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See Wikipedia’s guide to writing better articles for suggestions. This article may need to be rewritten entirely to comply with Wikipedia’s quality standards. This article needs additional citations for verification. A traditional Russian wedding can last between two days and one week. The celebration involves dancing, singing, toasting, and banqueting. The best man and maid of honor are called Witnesses or “svideteli” in Russian.
The ceremony and the ring exchange take place on the first day of the wedding. A friend of the bride, who is already married, places the first earring on the bride-to-be. The two golden rings are a symbol of marriage. It is common to see this image on wedding invitations. Once the groom arrives at the bride’s home, he must pay a ransom for the bride, a term known in Russian as “vykup nevesty. This event is meant to be comical and entertaining.
The bride and groom have the option to have a traditional ceremony in a church. In Russian, it is called the venchanie. The wedding ceremony takes place in a church and is divided into two parts: the Betrothal and the Crowning. While the betrothal used to be blessed at the beginning of the engagement, it is now commonly done at the same ceremony as the wedding itself. The bride and groom stand inside the entrance of the church and the priest blesses them and gives them lighted candles which they will hold throughout the ceremony.
The priest then says a prayer blessing the couple’s betrothal which mentions instances in the Bible where rings are used and relates those instances to the betrothal. For this reason, the ceremony of the wedding is referred to as the Crowning. The priest leads the couple into the center of the church where they come to stand on a piece of new, rose-colored fabric, symbolizing their entry into a new life. The bride and groom each publicly professes that they are marrying of their own free will and that they have not promised themselves to another. After an ektenia and several longer prayers, the priest places crowns on the heads of the bride and the groom.
These are usually held over their heads by members of the wedding party. Following that are readings from the Epistle and Gospel, ektenias, brief prayers and the sharing of a “common cup” of wine by the bride and groom. It used to be the custom that the bride and groom would wear their wedding crowns for eight days, but now the removal of the crowns is customarily done at the end of the service. The priest says benedictions for the bride and groom and then the dismissal takes place. Following the traditional ceremony, the couple must have a civil ceremony called rospis v zagse. This ceremony takes place at the department of public services, formally known as ZAGS. At ZAGS the couple is greeted by family members with bread and salt.
The ceremony ranges from 15 to 30 minutes and during this time the rings are exchanged and the couple is pronounced husband and wife. During the civil ceremony, the parents offer the married couple two crystal glasses, which they are asked to break. The more pieces or shards of glass they create, the greater the number of years of happiness they will spend together. It is also customary for the married couple to release either balloons or, more preferred, two white doves to symbolize their love and partnership which is written in the sky for all to see. The bride also releases another balloon with her maiden name written on it. Following the civil ceremony, the newlyweds and their witnesses travel around the city in a limousine and tour many historical sites. There are times when close friends join them as well.