Traditions!...a Russian Wedding

Weddings are always about traditions no matter what country you get married in. But a Russian wedding seems to have more than its fare share of traditions. 

What fun it was to attend our first wedding in Latvia for Sveta and Alexandrs (Sasha).  Both were "just friends"  a few months ago and now they are married!  Sasha is the branch president of the Riga Russian speaking branch. This was the wedding that Brother and Sister Hardy came all the way to Latvia to attend.  We found out, the Hardy's were the ones giving little nudges to these two very special young people because they could see that Sasha was perfect for Sveta and vice versa. And it somehow worked out....Sveta said they probably wouldn't have gotten married without those nudges!

In Latvia, you must get married by a state registrar...so a wedding hall was reserved and while the bride and groom were filling out paperwork, everyone else waits in the foyer.

The first tradition we noticed  was that wedding guests (even our young men) brought flower arrangements or bouquets to the wedding.  What is that all about?

Lauris, Dainis and Zaiga

It seems that everyone brings flowers to give to the bride and groom to wish them well. And you can't bring an even number of flowers...the bouquet must have an odd number of flowers or it's bad luck.  We had the bad luck of not bringing ANY flowers with us!

 There aren't any chairs...these are quick affairs.

The official wedding song starts playing 

(Mendelssohn's wedding march : "here comes the bride...)

& the bride and groom enter with their witnesses....

The registrar says some greeting to the guests and asks the bride and groom if they want to marry each other, they answer "Yes",  exchange rings which go on their right hands not the left...

 and kiss each other. Then they and their witnesses sign the registry and now all the guests get in a line to greet the newlyweds. Oh, and of course, hand over all those flowers.....

The witnesses stand on either side of the bride and groom and pretty much hold all flowers that are given to the bride and groom....

Sister Davis greets Alexanders with pats on his cheeks,

she is tickled pink with him for marrying that lovely girl!

As the guests file past the happy couple, they head out the door into an lovely atrium with trees, ferns and birds.  And everyone gathers around to wait for the bride and groom

And finally the bride, groom and witnesses appear!  And it 's time for a toast...

And the next tradition becomes apparent...everyone is handed a glass of sparkling cider (at least for LDS weddings) and after the first sip someone yells out "gor'ko" which means "bitter". 

The rest of the guests than start to shout "gor'ko, gork'ko" and to make the drink sweet, the bride and groom must kiss.   This can happen anytime for the rest of the wedding celebration, so at a Russian wedding there is A LOT of kissing going on. The bride and groom are good sports about it and every time someone says "gor'ko" they kiss.

And then each family that attends gets their picture taken with the bride and groom. When the newly weds leave they drive around for a while. Sometimes the couple visits memorials of people who died in World War II or other famous graves or memorials, and lay flowers there.  This helps them to remember the lives of others. They put a lock (with their names engraved on it) on a bridge and throw the key in the water to show their commitment to the marriage.  They take more photos and drive around Old Town on their first trip together as husband and wife. 

The bride and groom would soon be arriving for the reception, so each of the guests were given a handful of rose petals. But before that, The newly weds must get through three gates that symbolize the passage of life from childhood, to youth, to marriage.   The first "gate" was a ribbon with balloons tied on it that had to be broken and popped.

The next gate was a ribbon that had bows tied on it. Only one bow would untie the ribbon across the doorway and the groom had to untie the right one before entering the building. 

Once inside children throw candy on the floor in front of them to symbolize they will have enough to eat in their marriage. Older people throw coins to make sure their life will be prosperous (and Sasha had to put a coin in his brides shoe).

And finally we get to throw our rose petals which symbolize health and happiness to the newlyweds...

You would think the traditions are nearly over but not SO!  There are LOTS more....

The bride and groom must each break off a piece of  sweet cake that the brides mom holds for them, dip it into a bunch of salt and eat it, symbolizing that life will be sweet but will have difficulties to overcome.

Then the bride and groom must pass through the last "gate" to married life....

the gate of love!    But first a very important question must be asked...

How many children will this couple have?  We shall find out in a very scientific way...

A plate is put on the floor with a cloth over it and the bride and groom must stomp on it. The number of pieces it breaks into, is how many children they will have.

And now for the last gate into marriage.....

A piece of material is held up and together the newlyweds  take scissors and cut a heart in the middle and walk together through the opening into the reception hall as man & wife. And then every one of the guests must walk through the same opening...Sister Davis didn't have a problem with that at all...being short does have it's advantages!

And about 6:00 Elder & Sister Davis were ready to go home...