Today I went to my first Russian wedding. There are many similarties to an American wedding. The bride wore a white dress and veil and looked beautiful. The photographer and videographer went a bit crazy with their cameras. There was a reception and a cake. They signed an official paper for their marriage. There were also many differences.
Close friends and family met at noon at ZAKS, the official wedding registration building. The bride and groom pulled up in a decorated car with their best man and maid of honor, that is the entire wedding party. Everyone goes into ZAKS together to watch the official ceremony. A woman presided over the ceremony. She gave orders to the bride and groom as to what it means to be a wife and husband. Then they signed the papers and we were done in about 15 minutes. Half of the people missed the ceremony because Russians are notoriously late. After that we all went to a near by park to watch them take pictures. That took over an hour. There were many bridal parties at the park. Then the groom made sure all the cars were decorated and we went to another park where they took more pictures and video. I think their video is going to look like a real movie. After the second park it was time to head for the church.
The church was about 45 minutes away. All of the cars were able to stay together because they were all decorated so people knew we were in a wedding party. The drivers honked their horns and went on through red lights and all. On the way to the church we had to pull over so the driver of the bride and grooms car could add oil!
The church was decorated in a sea theme. There was a large buffet table down the middle and tables all around the edges. We welcomed the bride and groom and then they had their Christian ceremony. The pastor spoke on marriage and they said there vows. We went straight from the ceremony into the reception. Throughout the reception there were different games that were played. The MC was my former room mate Masha and she kept things lively. Throughout the reception people shared well wishes to the bride and groom and gave them there presents. There was also a time to do this by microphone but I shared with them privately. We left before the cake and the dancing. I had already been with them six hours.
Today was a beautiful day for a wedding. Oh and another difference grooms don't wear tuxes they wear suits. Also both sets of parents give their children away.
1 comment:
Sounds like a fun cultural experience. Doubt I'll make it to a Czech wedding as they tend to be very small and private and the only chance I would likely have is that one of our American teachers is marrying a Czech, but I'll already be gone. Ah well. Sounds like a great day though. Hope you're doing well. When do you move on to NN?
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