Noisy winter wedding in Russian style: ideas

Themed weddings are a hit of our time. Newlyweds are no longer satisfied with the usual marriage registration and banal feast - they want to make an unforgettable holiday by choosing a certain style and maintaining it in all details. One of the most popular celebrations is a Russian style wedding. Centuries-old traditions and rituals that have existed in Rus' since time immemorial make the holiday very soulful.

It is not for nothing that modern brides and grooms, planning to organize an unforgettable wedding, are increasingly turning to their roots.

A little about traditions

In order to observe the wedding style in the smallest detail, you need to familiarize yourself with the wedding traditions that existed in Rus'. Since ancient times, the celebration consisted of several stages, such as:

matchmaking;
collusion;
hen and stag parties;
wedding;
wedding feast and holiday festivities;
the first days after the wedding.

Weddings in Rus' most often took place in winter. At other times of the year, the peasants were too busy working on the land. In addition, winter (concluded after Epiphany) marriages were considered the happiest.

Matchmaking is the first and very important stage of a wedding. Even if the bride’s parents really wanted to marry their daughter, the matchmakers were always refused the first time. They could only obtain consent the second or third time, and often even later.

Nowadays, the bride and groom, as a rule, find each other without the help of intermediaries. However, modern newlyweds can also arrange some kind of matchmaking if the groom comes with gifts to ask for the hand of his betrothed from her parents.

You can invite guests, musicians, or bring friends to this event who will help the groom negotiate with his future father-in-law and mother-in-law. The bride's parents, in turn, can bargain and demand that the potential son-in-law undergo some tests.

A conspiracy is an event at which all financial issues are discussed: organizing a wedding, dowry, etc.

Bachelorette and bachelor parties are traditionally held on the eve of the wedding. Usually in Rus', the bride went with her friends to the bathhouse, and then they had tea in her house for a long time, sang, told fortunes and drove away evil spirits, seeing off their friend to her new married life.

On the eve of the wedding, the groom actually took a vow of silence and even went to the bathhouse alone. But modern grooms can deviate slightly from these traditions and take friends to the bathhouse.

The wedding is an important part of a wedding in the Russian folk style, because previously all marriages took place through the church. Now you can organize a wedding before or after the official registration of marriage.

Wedding celebrations in Rus' usually lasted two to three days. The day after the feast, the young wife had to receive guests and demonstrate that she was a good housewife, and the new husband, according to tradition, went to visit his mother-in-law.

Pros and cons of a winter wedding

A wedding in the winter season is an attractive option for organizing a celebration, which has special advantages.

Pros:

In winter, fewer couples submit an application to the registry office, which means that the bride and groom will have the opportunity to choose the date for registering their marriage.
Winter is not the season for weddings, so at this time of year the prices for renting banquet halls and other wedding services are significantly reduced. This will allow you to save a lot of money on preparing for the celebration.
During the cold season there is no sweltering heat.
Winter landscapes make for stunning wedding photographs.

And in winter there is no high demand for the services of toastmasters and musicians, there are no long queues at beauty salons where they do the best wedding hairstyles in the city. The stores have a large selection of wedding dresses at discounted prices.

For a winter wedding, a couple can easily hire the best hosts, buy the most beautiful wedding dresses at a reduced cost, sign up for a convenient time at a beauty salon, and also do not have to stand in line to talk with any specialist related to wedding preparations. Simply put, a wedding in the winter season will allow the couple to save a lot of personal time and effort at the preparatory stage.

Disadvantages of a wedding in the winter season:

Risks of weather changes. Any day the snow may melt, the roads will become covered with mud, and the once beautiful snowy landscapes against which the couple could plan a photo shoot will disappear.
It is impossible to predict the air temperature on the day of the wedding celebration. If it is very cold, the newlyweds and guests of the holiday may catch a cold.
Short daylight hours.
High prices for vegetables and fruits.

However, all these disadvantages can be compensated by advantages. The main thing is to choose warm outfits for the young people and think about backup options for the photo shoot. And the increased costs for gastronomic supplies are fully recouped due to reduced prices for renting a hall and other wedding services.

Invitations

Wedding invitations are the calling card of any wedding. After all, it is from there that guests can get all the information they need - not only find out the place and time of the celebration, but also understand what scenario the wedding will take place, what to wear and give to the newlyweds.

A wedding invitation in Russian folk style should reflect the essence of the holiday. It is advisable to use an antique font. Design the card itself in a folk style, for example, in the form of a nesting doll or a samovar, a bear, a Russian birch tree or a bride in a kokoshnik.

Attention! We wrote a separate article about designing invitations in the Russian style. Be sure to study!

A good idea is to hire a special courier who will personally deliver Russian-style wedding invitations to all guests.

Decoration of the festive hall

Having chosen the venue for the celebration, you should think through its design in detail. Folk style usually includes elements of bright red, white, and black colors, which should be harmoniously combined with each other. You can use white as a background.

In this case, black and red details will become bright accents. They are most often present in folk ornaments embroidered on tablecloths and napkins. An excellent decoration are towels, which can be placed above icons or paintings depicting Russian nature.

Long tables and wooden benches are suitable for the celebration. Living plants - birch and wheat branches, rowan, viburnum and dried flowers - will perfectly decorate the surrounding space.

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It is better to set the table with wooden or ceramic painted dishes, iron goblets and bowls. But the main decoration of the table is the samovar, in which guests will boil water for tea.

Noteworthy are the decorative elements that help convey the ambience of a wedding in the Russian style: a pair of swans - a symbol of a strong bond between future spouses, horseshoes, sweet cockerels, nesting dolls, motifs from Russian fairy tales.

What to wear and what jewelry to use

The bride can choose different options for her wedding dress, but in any case, her image should contain folk motifs. For example, it could be a classic white dress with red embroidery, belted with a red belt.

A wedding in the original Russian style involves another option - a national costume: a classic Old Russian sundress with an embroidered blouse, complemented by a kokoshnik. When registering a marriage, the bride can wear a regular wedding dress, and only then change into a traditional Russian outfit.

In addition to the kokoshnik, you can decorate your hair with flowers. As for the hairstyle, the bride will suit different options for braids and braided styles.

The makeup of a bride who has chosen a bright red sundress as her outfit can be quite bright. To create the image of an old Russian beauty, you can brightly paint your lips and cheeks and apply mascara to your eyelashes.

Important! It is better for the bride to avoid winged eyeliner and eyeliner, as this does not match the style of the Russian bride.

If the bride chose a delicate white dress trimmed with a red pattern or embroidery, the makeup should be more natural. A traditional wedding suit from ancient Rus' will be well complemented by simple ballet shoes or even bast shoes, and regular shoes or heeled sandals will go well with a white wedding dress.

The bride's bouquet should include fresh wildflowers and herbs. You can use compositions of chamomile and rowan branches, diluting the bouquet with red roses.

If the bride chose a sundress and an embroidered shirt, the groom should match the image of a simple country guy by wearing bloomers, boots, a wide belt and a wide shirt embroidered with bright patterns. If the dress is traditionally white and has a small red pattern, then the groom can limit himself to only one old Russian shirt.

Images of the bride and groom

The main wedding colors, according to Russian traditions, are red and white. Their shades can be used both in the images of the bride and groom, and in festive decorations.

Of course, you can dress in traditional Russian wedding costumes (the bride in a sundress, the groom in a red embroidered belted shirt and trousers). But most couples prefer stylization, because it gives room for imagination. The bride can wear a dress with embroidery or painting, or complement a classic outfit with a richly embroidered belt, bright beads, and decorate her head with a wreath or kokoshnik. Groom - choose a traditional suit, combining it with a red shirt or with a braid at the collar. Or you can stick to regular linen trousers and a shirt. Also, the bride’s dress can be “insulated”, for example knitted. It will be successfully complemented by a beautiful down shawl.

Since we are talking about the cold season, do not forget to take care of outerwear. It will not only keep you warm in the cold, but will also look original in photographs. A warm loose-fitting coat or fur coat of the bride is complemented with red boots, a bright scarf, and a fur hat. The groom can dress up in a sheepskin coat. Especially brave grooms are offered hats with earflaps. Don't forget about mittens - they are relevant for both future newlyweds.

Let the bride's bouquet be bright. It can be made from flowers, branches of coniferous plants, bunches of rowan and viburnum. And pine cones, nuts and even apples are often used as additional decoration.

It would be appropriate to use all kinds of braiding options in the bride's hairstyle. Makeup is at the discretion of the newlywed, but the brightness of the lips and cheeks is welcome!

Dress code for guests

A wedding in the Russian style presupposes a certain image for everyone present. It is advisable that the guests appear at the holiday in the images of the inhabitants of ancient Rus'. The bride and groom should inform them in advance that the wedding is a themed one and requires a specific dress code. It would be appropriate to offer guests assistance in choosing an outfit; for example, young people can rent kokoshniks and other accessories themselves in order to distribute them to everyone among those invited.

The magic is in the details

Invitations for guests can be printed on thick cardboard in white or blue. A calligraphic font that imitates handwritten text and decorated with winter patterns will hint to your guests even before the holiday that something out of the ordinary awaits them.

Decorate the banquet hall in snowy white, blue and silver shades. Laconic transparent dishes will serve as a reminder of the ice palace, but to ensure that the atmosphere of spiritual warmth does not leave the holiday, dilute this background with bright candles and heart-shaped napkins.

Fragrant gingerbread cookies in the form of figures of the bride and groom, grog or hot chocolate instead of traditional champagne during a walk - don’t be afraid to break stereotypes, because this is what a winter celebration is for.

But in the relaxed atmosphere of a cozy banquet hall, cold champagne will come in handy. And you can once again surprise your guests by offering frozen fruit figures instead of traditional ice cubes.

When choosing a menu, give preference to varied and satisfying cuisine. Pay special attention to hot dishes. Fragrant pies, chocolate fondue, exotic soups and snacks will not leave guests indifferent.

And let a luxurious snow-white cake decorated with winter patterns become a colorful final touch to the wedding menu.

For the newlyweds' first dance, choose music that is meaningful to you and will always remind you of your love. But for subsequent musical accompaniment of the holiday, you can prepare a special thematic selection with songs and melodies that are associated with the winter months.

Where to spend

The celebration can be held either in the fresh air (for example, on some picturesque lawn), or in a restaurant decorated in the appropriate style.

A wedding in an open area is suitable for the warm season, but a restaurant is in no way tied to the time of year. The main thing is to choose a fairly spacious room with wooden furniture and decorate it as needed. Tables should be long and stand close to each other, and instead of chairs it is appropriate to use the same long benches.

Decor

A wedding in the Russian style means decorating the hall in certain colors. The main color palette for the holiday is white, as well as a combination of red and black. It is necessary to use these colors in all interior details.

It is best to cover tables with snow-white tablecloths embroidered in red. The tables should have both wooden and painted ceramic dishes; Metal cups for drinks would also be appropriate. You can design your wedding decor in the Russian style yourself, or you can invite an experienced specialist to decorate the room.

To decorate the hall and tables, use rustic style attributes:

samovar;
bouquets and compositions of fresh wildflowers, rowan branches, ears of wheat;
paintings with village views;
nesting dolls;
horseshoes;
bunches of bagels.

Decoration of the hall in Russian style photo

When the venue for a Russian wedding has been chosen, it is time to create a style for decorating the room. You should definitely stick to a certain color palette - these are bright red, white and black; they should be present in all the details of the wedding decor, combining with each other. The background color should be white so as not to overload those present with an abundance of bright details, and black and red will become an accenting shade.

These colors may not be solid, but can be used in classic folk ornaments on a Russian holiday. For example, embroidered patterned tablecloths, napkins with embroidered flowers or knitted napkins are ideal as table decorations. Traditional wedding towels will be a wonderful decoration for the walls; they can be hung above icons and paintings with beautiful Russian landscapes and views.

The tables themselves at the wedding should be long structures on which many national dishes of Russian cuisine are presented, and long wooden benches will complement such tables. You can decorate them, like the entire surrounding area of a Russian-style wedding, with living plants - birch branches, wheat branches growing in the fields, rowan berries, viburnum, dried bouquets of flowers if the wedding is celebrated in winter.

The main decor of the banquet table should be Russian wooden or ceramic dishes with beautiful paintings, as well as iron goblets and bowls, which create a special wedding atmosphere and complement the style of the holiday. The main decoration of the table will be a huge samovar, where guests will boil water for herbal or black tea.

You should also pay attention to the details that create the ambience of a Russian wedding style: these will be swans, which have long symbolized the strong bond between future Russian spouses. It would be a good idea to decorate the premises with nesting dolls (they can also be used as boutonniere boxes for guests with small gifts), random horseshoes, sweet cockerels, it is possible to use motifs from Russian folk tales.

Wedding crew

Which means of transportation best matches the spirit of a Russian folk wedding? Of course, the famous Russian troika! It is very advisable to order a cart, carriage or horse-drawn carriage, and travel in it that day.

If this is not possible, any car decorated with flowers and ribbons with traditional patterns will do.

It is better to choose simple dishes for a Russian-style wedding. Borscht, fish soup, potatoes with herring, mushrooms, pickles, sauerkraut, fresh vegetables, pancakes, cabbage pie, pies with fish and meat filling are ideal. The choice of dishes is huge - you don’t have to worry that your guests will go hungry! Roasted goose or suckling pig are suitable as a main dish.

The wedding cake should be multi-tiered, decorated with folk style elements. On top you can place figurines of newlyweds in traditional costumes, a samovar or a matryoshka doll. Or you can skip the cake altogether and instead serve a grand pie with berry filling.

Approximate Scenario

Here is an approximate wedding scenario in Russian folk style that you can use as a guide:

On the eve of the holiday, the bride goes to the bathhouse with her bridesmaids. The groom also hosts his bachelor party.
On the morning of the wedding day, the groom comes to the bride's house for ransom. Funny songs and ditties are welcome. The future husband needs to show the depth of his feelings for his chosen one, as well as his financial viability.
Wedding. As a rule, they go to it immediately after the ransom. The ceremony at the church will last approximately one hour.
After church, the newlyweds go to register their marriage at the wedding palace, and if they have done this in advance, they go to an outdoor ceremony.
After registration, you can drive around the city and have a photo shoot.
A festive feast where the newlyweds are greeted by their parents with bread and salt. Entertainment, dancing and competitions.

The wedding scenario in the Russian style directly depends on the imagination of the newlyweds.

Interesting! Charge your guests with the right energy from the very beginning. To do this, use the original Russian-style ransom script.

Photoshoot

A photo shoot in the Russian style can give all guests bright positive emotions and preserve the memory of this holiday for a long time. If the wedding is held in the summer in an open area, then you can take pictures against the backdrop of nature and village surroundings: haystacks, wooden houses or huts.

However, even in winter it is advisable to find some time for a photo shoot on the street - the operator can take pictures of the newlyweds in a carriage, or photograph them drinking tea from a samovar, decorated with a bunch of bagels, and installed right on the street.

You can come up with a huge number of plots to realize your idea - if the wedding is in the Russian style, the photos will turn out simply amazing. For an indoor photo shoot, the same decorative elements are usually used: samovars, nesting dolls, kokoshniks, etc.

Holiday in winter

Cold weather makes its own adjustments to the organization of the celebration. It’s no longer possible to organize an outdoor ceremony in winter, and neither is a long photo shoot on the street. At the same time, a winter wedding in the Russian style, with proper preparation, can be held no less fun than in the warm season.

The bride will have to put on a fur coat and a scarf, the groom will have to put on a sheepskin coat and a warm hat, but in this form they will perhaps become even more like the newlyweds of old Rus'. And how much fun it is to ride in a horse-drawn sleigh on white fluffy snow!

A short photo session against the backdrop of winter nature will give the newlyweds unforgettable photos, and the celebration in the warm restaurant will seem even warmer and more soulful to the guests.

A samovar and bagels, a bear and a balalaika, and of course, winter nature itself will make a winter wedding in Russian folk style very special and unforgettable.

Organization of winter weddings

Wedding entertainment

The only thing that can limit your imagination in organizing this part of the wedding is bad weather. It’s good if the winter day chosen for the celebration will please you with sunshine, light frost, and snow (not slush). In this case, many ideas can be brought to life for entertaining the newlyweds and guests, as well as for a photo shoot (instead of a banal idle walk around the city’s attractions):

a visit to the ice skating rink , by the way, and the wedding ceremony itself (outside) at the skating rink would be very original;
downhill sledding (if possible, skiing/snowboarding);
A snowball fight can be a variation of the traditional bride price - if the groom's team fights with the bridesmaids.

Winter wedding

Bride's image

The main requirement for a newlywed's outfit is that it must be appropriate for the weather (otherwise the honeymoon will turn into a sick leave). Regarding the style of the outfit , there are countless options.

For example, a traditional Russian outfit: a cozy muff, a fur coat or a warm cape embroidered with beads, a bright Pavlovo Posad scarf or an openwork Orenburg “gossamer” on the shoulders, warm light boots with fur or elegant felt boots. You shouldn’t forget about the groom either; by the way, his outfit can be complemented with a hat with earflaps. Provided, of course, that it suits him.

Winter wedding

The bride's bouquet can also be seasonal. And not only to fit into the style of the celebration and match the bride’s outfit. Flowers from a wedding bouquet must withstand the frost resistance test. Or they can be unusually replaced with pine cones, spruce branches, bright berries and other things, making an original, truly “winter” accessory.

By the way, both the hairstyle and the bride’s headdress for the winter celebration must be chosen appropriately. A veil, for example, can be replaced with a beautiful (and warm) hat with a veil, and instead of flowers, you can add “winter” elements to your hairstyle: hairpins in the shape of snowflakes, bright winter berries, etc.

Winter wedding

Wedding decorations

Not only such global things as a young woman’s wedding dress should emphasize the beauty and unusualness of a winter wedding. In each element of the celebration you can add a small “winter” accent.

In the design of the banquet hall (decoration of the arch, tables, chair backs) you can use the attributes of the winter holidays. Snowflakes, fir branches, cones, Christmas tree decorations, light garlands and much more are suitable here. Attention can be paid to such little things as wedding glasses, invitations, birthday cake, wedding procession.

Winter wedding

A real fairy tale!

We all sometimes want to become the heroes of some good story, and a wedding in the style of Russian fairy tales is a great opportunity to make such a dream come true.

This is one of the varieties of Russian folk weddings, where a certain fairy tale is chosen, after which a script is developed, the outfits of the couple and surroundings are selected that correspond to the plot of this story.

If a wedding in the style of a Russian folk tale is held in winter, then the newlyweds can take the fairy tale “Morozko” as a basis. A sleigh with bells drawn by a Russian troika, mountains of snow, and frosty air will create an unforgettable atmosphere for this holiday.

It is good to spend such holidays in the forest, because this is where the action of many folk tales takes place. Specially invited animators will dress up as fairy tale characters, for example, the Gray Wolf.

This will result in colorful and vibrant photographs; The toastmaster can also give the groom and his friends the task of rescuing the bride who was kidnapped by a wolf. Thus, the fairy tale will become not only the background for the holiday, but also part of the plot of the wedding ceremony itself.

Any Russian folk tale can be used as the basis for the celebration. Everything depends only on the wishes and imagination of the newlyweds!

Wedding in boho style

The boho style came to us from France during the time of Louis XIV, the “Sun” king, and is a kind of parody of the bohemian culture of the Czech Republic. It is a mixture of elements of vintage, folklore, country style and hippie culture. A wedding in boho style is unlimited space for imagination and bold experiments.

Decor

The main principles of the boho style are asymmetrical and rich in bright colors.

Tables can be different both in shape and design. They can be covered with colored tablecloths and decorated with napkins with floral patterns, antique candlesticks, figurines and colorful dishes.

The main element of the decor is many flowers. When composing compositions, you need to give preference to frost-resistant plants that are not afraid of temperature changes.

Soft carpets, embroidered pillows and blankets, colored scarves, bright ribbons and feathers will complement the festive atmosphere.

Invitations

Boho style invitations can be bright and unusual.

Simple cards should be decorated with various decorative elements: flowers, twigs, ribbons, feathers or small transparent stones.

Invitations sent in fabric bags decorated with embroidery and beads will look original.

A wedding cake

A boho style cake is more like a homemade cake. It is not very symmetrical and neat, it consists only of natural ingredients: fruits, berries, flowers, olive leaves.

If you want a more traditional dessert at your wedding, then you can make it slender and laconic, but decorate it with bright ornaments, gilding, fondant flowers, leaves and feathers.

Bride's image

A bride's dress in boho style should be loose-fitting. There are no restrictions on the color scheme. It can be either plain or decorated with a geometric or floral print.

The look will be complemented by various brooches, bracelets, large earrings, and belts with metal inserts.

The main decoration of a bride in boho style is a wreath. In winter, it will be replaced by hairpins or headbands with flowers made from ribbons.

Groom image

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Boho style and classic suit are incompatible. Jeans and a simple linen shirt, a warm knitted sweater will look trendy. As accessories you can use suspenders, a tie or bow tie in bright colors, and a neckerchief.

A warm jacket or sheepskin coat will provide protection from the winter cold.

Marriage in the village

Another type of celebration is a wedding in the “Russian village” style. Most often it is held in the warm season on the street, among the rural landscape. You can place tables right in the middle of a meadow or field, but it is better to install canopies or tents. But it is important to take into account the weather conditions, because rain can spoil or even disrupt the celebration.

Wedding decoration in Russian style - haystacks; guests can be invited to dress in bast shoes and decorate their heads with wreaths of wildflowers. The table should have the simplest village products, but at the same time they should not be perishable, because they will have to stand in the heat for quite a long time.

Simplicity and closeness to nature are the main motto of the thematic celebration. Guests should sing ditties and Russian folk songs, drink kvass and mead, jump over a fire, etc.

Another option is to hold such a wedding in an appropriate room, as close in style as possible to a Russian hut.

It is advisable to invite a toastmaster to this wedding who is well acquainted with Russian wedding traditions and customs. He will help make the celebration as consistent as possible with the style of the Russian village, and select an entertainment program.

It is necessary to organize transportation of guests to the wedding venue, which will most likely be located outside the city limits. A good idea is to hire musicians for your wedding, folk music performers with accordions and balalaikas. They will immediately set the right tone for the celebration.

Wedding in “Winter” style

The winter period is a time of miracles and the fulfillment of your most cherished desires.

A wedding in the “Winter” style will give the newlyweds and guests a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of a fairy tale and become a direct participant in it.

Decor

The decoration of the room should indicate the time of year in which the celebration is held.

The color palette includes white, silver and blue shades.

The main decorative elements should be garlands, artificial snow, sparkles, decorative snowflakes and icicles, and ice sculptures.

To make the atmosphere warm and cozy, you can add live fire to the surroundings: light a fireplace, if available, and a lot of candles.

Invitations

Invitations given to guests must be made in the same color scheme as the decoration of the hall, i.e. in white, blue and silver tones. Cards decorated with various winter patterns will also look great.

These invitations will immediately give guests an idea of the style of the wedding.

A wedding cake

A cake at a wedding is the same element of decor as everything else, so it should organically fit into the style of the celebration.

Typically, a winter wedding cake is made in white and pastel colors with blue accents to imitate snow.

Decorations can consist of intricate curls - frosty patterns, chocolate cones and Christmas trees, pine branches, rowan berries. Traditional figurines of the bride and groom can be replaced with sculptures of snowmen in wedding dresses or cute penguins.

Bride's image

The bride's winter outfit must meet not only the requirements of beauty, but also warmth. It is better to pay attention to floor-length dresses with long sleeves, made of velvet, crepe or brocade.

The color scheme can be represented by classic white, blue, light pink, peach or coffee shades.

It is desirable that the decoration of the dress corresponds to the “Winter” style. Flowers and bright ornaments will look out of place. But openwork and fur inserts, embroidery in the form of snowflakes, sparkling precious and artificial stones will help create the image of a real Snow Queen.

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A fur cape or shawl will be a stylish addition to your outfit.

Groom image

The newlywed's suit should be made of thick fabric: tweed or corduroy. Outerwear can be represented by a coat in the English style.

A classic vest worn under a jacket will be a stylish and warm addition to your look. It can be made from the same material as the suit, or it can differ in texture and color.

Like the photo below:

Summary

A wedding in Russian folk style is an unforgettable holiday, because touching the roots and returning to centuries-old traditions will not leave anyone indifferent. This bright and cheerful event with songs, ditties, national costumes and rituals will certainly impress the guests and leave a lot of positive emotions. Memories of such a holiday will live for many years!