Weddings in Russia

Russia has long wedding laws and traditions that began to form since the end of the 10th century when the country was christianized and were finally developed to the XV century. Wedding ceremonies might be quite different depending on the location, but one could talk about established traditions.

In the old times, wedding traditions were very strong. it was a norm to get married by the age of twenty. The wedding began with matchmaking: so called matchmakers had to come to the bride’s house to make a marriage proposal and arrange for a wedding. A couple first got engaged, but the final decision was made by the parents. The exchange of rings could take place long before the wedding as the pagan tradition, or during the wedding ceremony after the baptism. On the eve of the wedding, the bride gathered her friends to spend her last day of unmarried life. There were many other important laws during the wedding that may include wedding ceremony procession, bride price, strict dresscode, music, wedding feast, etc., and after the wedding like, for example, tests of a young wife for domesticity

Nowadays, wedding traditions in Russia are less strict. The average age of people who get married vary from 25 to 35. The bride and groom may take full responsibility to decision on marriage. A groom’s formal proposal with a ring can be considered as an important tradition. As in the old days, the wedding could be expensive and organization could take a long time. Many traiditions such as bride price may often be an occasion to have fun.

Even though wedding traditions may change over time, the wedding ceremony continues to be one of the most important cultural events in Russia.