Russian wedding: best traditions of Russian brides

May 24, 2020

When you start online dating you might not be directly thinking about finding Russian brides and walking down the aisle quite yet. But Russian singles are on this site in order to find a husband to love and bring up a family with, so marriage is a given. When you’re online dating you may find Russian singles who you start to fall in love with. Chances are you might look into the traditions of Russian weddings in case you decide to propose. While Russian brides are westernized there are some traditions which they might want to carry on during their wedding celebrations.

Meet your amazing Russian bride!

While some Russian brides might choose a modern wedding if they prefer a traditional Russian wedding chances are the event will last at least two days, but even as long as a week. These celebrations are prolonged in order for the special occasion to be soaked in by as many people and dancing, singing, toasts and a lot of food and drink are involved.

Not every part of a Russian wedding is serious as the groom has to pay a ransom in order to get his Russian bride, otherwise known in Russia as vykup nevesty (bride purchasing). The event is designed to be comical and usually sees the groom give something like money, sweets or small gifts to the bride’s family in exchange for her. The family then brings out someone dressed as a bride in a veil but this isn’t the bride and they then demand a larger ransom for the correct bride. Once the family members of the Russian bride are satisfied with the ransom they will give the bride away to the groom along with their blessing.

When Russian singles choose to get married the best man and maid of honor are called witnesses within the ceremony, or svideteli in Russian and so these pair are a large part of the wedding. Russian brides might choose to have bridesmaids like modern weddings do but this isn’t always the case. They take part in the official wedding ceremony and put their signs to confirm that the bride and the groom are getting married for love and mutual wish.

Traditional wedding ceremony in Russian churches

Russian brides can choose to get married within a church although not all do. The ceremony is called the venchanie and is divided into the betrothal and the crowning. The betrothal used to be blessed at the beginning of the engagement but is commonly done within the wedding ceremony. This is when a priest blesses the couple and gives them lighted candles which must be held onto during the ceremony. The priest then says two quick prayers and the rings are blessed. Unlike in the Western world, Russians tend to wear their wedding rings on their right hands, something you might discover when looking at family photographs with your lady when online dating.

During the wedding Russian brides and grooms exchange rings on the first day of the wedding ceremony but this is not the sign of marriage within the Eastern Orthodox Church. Holy matrimony is seen between Russian brides and grooms when a crown is placed upon their heads and this part of the ceremony is referred to as crowning.

Traditional weddings in Russia are celebrated with joy and a lot of fun. Though many Russian ladies prefer to have a wedding day in European traditions, a true Russian wedding remains popular among couples and it is really worth seeing and participating for foreigners who want to learn more about this amazing country.