Stylish modern wedding. Celebrating in a new way! Modern wedding. The place and time have been determined. What's next

Modern traditions at a Russian wedding in many respects have something in common with the traditions of past centuries and, for the most part, with the habits of the Soviet era. And with a great delay they are transformed into modernity - by the forces of pioneers and especially independent people. I often visit Russian weddings as a photographer, and according to my observations, our weddings have the following distinctive features:

1. Most newlyweds internally resist customary, but often no longer suitable for modern society, traditions and, in principle, do not want their wedding to be held "like everyone else," but as a result, it often turns out that way.

2. Russian people were taught from birth to responsibility and awareness of their own importance through the prism of the perception of others. Therefore, we are quite critical of ourselves. Hence the main style of wedding photography - portrait-staging-photoshop. Reporting is somehow not particularly appreciated, while the civilized world has long preferred reportage cards, sometimes with faces and figures distorted by emotions or wide lenses.

3. At Russian weddings, as a rule, there is a large amount of alcoholic beverages.

Now everything is in order.

Modern Russian wedding

The bride and groom in Russia get to know each other and decide on the wedding themselves. Sometimes it also happens that parents find out about the wedding of "children" after registration. Most often, however, all possible relatives, as well as friends of Vkontakte, etc., know about the wedding in advance. The date of marriage registration (this strange word is called the beginning of life together in Russia) is planned for Russians from six months to a month in advance.

During these six months, the bride (grooms are more often somehow not particularly bother with preparing for the wedding) lives in constant stress. Preparation for the wedding takes place both in a dream and in reality. You need to have time to make a list of guests, find a cafe or catering center for a banquet, figure out where to go for a walk with the photographer after registration, where to get normal shoes, what kind of ruffles will be on the dress, etc. In this, Russian traditions are not very different from any others. In general, for some brides, the pre-wedding six months is a real madhouse.

The bride's wedding dress is traditionally white. Until the time of Catherine the Second bride's dress in Russia was red. The white dress of the bride, which now symbolizes purity and purity in our country, came from Ancient Greece - there it was a symbol of joy and prosperity. Catherine got married in a white dress and thus completely changed the Russian tradition.

A wedding day, like in any other country, begins with hair, makeup and dressing. It happens differently for everyone: the bride can do her hair and makeup in a beauty salon with a specially trained hairdresser and make-up artist, or maybe in her own room with improvised tools.

The groom takes less time and effort to get ready.

But other trials sometimes fall on him (decorate a car, get a wedding bouquet, and so on).

Meanwhile, the bride's commotion continues. After all, this is not some kind of bouquet to buy there (pre-selected by the bride), but you need to properly style the curls, lace up the dress and all that - these are more serious matters.

Parents and girlfriends also participate in the preparation: they rush around the apartment, checking whether all the bottles have been transferred to the cars, whether enough sandwiches have been made for a walk, whether everything is ready to meet the groom and whether he has already arrived.

And so, a car drives up, from which the groom comes out with a bouquet and then ... the ransom begins. The procedure takes place at the entrance of the bride's house.

Ransom is perhaps the oldest tradition preserved in Russian weddings. Its meaning is fan. Bridesmaids need to torment the groom as much as possible, ask him a bunch of stupid tasks and riddles and at the same time receive a ransom from him - it can be money or some tasty treats that he doesn’t mind giving for the bride.

The bride, meanwhile, finishes her preparations.

If she doesn’t have time, then the groom gets more.

In the end, the groom is allowed into the house, where he still needs to find a bride. Because here, too, they are trying to cheat him.

In the end, he finds a bride, and everyone drinks champagne on this occasion. Then a moment occurs, the roots of which have been preserved in modern times from antiquity, when the mother passed the so-called "talisman" to the bride. It could be jewelry or some kind of heirloom. These talismans were very much appreciated and under no circumstances were they sold. The bride, in turn, passed them on to her daughter on her wedding day. At modern weddings, this happens sometimes too.

After that, everyone goes to the registry office - a rather semi-official institution, from which the bride and groom leave as husband and wife.

On the doorstep of the registry office, other guests - relatives and friends - are drawn to the bride and groom. It's hard to say what is happening here: meeting friends .. or saying goodbye to bachelorhood). And so, at exactly the scheduled time, everyone is invited inside.

In the registry office, the newlyweds sign some kind of document (I never looked at it, even when I signed it myself), they officially agree in front of the official aunts (registry office workers) that they "get married" of their own free will, exchange rings, kiss - and all this in 5-10 minutes, because at this time dozens of other newlyweds are waiting for them, wishing to pass this part of the ceremony as soon as possible. The queue is another Russian tradition ..

And now it all happened! Now everyone congratulates the young people and goes outside to drink champagne on this occasion.

And now almost the most exhausting part of the wedding day begins (whoever is lucky with the photographer :) - a walk :)

True, there are some deviations from the above traditions. The most memorable wedding for me was in Kronstadt. There were only three of us at the wedding. When the guys left the registry office, we went to a cafe, where they took out their mobile phones and called their parents to inform them that they were now husband and wife. Until that moment, no one knew anything at all. It was cool.

Well, in the end, the tired newlyweds and the photographer go to a cafe, where relatives and friends who did not participate in the walk are already waiting for them.

Young people are greeted in a cafe and sprinkled with cereals and coins, which symbolizes wealth and prosperity. They can also pour in sweets (so that life is sweet) and all kinds of sparkles (so that everything is bright and romantic).

Then the parents of the young people present them with a loaf. This is also an old Russian tradition - from the loaf, the newly-made husband and wife simultaneously bite off a piece - whoever has a larger piece will allegedly dominate in life together. It's like a sign. And then the feast begins.

To begin with, guests open bottles of alcohol and drink about it. Then they shout "Bitterly" and the young, who are already insanely tired and hungry, should put down their forks, stand up and kiss.

Starting from the arrival at the cafe, the wedding scenario completely passes into the hands of one person - the toastmaster. This is also an ancient tradition that has been transformed in some way into modernity. Previously, they always chose a friend for a wedding. It had to be a wise and at the same time a cheerful person (a medicine man, an elder of the clan). Druzhka attended the wedding from the very beginning and was considered the main director and controller of this event. He monitored the observance of all the rituals and kept the fun among the guests. In ancient times, theatrical elements were present at the wedding - they were also led by a friend. Now all this has been transformed, and the following remains:

1. Druzhka is now called "toastmaster" and begins to lead only at the moment when tired and hungry guests and newlyweds come to the cafe and sit down at the tables.

2. Theatrical elements are often reduced to dressing up especially active guests (most often men dress up as women, and women in men), who have time to play several roles of not entirely clear purpose during the feast.

3. Toastmaster clearly distributes the time of raising toasts and shouting "Bitter" - most often this happens with a frequency of once every 5-10 minutes. Between the toasts, there is also the giving of gifts by guests, which is strictly distributed by the toastmaster, interspersed with the reading of wishes, written most often in poetic form on specially purchased postcards.

4. By the time the celebration begins, guests and newlyweds have time to get quite tired and hungry and most often think about the meal, from which they are constantly distracted. Therefore, the saturation process is delayed and lasts almost until the end of the party.

5. In the conduct of the toastmaster, one often senses the same special Russian formality and excessive “responsibility”. Therefore, the feast can be conditionally divided into two parts: the "meal" especially loved by the guests and the not entirely clear, but traditional "official part". Both parts are mixed with everyone's fun and the result is quite funny and festive.

Previously, the wedding celebration lasted three days. The second day was spent at the parents' house, and on the third day guests came to the house of the young. It is difficult to say exactly when these days were reduced to one - partly this happened during the Soviet era (people were busy with work), partly during the post-perestroika crisis - when even one day of the holiday was too expensive for young people and their parents.

Today, a wedding is no longer a complex of complex rituals, as it was in the days of our ancestors. Fashion and time change the way we think about the wedding ceremony and make their own adjustments. However, some wedding ceremonies are still preserved, albeit in a somewhat "modernized" version.

A wedding is a kind of magical sacrament, which is an important event in life for each of us. It testifies to the acquisition of a family hearth. In this regard, there is a huge number of rituals, traditions and signs. Any wedding ceremony has its own history and carries a deep meaning. Careful observance of wedding traditions was for our ancestors to some extent an opportunity to "influence" the future life. Modern wedding ceremonies are only an addition to the wedding feast, most of us do not even know or think about their meaning. Nowadays, a wedding is a festive event, organized to the best of the possibilities, ideas and knowledge of the organizers of this event.

The tradition of parents getting to know each other before the wedding has survived to this day. Usually on this day, at a festively laid table, parents discuss the organization of the wedding and the material side of the issue.

Also in our time, the tradition has been preserved on the eve of the wedding to hold stag and hen parties. As a rule, this is a party-farewell to a free girlish (single) life, which is attended by close bridesmaids (friends) of the bride (groom). The bachelor and bachelorette parties are held in different locations. This tradition is not as old as, for example, the custom of covering the bride's head with a veil. This rite is already several thousand years old. The head and face of the bride was covered with a veil, first of all, to protect from damage and the evil eye. In addition, the veil symbolizes the purity, innocence, modesty and integrity of the newlywed. After the marriage ceremony, only the husband is allowed to lift the veil.

The ceremony of redemption of the bride from bridesmaids and parents is also observed today. Today it is the most fun, beautiful and spectacular part of the wedding. The groom will have to overcome a number of trials, show off intellect, strength and erudition in order to obtain the right to possess the lady of his heart.

The church wedding ceremony is reviving again today. Increasingly, lovers want to unite their love not only in front of the public, but also in the face of God. Earlier, after the wedding of the newlyweds, it was customary to shower with grain. This action acted as a wish for wealth, strength of relations, and to have many children. Instead of grains, many countries today use rice, raisins, candy, money, rose petals, grains, or nuts. The meaning of this ceremony has been preserved. Today, the newlyweds can only shower at the exit from the registry office (if a wedding in the church is not provided). It was customary to sprinkle flowers on the way from the church to the house of the young. This rite is somewhat reminiscent of a pagan one. Nowadays, this tradition is observed more because of its beauty and solemnity of the moment.

The tradition of wearing a white dress for a wedding appeared relatively recently, about two hundred years ago, during the reign of Catherine. Initially, the bride's wedding dress in Russia was supposed to be red. White color symbolizes purity and purity, so a white wedding dress began to mean a girl's entry into a new life. It was the white color that became the obligatory symbol of the wedding.

The ceremony of exchanging newlywed rings appeared in ancient Egypt. The circle was considered a symbol of eternity, so the round ring began to symbolize endless happiness and love between husband and wife.

Today it is customary for the groom to buy wedding rings, wedding dress and shoes for the bride, and the bride's parents prepare her “dowry” (bed linen, towels, dishes, furniture). Of course, today it also happens that collecting a dowry, in general, is not necessary, since the bride already has everything (an apartment with furniture and appliances, etc.). Since it is a bad omen to see the bride in a wedding dress before the wedding, the bride can take over the purchase of the dress. Previously, the bride herself prepared a dowry for herself: she sewed, embroidered, prepared jewelry. The bride also bought wedding shoes with the savings, which demonstrated to her relatives her thrift and thrift.

Having registered their marriage, the newlyweds with their guests go on a wedding walk through the memorable places of their city or village.

After the registration of the marriage of the newlyweds, according to the preserved tradition, the parents of the groom are greeted with bread and salt. The newlyweds take turns biting off or breaking off a piece of bread. Whoever has a larger broken piece will be the master of the family.

The kiss of the newlyweds contains a sacramental meaning, it unites the souls of a young couple into a single whole. A public kiss between the bride and groom informs those present at this action about their unification into one family. Relationships between young people before marriage were chaste, so it is very important that the kiss is carried out in the presence of parents and relatives.

The tradition of stealing a bride already existed among the Russian Slavs. For example, among the Vyatichi and northerners there were games called "the borders of the village", where during games, songs and dances, men chose their brides and took them to their homes. From here came the tradition of kidnapping brides, which symbolized farewell to parents and father's house and the transition to the groom's house, to a new family. Usually the bridegroom's groomsmen were involved in the theft of the bride. The groom needed either the betrothed or a ransom for her. Modern weddings have kept this fun tradition alive.

The tradition of throwing a wedding bouquet came to us quite recently from European countries. All unmarried bridesmaids gather in a heap, and the bride, with her back to them, throws a bouquet. It is believed that the one who catches the bouquet will soon get married. A similar ceremony exists for the groom's friends, who, having removed the garter from the bride's leg, throws it to single friends. The one who catches first, he will marry in the near future.

Today there is a tradition of breaking dishes at a wedding celebration. This is usually done for good luck. Today they beat the bridegroom's or the bride's glass, as well as the plates. According to the resulting fragments, it is determined who the couple will have first: if the fragments are large, then a boy, if small, a girl.

A new wedding tradition is to tie bottles of champagne for luck. Witnesses can carry out this action either at the beginning or at the end of the wedding feast. The young drink the first bottle on the first anniversary of family life, and the second on the birthday of their first child.

No wedding is complete without a wedding cake (pie, loaf), which symbolizes abundance, joy and good luck in family life. Its height can be very different, but the shape is usually round.

There is another modern wedding ceremony, according to which at midnight the bride, standing in a circle of dancing friends with her eyes closed, puts her veil on the head of one of them. A lucky girl will be lucky enough to get married soon.

A very beautiful and romantic tradition, which is increasingly observed by newlyweds, is the tradition of bringing the bride into the house in her arms. Our ancestors believed that such an action would protect the bride from damage and evil spirits.

And even today, newlyweds love to release two pigeons into the sky, on whose paws I tie pink and blue ribbons. According to them, they determine who will be born to the couple first. This is usually done on a wedding walk or in front of a building where a wedding feast is scheduled. In addition, there are many other new wedding traditions: hanging locks with the names of the bride and groom on a tree or the railing of a bridge, smashing a bottle of champagne on a bridge, etc.

Another interesting and fun tradition at weddings is giving gifts to newlyweds. Parents, witnesses and guests give young people valuable and necessary things in everyday life (appliances, dishes, furniture, etc.). At the same time, the donation process is accompanied by interesting jokes, jokes and wishes.

Traditionally, the newlyweds after the wedding go on a honeymoon trip to spend their honeymoon in a romantic setting.

Despite the existing rituals and traditions, only the young have the right to decide whether to observe them at their own wedding. The main thing is that the wedding has retained an important, sacred meaning - the transition from free bachelorhood to family life, with its own joys and responsibilities.

Nothing is so beloved by the Russian people as free-spirited festivities and merry feasts. That is why they love to go to weddings in Russia. There is everything here: sadness and joy, laughter and tears, worries and wishes for happiness.

Now, following the fashion trends, many couples arrange their weddings in a European manner, adopting customs and ceremonies from other people's wedding traditions. But what about the wedding in Russia?

Matchmaking of the bride

This old custom has a wise and correct beginning. Young people did not marry without parental approval. It was for this that the groom came to the bride's house. First, the groom informed his parents about his intention to marry, if they were not against the bride's candidacy, then only then he went to marry. Moreover, matchmaking could take place both with matchmakers and without them.

The young guy asked the girl's father for his daughter's hand. Arriving at the house of the betrothed, the groom presented two bouquets: one for the future mother-in-law, the second for the future wife. Matchmakers deliberately tried to find flaws in the bride in order to "bring down" the ransom price. The final word remained with the father. If he allowed to begin preparations for the wedding, then the wedding expenses, the date of the wedding, the ransom for the bride and her dowry were immediately discussed.

Ransom of the bride before the wedding

If the matchmaking went well and all the pre-wedding chores are completed, then the day of the wedding itself comes. How does it go? Not all young people know how to start it right. More experienced relatives will tell you and help, as it should be.

Of course, any wedding starts with the bride price. The groom dresses early in the morning, gathers his friends and, accompanied by several cars, drives for his beloved. The wedding escort can be seen and heard from afar: all the cars are sparkling, smartly decorated, the trip is accompanied by music and lingering horns so that everyone around them knows that the groom is coming.

Driving up to the bride's house, the groom and his friends come across an obstacle - the bridesmaids, who do not let the young lover pass without ransom. This is the last chance to "sell" the bride to the groom at a higher price, after the registration of the marriage she will completely belong to him.

It would seem that difficult? Paid the ransom - passed, but it didn't work! Girlfriends are not looking for easy ways, but are trying to confuse and chat the groom with friends. They ask tricky questions both to the bride and her family, arrange obstacles for the meeting of the young, force the young guy to sing, read poetry, guess riddles and riddles. This does not mean that the unlucky groom, who has not guessed the bride's favorite color, will not meet with his betrothed. But you will have to pay off your friends: sweets, champagne, and sometimes money. What can't you do to meet your beloved?

After all the tests have been passed, the happy groom gives his beloved flowers, and the young go to the registry office.

Wedding ceremony

Not a single Russian wedding takes place without registry office workers. The official marriage ceremony is held in a special hall, accompanied by solemn music, in an elegant and fragrant atmosphere. If young people do not want the excitement around their painting, then they can choose a weekday for registration and get married in a more ordinary setting.

But if the ceremony is solemn, then the walls of the registry office will accommodate all relatives and friends who want to be present at your registration. The registry office employees are anxiously approaching the ceremony. Each registrar has prepared his own beautiful and exciting speech for the marriage ceremony. In the presence of guests and witnesses, the registry office employee asks a question about the reciprocity and voluntariness of marriage and, after the exchange of rings, invites the young to substitute their signatures in the civil status act. After that, the young people seal the bonds of marriage with the first conjugal kiss and spin in a wedding waltz.

All guests take turns congratulating the newly-minted spouses. After that, they move to another room, where you can drink champagne and take pictures.
At the exit from the registry office, the newlyweds are greeted with friendly shouts "Congratulations!" and showered with rice, small coins and flower petals. The lovers release a pair of snow-white doves into the sky, symbolizing love and loyalty to each other.

Wedding walk around the city

After the registry office, the young with guests go for a walk around the city. At the same time, they visit beautiful historical sites, picturesque parks and squares, attractions and monuments. Not a single wedding walk takes place without a cameraman and photographer, they are needed in order to capture beautiful and memorable moments.

Wedding banquet

The final part of the wedding celebration will be a banquet. If you find an intelligent and cheerful toastmaster, then half the battle is done. An experienced presenter will competently draw up a scenario for your celebration, taking into account your characteristics and wishes. Organizes fun contests, helps to decorate the hall and seating guests, oversees the serving of dishes. Also, the experienced toastmaster will offer you his companions: DJs, artists and florists who have been tested by time and circumstances.

Young people at the entrance to the restaurant will be greeted by the groom's parents with a loaf and an icon, blessing them for a long and happy family life. Beautiful ceremonies are also organized by the host of your wedding, such as: entry into family life, the transfer of fire from the hearth of the bride's family to the young family. Such events are accompanied by solemn vows and music, leaving no one indifferent.

At the end of the wedding banquet, the bride passes the baton to the unmarried brides, throwing her wedding bouquet. The groom, removing the garter from the bride's leg with his teeth, throws it to his friends, determining the next groom.

By tradition, all guests, starting with the closest relatives, say toasts and congratulations to the newlyweds. Gifts are given and auctions are held. At the end of the feast, a cake of unprecedented beauty is brought out. After dessert, the newlyweds thank all relatives and friends for spending this solemn day with them and sharing their joy.

The culmination of the evening becomes a festive fireworks, a massive launch of sky lanterns or balloons into the night sky.

Series: Around the wedding

Modern traditions of holding a wedding in Russia have something in common with the wedding ceremonies of Ancient Russia, although time, as elsewhere, makes its own adjustments.

Modern " traditional wedding"Is a conglomerate of customs and rituals of different times and peoples. Only a few ethnic groups can boast of the purity of the preserved ritual. In most countries, especially in the so-called "civilized" countries, they have ceased to feel the border between their traditions and rituals and customs borrowed from other cultures. Weddings in Russia, especially in large cities, have not escaped this trend.

Weddings usually last two days. But quite often the second wedding day is celebrated in an abbreviated form.

In the morning before the wedding, the bride and groom receive the blessing of their parents, put themselves in order, dress and get ready.

Also, the groom prepares a wedding bouquet for his bride, which he will hand to her at the end of the ransom. He can also send the bride a “groom's box” with gifts for her and her bridesmaids.

Meanwhile, some of the guests are decorating the cars of the wedding cortege, and the bridesmaids are preparing for the ransom.

The custom of redemption of the bride

As a rule, the wedding day begins with the ransom of the bride, when the groom and his friends are trying to prove to the bride's relatives their right to marry her.

The most widespread custom is when the bride is hidden from the groom and prying eyes. For example, the ancient Chinese carried the bride to the ceremony in a closed armchair. The Romans used a veil. Modern brides wear a cape very rarely, and they come to the wedding itself in luxurious limousines, but still the tradition of hiding the bride from the future husband before the wedding and arriving in different cars has been preserved.

The tradition of redemption of the bride originated in ancient times. As the name of this ceremony implies, the groom then literally ransomed the bride from her relatives with the help of money.

But in our time, the ransom of the bride has turned into just a fun comic action, where money sometimes fades into the background and plays just a symbolic meaning (but not always), and funny contests and tasks for the groom come to the fore.

Passing one test after another, the groom slowly but surely approaches his bride. The ransom ends when the groom breaks through to the bride and hands her a wedding bouquet.

After the bride's ransom, a small buffet usually takes place, when the guests admonish the bride and groom before going to the registry office, instructing them to love and respect each other throughout their life together.

Marriage registration ceremony

Leaving the bride's house, the future newlyweds and their guests sit down in the prepared cars of the wedding cortege, and go to the registry office for the solemn wedding ceremony.

Next is the ring. It is an invariable attribute of engagement and modern traditional weddings. In many countries it is put on the same ring finger as ours, but on the left hand. According to some beliefs, it is in this place that the nerve of the heart is located. At the engagement ceremony, the ring is a symbol of possession, and at the wedding ceremony, it is a symbol of unity and harmony. To unite the young, they join hands, which are then tied with a towel. For example, in Burma, the groom must break through a barrier made of fabric, as well as pay a ransom to the bride's friends and relatives, and only then can he be reunited with his chosen one.

Having completed all the necessary formalities, the young couple, accompanied by their wedding procession, enters the hall of solemn registration of marriages to the sounds of Mendelssohn's march.

After registering a marriage, a small buffet table often follows, at which guests, led by witnesses, congratulate the newly-made husband and wife on one of the most important events in their lives.

Leaving the registry office, the newlyweds come under fire with rice, flower petals, and small coins, which, according to the wedding tradition, are arranged by the guests. It is believed to bring wealth and love to a young family.

In almost all countries, there is a tradition to shower newlyweds with money, sweets or other small, light objects. In ancient Rome, these were nuts, in Britain - flower petals. Rice and other miscellaneous grains are a symbol of fertility and well-being in all cultures.

Then the wedding procession goes to the temple, where the bride and groom perform the sacrament of the wedding, thereby cementing their marriage not only in front of people, but also in front of God. Of course, this only happens if the wedding is scheduled in the wedding day program. The Orthodox wedding ceremony takes about 40 minutes.

Wedding walk

Having got married, the newlyweds, together with their guests, go on a wedding walk around the remarkable places of their city or village. Usually the wedding procession has time to visit two or three places. But it happens that more. It all depends on the amount of time left before the start of the banquet.

After the wedding walk, the newlyweds often go to the house of the husband's parents, where they receive them with “bread and salt”. The husband and wife bite off a piece of the loaf without touching it with their hands. Whoever bites off a larger piece will be the main one in the family.

Then the groom's parents invite the newlyweds to their home. There is a small buffet table, where the guests again congratulate the newlyweds on their reunion, and give parting speeches. However, in recent years, more and more often the ritual "bread and salt" began to be carried out directly in the restaurant before the start of the wedding banquet.

Before going to a restaurant for a wedding banquet, you can arrange a short rest so that the newlyweds and their guests take a breath after the rapidly changing events of the wedding day, and gain strength for the whole evening.

Wedding banquet

After the wedding walk, the newlyweds arrive at the house of the husband's parents, where they receive them with “bread and salt”. The husband and wife bite off a piece of the loaf without touching it with their hands. Whoever bites off a larger piece will be the main one in the house.

Then the groom's parents invite the newlyweds to their home. Usually, in order to prevent a young wife from being stolen by evil spirits, the husband brings her into the house in his arms. There is a small buffet table, where the guests again congratulate the newlyweds on their reunion, and give parting speeches.

Before going to the restaurant for a wedding banquet, you can arrange a short rest so that the newlyweds and their guests take a breath after the rapidly changing events of the wedding day and gain strength for the whole evening

After a little rest, the newlyweds, together with their relatives and guests, go to a restaurant to celebrate their wedding with a feast and dancing. But it happens that a wedding banquet is held at home or in nature.

At the end of the ceremony at a modern traditional wedding, glasses are broken to chase away the unclean forces, and the ringing of bells notifies the residents of the neighborhood about the creation of a new family.

At the wedding banquet, guests take turns congratulating the newlyweds and presenting gifts for their young family. Then it's time for the newlyweds' wedding dance. During this dance, other couples smoothly join them. This marks the beginning of a wedding disco with lively dances and fun contests.

At the end of the wedding evening, cheerful and full of guests go home, and the newlyweds go to the venue of their first wedding night. This can be a special hotel room or someone else's apartment (not necessarily the bride or groom).

Second wedding day

In the morning, the newly minted husband and wife and their guests go to celebrate their second wedding day. There, everyone shares their impressions of the past wedding day and congratulates the newlyweds on the first day of family life.

The feast on the second wedding day usually does not last long and ends shortly after noon. The guests are leaving, and for the newlyweds the holiday continues - they have a honeymoon ahead.

Often, soon after the wedding, the newlyweds go on a honeymoon trip to enjoy the honeymoon and each other in a romantic setting ...

21st century innovations

In this article, we have reviewed the main stages of a traditional wedding. But your wedding is your wedding! She is individual and unlike any other.

Therefore, if you are not satisfied with the tradition, and you want to make something unusual out of your wedding, then do not be afraid to experiment. Get creative with organizing and hosting your wedding. Introduce something new into it, realize your secret and explicit dreams and fantasies.

For example, recently it has become fashionable to register a marriage on-site - not within the walls of the registry office, but somewhere in the forest or on a boat. This service is provided by many wedding agencies that organize turnkey weddings.

Or you can order "Catering" - an off-site service from a restaurant to hold a wedding banquet not in a stuffy city (in summer), but in a forest glade or at your dacha.

Well, if such deviations from a traditional wedding are not enough for you and your soul requires something more extreme (to be remembered for a long time), then here you can come up with a lot of interesting things: arrange a marriage registration in a balloon basket or on the seabed. Or you can celebrate your wedding at the North Pole, or at a fast food restaurant.

Currently, some airlines have begun to provide an exotic service - a wedding during a flight across the country or around the world. So you can register your marriage on board a plane flying towards the Czech Republic, take a wedding walk through the streets of Prague, celebrate a wedding banquet in one of the restaurants in Paris, and spend your first wedding night in a London hotel.

Everything here is limited only by your imagination and the thickness of your wallet. So think, create, dare and you will have an unforgettable, unlike any other wedding!

Sergey Michurin

What you need to know to properly prepare for your wedding? How is a modern wedding going? What are the wedding signs? What is customary to give for a wedding? What pre-wedding stages does the bride and groom need to go through? I will tell you about all this and many other things in the section “All about the wedding”!

Useful about the wedding, something that no merry wedding can do without

How to make your wedding fun? What toasts should be said at a wedding, and what congratulations are better to refrain from pronouncing? What are the wedding signs? What are the wedding customs? About this - in the section "Useful for a wedding, wedding: congratulations, toasts, gifts, signs, customs at the wedding."

Features of preparation for the wedding

Should you hold a wedding ceremony? How to properly prepare for the wedding ceremony? What should be the wedding hairstyle for the wedding ceremony? How to choose a wedding dress for your wedding? You can read about this and many other things in the section "Wedding in the Church, how the wedding is going on, how to prepare for the wedding in the Church."

How to choose a wedding agency? Who to invite to the wedding? How to organize a bachelor and bachelorette party? Where to buy wedding rings? The section "Wedding, preparation, organization and conduct of a wedding, advice to the bride and groom on the choice of wedding goods and services" will help you to answer these questions.

Wedding at different times of the year

What are the features of a wedding in winter? How is an autumn wedding different from a summer wedding? What are the benefits of a spring wedding? Read about everything related to organizing and holding weddings at different times of the year in the section "Weddings at different times of the year, weddings in winter, spring, summer, autumn".

Modern wedding, wedding day from morning to evening

How does the wedding day begin? How should the wedding day end? What activities are required for the wedding day? What should you consider when planning your wedding day? The section "Wedding day from morning to evening, how does the wedding go from redemption of the bride to the wedding fireworks, wedding traditions" will answer your questions.

In order for the wedding to be bright and memorable for you and all your friends and relatives, you need to properly prepare for this solemn event. It is necessary to take into account all the nuances that exist when organizing a modern wedding. Of course, you can ignore all the generally accepted rules for organizing a wedding. You may not follow wedding signs, you may not have a bachelor party or a bachelorette party, you may not organize a bride price. But if you want to give up all these fun and beautiful traditions, remember that a wedding is not just your wedding day. A wedding is a show, a grandiose event that, I would hope, will be in your life just once. And it is worth spending this day so that later all your life you will remember your wedding day with a warm smile. Therefore, my advice is to follow, as far as possible, all the rules for organizing a wedding, so that later you will have something to remember! A wedding is a spectacular event precisely due to the fact that brides and grooms, as well as their friends and relatives, observe wedding traditions. After all, the wedding ceremony is probably the most beautiful ceremony that has come down to our days from our most distant ancestors. What for our distant ancestors was a way to protect newlyweds from evil spirits, to guarantee them a happy and prosperous life, for us became just elements of a wedding show. But these elements are beautiful and memorable; it is these elements that make the wedding one of the brightest and most beautiful events. It is such wedding details as the bride ransom, the tossing of the bride's wedding bouquet and the bride's wedding pendant that give the wedding untold beauty and charm. Therefore, even if you do not believe in any wedding omens, you should not give up making the wedding the brightest event in your life. Of course, if you are a harsh pragmatist, at your wedding you can limit yourself to just registering at the registry office and having dinner at a restaurant with your closest friends and relatives. But what will you remember in a few years? I do not insist that you must follow all wedding traditions, arrange all the events that are typical for a wedding. But I will still recommend that you make the wedding a holiday, not make it look like an ordinary business deal, when two came, put their signatures on the document and celebrated this event with an ordinary dinner. Make your wedding a holiday with a capital letter! And then you will have what to remember for yourself, and what to tell your children and grandchildren. After all, wedding stories are stories that all your descendants up to the third generation will listen to with interest. And if the wedding is grandiose, then even until the fifth! So, what you need to know in order for the wedding to become a real event, which will be legendary in your family later? It is necessary to know how our ancestors conducted the wedding ceremony, what signs and beliefs they had. You need to know how the wedding ceremony has changed over time, what was brought into it from other cultures. After all, it's not a secret for anyone that a lot came from Western countries, from the Catholic tradition, to our modern wedding, based on Orthodox traditions. From this, the modern wedding has not lost anything, but, on the contrary, supplemented by wedding traditions from other cultures, has become even brighter, even more fun. Therefore, when organizing a wedding, do not give up new traditions that have come to us from other countries and cultures. Under the heading "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario" I will tell you how to start organizing a wedding, what wedding styles are, how to correctly budget a wedding, what you need to consider, what you can save on when organizing a wedding. On my website you will find information on how to write a wedding script that suits your particular couple, whether it is worth contacting specialized agencies for organizing weddings, what tasks to set before a specialized agency for organizing weddings, and what tasks you can solve on your own. If you are interested in the question of who has what kind of relative in your greatly enlarged family, then you will also find this information under the heading "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario". Understanding the complex interweaving of family ties is not so difficult as it is fascinating. You might even enjoy a game like finding information about who your fiance's great-uncle is. All the names of related statuses came to us from the distant past, when families were large, there were a great many relatives, and each relative had to have its own "name", its own status. These names of family ties, unlike many other elements of a wedding, have not changed from time immemorial, have not come under the influence of wedding fashion. As the daughter-in-law was called two hundred years ago, that is what they call her now. Nothing new was invented in this matter. The same cannot be said about the style of the wedding. Wedding style is a concept that has come into our everyday life relatively recently, but is already actively used by spouses and specialized agencies for organizing weddings. Wedding style is the idea behind the organization of a wedding. A theme wedding is an event where all the elements are made in accordance with a certain concept. For example, a hussar-style wedding or a retro-style wedding. Knight weddings or gangster style weddings are very popular. Planning a themed wedding takes a little more effort than organizing a traditional wedding. But the extra effort is worth it! After all, a thematic wedding is a truly grandiose show, when both you and your guests plunge into a certain era or situation. Have you always wanted to get into a real knight's castle or feel like the heroine of your favorite movie? A theme wedding is a great opportunity to make your dreams and fantasies come true. Due to the fact that your wedding dresses, and the outfits of your guests, and transport, and music, and even the dishes of the wedding banquet will obey the same idea, you can feel like who you always wanted to feel yourself. Due to the fact that when organizing a thematic wedding, it is necessary to take into account a lot of points, to make sure that all the elements of the wedding correspond to the idea you have chosen, it is worth entrusting, at least partially, the organization of the wedding to a professional wedding agency. A specialized wedding agency with experience in preparing themed weddings will be able to provide you with invaluable assistance in organizing a wedding that will become a real show. When organizing a wedding in a particular style, both you and your groom will need to pay special attention to your wedding attire and wedding hairstyles. In this matter, you just need the help of a professional wedding stylist. In order to organize a themed wedding, you may need to know how weddings are held for different nations. You will also find information on how various national, ethnic weddings are held on my website under the heading "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding script". I will tell you what wedding traditions exist in different nations, from this you can get ideas for organizing your own wedding. Do not be afraid that some idea is not typical for a Russian Orthodox wedding. If you like any particular idea, then nothing prevents you from using it when organizing your wedding event. The main thing is that both you and your chosen one like this idea. However, when preparing directly for the wedding, do not forget about those events that precede the wedding. Collusion, armwrestling, bridesmaids, marriage proposal, many other wedding ceremonies have not lost their importance over the past hundred years. Of course, now they are not going on like in the century before last; under the influence of fashion, all wedding ceremonies have changed somewhat. But they remain exhilarating and beautiful wedding ceremonies that can make wedding preparations more interesting. And a marriage proposal is such a rite that you cannot do without. Grooms do what they do not invent in order to amaze the imagination of their chosen one! There are no other options for a marriage proposal today! To guarantee the answer "yes" from the lady of the heart, the grooms go to a variety of tricks - and the proposal of a hand in a balloon, and on an exotic island. But what can I say - if you have love and imagination, then even in a communal apartment you will furnish your marriage proposal in such a way that it will be a bright, exciting and memorable event! I will reveal some secrets of how to make a marriage proposal to my beloved girlfriend in the section “Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario”. Take them into service - and be sure of a positive answer! Today, no wedding is complete without such preliminary stages as stag and hen parties. Gone are the days when these events meant the last "separation" of single life. Today brides and grooms have a different attitude towards stag and hen parties. Of course, I will tell you in the heading "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario", how to organize these events so that at first it would be fun and interesting, and then not ashamed in front of your loved one. But if you love and respect your chosen one, you yourself, most likely, will not want to do something that can hurt him. Separately, under the heading "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario" I will focus on such important moments for any bride as the choice of a wedding dress, wedding hairstyle, wedding makeup. Not only the integrity of the bride's wedding image, but also her mood on the wedding day depends on which wedding dress and wedding makeup the bride chooses. It is in order for the bride to be confident in herself on her wedding day, in her irresistibility, it is worth looking for a wedding dress and wedding hairstyle in advance. Moreover, in order for a wedding dress and wedding hairstyle to emphasize the advantageous features of your appearance and your figure, it is worth knowing some rules for choosing both a wedding dress and a wedding hairstyle. I will, of course, tell you about these rules in the section "Modern wedding, wedding style, organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario". If you want your wedding to become a truly solemn, bright, cheerful event, so that you and your guests remember your wedding day with a kind smile for a long time, be sure to read the recommendations that I give in the heading “Modern wedding, wedding style , organization and preparation: budget, planning, wedding scenario ". Then you can be sure that you are organizing your wedding correctly, you can take everything into account and foresee everything.