Russian Weddings Have Many Interesting TraditionsOther than mail order Russian brides, there are some different traditions that revolve around Russian weddings. Whether you are a Russian bride or groom-to-be, this is a great list of Russian traditions that may help you come up with some great ideas to commemorate and celebrate your ancestral roots of Old Mother Russia.
First off, did you know that Russian weddings are much longer than the traditional American wedding of today in that they typically go on for two full days?
Kiss Print NapkinTHE KISS PRINT NAPKIN – Before the wedding ceremony, it’s tradition for all Russian grooms to accomplish a few prenuptial traditions. For example, when he comes to pick up his bride, the groom may be handed a napkin with lipstick prints of the bride and her attendants on it. In the unfortunate case that the groom can’t pick out which is his bride’s kiss print, he must pay a fine to the bride-to-be. In jest, Grooms who guess wrong may have to cover a shawl with money to reassure her.
PRE-CEREMONY REGISTRATION- The official traditional Russian ceremony is only one part of the entire wedding event. To start things off, the bride and groom arrive in separate cars and are lead into different rooms that are ideally a decent distance apart before filling out the regestration papers. Next, the couple wait until they are called.
Bussian Butterfly TossPRE-CEREMONY BUTTEFLY TOSS – Once the Russian bride and groom exit the civil marriage registration office, it’s time for picture taking to commemorate the occasion. Friends and family members toss flower petals, coins, and sometimes release butterflies to wish the couple good luck. And before they leave, it’s tradition for the groom to sweep the bride up in his arms and kiss her in front of all assembled, among flying butterflies.
PRE-CEREMONY BREAD PRESENTATION – Before exiting the registration hall, a member of the bridal party, or sometimes another special person is assigned to present the bride and groom with the ceremonial bread and salt tray, which will be an interesting part of the Russian wedding tradition. Next, the bride and groom are lead into the actual ceremony hall where the actual rites and vows are to be held.
Bridal Party SashesBRIDAL PARTY SASHES – It’s tradition for the best man and maid of honor to wear sashes over their clothing.
RUSSIAN WEDDING RUG – For the ceremony, the bride and groom stand on a traditional wedding carpet and the officiant reads a welcoming speech and then asks the bride and groom to confirm their reason for being there. Very much like our American tradition, the Russian bride and groom then engage in an exchanging of rings, the couples sign in the registry, and then the witnesses sign and the couple are pronounced man and wife.
BREAD BITING TRADITION – A platter of bread is presented during the ceremony to the Russian bride and groom at hand. This part of the ceremony symbolizes the hope for a healthy long life with prosperity for the couple. The bread is then bitten into by both the bride and groom, and the joke is that the one who takes the largest bite will make all the major decisions and essentially be the one who wears pants in the family!
The Bridal Five Stop Tour DECORATED BRIDAL RIDE – After the wedding, the bride and groom make a nuptial tour of their town’s historic sites. To transport themselves and their guests to these locations in class, many Russian brides and grooms will hire a fancy limousine covered in with gold decorations and flowers. Quite often, villagers will see the couple’s names painted on a side window, and wave good luck in support of their neighbors’ happy day. When the couple cannot afford a limo, most just have their bridal party pimp out their ride, or borrow a friend’s car suitably tricked out ride, as well. Either way, the bride and groom ride in style.
FIVE STOP TOUR – For Russian brides and grooms the historic town bridal tour is not only a matter of showing up in a specific and often scenic location for photography reasons, the ride is a symbolic act that assures a long and happy marriage.
Typically, the bride and groom make pitstops at five different places around the city that hold special meaning for citizens. There they have post-wedding photos snapped, and at each stop-off, the bride and groom leave flowers to symbolize their contribution as husband and wife to the history of the town/village.
The Dove Release TraditionDOVE RELEASE – The couple sometimes simultaneously releases a white dove, as tradition, to symbolize and emphasize the purity of their love, near a waterfront.
BRIDAL RANSOM – There is also a silly tradition of “the stealing the bride”, when the groom takes his eyes off the bride, she might get stolen and the groom will have to pay ransom! All in jest, of course!
ALTERNATIVE IDEAS FOR YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY MUSIC – A list of different wedding ceremony music for different brides & grooms
Do you remember the kid’s version of the wedding march? “Here Comes the Bride, All Fat and Wide!” This version of Wagner’s classic may have ruined it for everybody! So…
What are other good wedding songs for walking down the aisle? Of course the obvious answer is that any song that is meaningful to the two of you is perfect.
Want a list of wedding songs that they don’t usually play at a wedding ceremony? Making a list of songs that aren’t usually played at weddings seems like an oxymoron. It’s therefore an anti-list. If it isn’t a song you usually hear, then it could be anything! Anyhow, there are actually a handful of songs that do seem to see some regularity in non traditional wedding ceremonies, despite the fact that they are not the norm.
When you can’t get The Tokyo String Quartet, there is always DJ Kenny Casanova!
Here are a few alternative ceremony song ideas:
Only Time – Enya
I Wanna Grow Old With You – Adam Sandler
At Last – Etta James
Marry Me – Train
I Want To Spend My Lifetime Loving You – Josh Groban
Unchained Melody – Righteous Brothers or Il Divo
The Prayer – Andrea Bocelli & Celine Dion
Warmness on the Soul – Avenged Sevenfold
For My Wedding – Don Henley
You Are So Beautiful – Joe Cocker
You And I – Michael Bublé
Love Me Tender – Norah Jones ft Adam Levy
You Are The One – Elliott Yamin
The Luckiest – Ben Folds Five
Heavenly Day – Patty Griffin
I will be here – Steven Curtis Chapman
I’ll Be – Edwin McCain’s
Happy Together – The Turtles
Time of Your Life – Green Day
I will Follow You into The Dark – Death Cab for Cutie
Love And Marriage – Freank Sinatra
Wonderwall – Oasis
Slide – GooGoo Dolls
When I see You Smile – Bad English
Extraordinary – Better than Ezra
Everybody Loves Somebody – Dean Martin
Crush – Dave Matthews
Bring Me to Life – Evanescence
She will be Loved – Maroon 5
Beautiful Day – U2
Silverstein – still dreaming
Bob Marley- is this love
Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop – Landon Pigg
Born for You – David Pomeranz
A Moment Like This – Kelly Clarkson
Albany Country Club Wedding
CUSTOMIZING YOUR CEREMONY WITH YOUR SONG
It is funny how since the last episode of The Sopranos, everyone and there mom loves the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey. If you have a song that is “your song,” then an instrumental version of it might be perfect for you. There are classical bands like Vitamin String Quartet who do songs like “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC-DC, but in an elegant arrangement. Boyce Avenue also does an acoustic music version of this familiar tune. This softer cover version idea could sooth the older guests, while also make the younger ones smile.
Overall, realize that music sets the mood. Think about the atmosphere you absolutely want for your wedding ceremony. Is it elegant, rocking, fun, festive, friendly, classy, one of a kind, Celtic wedding, Italian, natural, unique? Think of music that fits with how you want your guests to feel and how you’ll want to feel that day. Don’t feel forced. You don’t have to choose something from those silly wedding music CDs, it doesn’t have to say “wedding” on it at all, as long as it says you.
A TWISTY PAPER FUN IDEA THAT PUTS A NEW TWIST ON WEDDING SEATING
Origami (折り紙? – you have seen it before. It comes from the Japanese words for “folding” and “paper.”
Origami, the art of paper folding, creates a goal to transform a flat sheet square of paper into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques. It also looks great as a fun and crafty thing to do as a decorative means for assigning your guests wear to sit at your wedding celebration
Here is a neat thing you can do for your wedding guests, rather than that lame boring little business card thingy that says “Mr. & Mrs. Smith Table One.” Check out these pictures taken recently by Kenny Casanova at The Caraosel Ballroom in Troy, NY up on Hoosick Street.
Wedding Origami Place Cards
Wedding Origami Place Cards Saratoga Springs NY DJ Pictures
A few years ago, the digital world took over the photography industry. In the advent of the iPhone, meaning a camera in everyone’s pocket at any given moment, it seemed pointless to carry around a camera that needed film and also film that had to be developed. That took extra time and money that nobody wanted to invest in anymore.
Because of this, traditional camera companies saw a decline in sales. This eventually led to Polaroid facing with astronomically low sales that endangered bankruptcy. They finally decided to call it quits in 2008. The world was saddened in an instant. However, there was niche that demanded it to come back for specific reasons. After popular demand, the instant camera came back in a flash. In 2010 Polaroid came back with their new product, the 300, and that means Weddings have potential for some new fun. As a DJ, I see a lot of things and this activity was fun had by all.
Here is a novel idea of how to create your own Polaroid Photo Booth guest book for your wedding and let your guests have a good time doing so.
You simply set up a board like this, or even a cork board with the date in painted wooden numbers like you can get at a craft store. Then, put out the cameras and let the guest do the rest.
Being relatively high on web searches, due to lots of gigs, and also very affordable, I have found that it helps to book early. You usually want to book the DJ you want about 6 months ahead of time to play music at your wedding reception. This gives you plenty of time to plan and do what you need to do.
Also, another tip. Think about priorities. Before you start planning your own wedding, what do you remember about one of the best weddings you have ever gone to? Usually it was great fun (entertainment) and/or the food. If the top two things your guests will remember are entertainment and food, make these your top priorities.
Do your homework. Find the Entertainment and the food first. If you know exactly the band or DJ that you want, and/or the catering company you want, get their available dates and then start looking for the best place. Many brides book a hall on a certain date, only to find that the DJ that they really wanted or the catering company couldn’t accomodate that date. I have had many customers a year ahead of time book me BEFORE they even knew where the hall was going to be, because they liked our product and also our price.
Off to the right, you will find our party planning blog. It has tons of ideas for all kinds of events. Just clicking on the category you are looking for, and you will find a number of ideas there. It’s great for inspiration. Check it out!
