ask the bride's parents to marry off their daughter. The groom should stand aside and be modestly silent. Now this tradition is purely symbolic and is another reason for close acquaintance of relatives and friends of the parties. More often, the official consent to marriage is asked by the groom in the presence of representatives or even without them. Consent to marriage is asked from parents as a sign of respect for them, but the decision almost always remains with the girl. The groom gives the bride a ring and promises to do everything possible for her happiness.

Engagement or "agreement"

From the moment of the engagement, people who love each other are officially considered the bride and groom. This is the time of mutual symbolic gifts, reunification of relatives, filing an application with the registry office, and preparation for the wedding. The engagement period can last from one month to six months. The costs of the wedding are distributed among relatives in different ways, depending on the financial situation of the families and the relationship between them.

Registration

Before registration in the registry office the bride's relatives and girlfriends are invited to the bride's house. They prepare the bride for the ceremony of wedding and wait for the bridegroom. When the bridegroom comes, the girl-friends of the bride arrange comic obstacles for the bridegroom. The bridegroom should "buy out" the bride from the girl-friends. This custom is very symbolic - it means that the right for the bride passes to the bridegroom. Cheerful, loving to joke girl-friends think of a set of barriers for the bridegroom on the way to the bride: going upstairs to the apartment or the room where the bride is , the bridegroom puts a coin on each step, answers riddles and comic questions of the girl-friends, guesses, in what room the bride is and so on. Having overcome all obstacles, the bridegroom presents the bride the wedding bouquet after which the young guests, witnesses, relatives and visitors go to the solemn wedding ceremony in the registry office. After the wedding ceremony the newly married couple with friends go on walks in memorable places of the city, bringing flowers to memorials. The bridegroom transfers the bride through the wedding bridge as a token of the courage and the promise of care of the new family.

After the walk round the city the newly married couple and the visitors go to the wedding feast. They usually hire a cafe or a restaurant. The wedding feasts are accompanied by an abundance of dishes, spirits, noisy fun, songs, dances, draws. The holiday is guided by the invited toast-master - he makes the script of the celebration and directs fun. They often play sketches from life and distribute family roles.

Church wedding

In the last two decades the church wedding has become very popular among the Russians. Though the Soviet years accustomed people to be skeptical about the church wedding. Many couples now want their marriage to be blessed in the church. According to the law, the church marriage is of no validity. The procedure of a wedding is made usually after registration of the official marriage. The orthodox church blesses the happy union of the newly married couple, their love and consent. Before the church wedding the newly married couple maintain a seven-day post, pray, confess and get the Lord's supper. The church wedding consists of a betrothal (a triple exchange of rings between husband and wife), marrying (blessings by the priest of the marriage), haloing (when husband and wife proclaim each other a tsar and a tsarina ) and a gratifying service. Then the newly married couple is given three drinks - first to the husband, then to the wife - from a bowl with red wine. The bowl is a symbol of the common destiny of the married couple. At the end of the ceremony the priest connects the hands of the married couple, puts the hand on theirs and leads them around the lectern three times. This procedure means eternal procession with the divine blessing which has henceforth begun for the couple. The sacrament of marriage comes to an end with a chaste kiss of husband and wife and congratulations from relatives and friends.