Russian weddings are bright and joyful, but if you’re a foreign man, planning a wedding can be a complicated task. You should know numerous aspects of Russian marriage culture, including preparation, wedding celebration, and outfit. Some wedding parties last for two days. Women can’t imagine a traditional Russian wedding without traditional ceremonies, funny games, and other fascinating details, making this big day unforgettable. Would you like to know everything about these traditions and plan an ideal wedding with a beloved? Then this article is for you! Keep reading!
Engagement is an important part of Russian marriage culture
It isn’t a secret that engagement is an essential piece of a marriage with a girl from Russia. You should ask for her parent’s permission before popping the question. Traditionally, men give their soulmates an engagement ring with one diamond. Some guys also bring flowers and arrange a romantic evening. Everything depends on your financial opportunities and imagination!
Wedding preparations
Marriage in Russian culture is one of the most desirable days, so Russian couples arrange lots of things in advance to make their wedding really exciting. They rent a wedding car decorated with flowers and balloons to drive around the city, book a restaurant, and choose a photographer and cameraman who will catch the best moments of the day. Also, newlyweds invite a toastmaster who announces performances, gives the floor to guests who want to make a toast, and holds fun contests. What else should you plan and buy?
Wedding rings
The idea of exchanging wedding rings was taken to Russia from the West, but there is a small difference. In Russia, the newlyweds put a wedding ring on each other’s right hand. If you wear it on the left hand, it means that you’re divorced, so keep this fact in mind.
Clothes
A white wedding dress of a bride is a part of Russian marriage customs. Although some women choose a simple and formal outfit, the majority of brides in Russia choose stylish dresses and a veil which sometimes obscures their faces. Girls purchase or rent them in bridal salons. As for grooms, they prefer dark suits with white shirts.
Today, more and more men follow the western dressing style, choosing bow ties and tuxedos. If you’re a foreigner, you shouldn’t worry a lot about your outfit as your manner of wearing clothes will probably be trendy in Russia. This is one of the reasons why Russian women like American men.
Parts of a Russian Orthodox wedding ceremony
What do foreigners have to know when they plan to marry a Russian lady? Find out the most important details which you mustn’t miss below.
Official registration
According to Russian wedding traditions, newlyweds submit an advance application to the registry office called ZAGS. This body for marriage registration allows making your union legal. Russian couples fill in the application several months in advance to have enough time to prepare for the wedding day and celebration. Today, there’s a tendency to choose different days for an official procedure and a wedding party. When the big day comes, newlyweds visit ZAGS to receive an official marriage certificate.
Witnesses
The official marriage registration process requires the presence of two witnesses. Typically, couples choose their two close friends who wear a special sash to identify their position. These people are the maid of honor and the best man. When you plan to marry and want to organize your Russian wedding, think about people whom you’d like to offer to be witnesses.
What else do Russian Orthodox wedding traditions include?
There are some customs that are typical for weddings in Russia. When you come from another country, you should follow or, at least, accept them. You may discuss some details with your future spouse.
“Ransom”
Almost every wedding in Russia starts with a groom arriving at his bride’s home, where she waits for him with her parents. There’s a custom of future wife’s “kidnapping” in which a groom is asked to pay a “ransom” to “free” his beloved. Sometimes relatives and friends hide a bride in her room and place various “obstacles” in your way, make jokes, and ask you to play different games. It’s a fun beginning of a wedding day, so take it with humor. For a “ransom,” you may use sweets, a bottle of champagne, or money. When your bride’s family is satisfied with a “ransom,” you get your beloved back to continue a wedding day.
There are some other variants of the “Ransom,” which include dressing up a male relative of the fiancé in a wedding gown and refusing to hand over the real bride until the payment has been made. Sometimes instead of a bride, relatives present a napkin covered in the lipstick prints of the bridal party. If the fiancé can’t identify the bride’s print correctly, he is also up for cash. When you think about buying a Russian bride, you may include this custom there.
“Gorko!”
When you marry a Russian woman, get ready for some Slavic wedding traditions her relatives and friends stick to. “Gorko” is one of the most favorite customs you may face at a wedding celebration. Typically, the first and all the next toasts include it. Someone will shout out “Gorko,” which means that a bride and a groom must kiss for as long as possible to demonstrate the power of their feelings for one another. Also, guests count how many seconds the kiss lasts, and in a case when it isn’t long enough, visitors can shout out that drinks are still bitter and demand a longer kiss.
Every Russian wedding is special and unforgettable for everybody. It’s full of live music, delicious food, drinks, dances, laughs, and games. Would you like to enjoy such a great day in your life? Bear in mind all common Russian wedding traditions and pop the question to a gorgeous woman from Russia!
