Engagement is a special event in all classes. One evening, a young woman, specially adorned with makeup, precious jewellery and a headdress, surrounded by her parents and friends, waits in the entrance room for the arrival of the groom and his parents. Newcomers enter and sit on one side of the room. The groom is silent as well as the bride. The newcomers formally ask for their daughter's hand in marriage, to which the woman's parents reply: "You are pleasing and respectable to us." After that, the parents of the boy and girl greet each other three times. At this time, the groom's father stands up. He holds an engagement ring in his hand, which he puts on the bride's finger in the name of his son. This gift comes with an icon and a pouring of amber beads. The engagement ends with a gala dinner. However, often the wedding is held one, two or three years later. During this time, the bride can receive the groom in a separate room.

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And the big wedding day has come. Usually, the wedding is held in the groom's family. The groom's parents and friends go to fetch the woman early in the morning, while the bride waits patiently at home.

 

Many people are invited to the wedding. Guests dressed in festive clothes come on horseback and bring all kinds of gifts, most often money, which is a certain loan - the amount received is accurately recorded, and then, when the appropriate occasion is given, the family gives exactly the same amount.

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For the wedding celebration, they make a kind of tent in the open air - a piece is covered over the twisted branches of a tree, which is lit from the inside. Long tables and chairs for two or three hundred guests are arranged on all four sides of the tent. The tables are so narrow that guests sit only on one side of it. The free space left in the middle is intended for dancing.

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When the bride's carriage approaches the house at a distance of about half a verse, one of the wedding party members advances on horseback and fires a gun at the groom's family to announce the bride's approach. Everyone gets dressed, and the mother-in-law stands at the threshold of the house with a lump of sugar in her hand to put in the bride's mouth and wish her "a sweet life and a sweet tongue!" This is a beautiful custom.

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Among the peasants, a dowry of the bride is brought with her by the bridegroom. Apart from a certain amount of cash for the bridegroom, the dowry consists of wooden chests painted in loud colours and decorated with carved ornaments, in which the bride arranges sewn mattresses, pillows, blankets and bed linen. Among the wealthy classes of the population, the dowry is sent to the groom's family on the morning or the evening before the wedding.

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The sound of the wedding procession is heard from a distance. The bride steps forward, followed by an old friend of the family - an elderly lady. Sometimes a nanny takes the place of this lady, leading her to a room prepared for her in advance, where she will dress her, brush her hair, apply makeup and take her out after finishing the toilet. The groom will be brought and the wedding party will go to the church. The bride and the groom is followed by a groomsman who holds two wedding crowns decorated with gold filigree and a cross over their heads during the ceremony. From this day on, the best man becomes a friend of the family and especially of the bride. He should baptize the first child.

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The church is full of people. In the place where the bride and the groom stand, a pink silk carpet is spread, and sometimes just a burqa (traditional woolen coat). The religious ceremony begins and throughout the ceremony we must be careful not to lean against the walls, as this is a bad omen. Parents carefully watch the candles in the hands of the bride and the groom – whose candle burns longer, lives longer as well.

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After the wedding ceremony, everyone congratulates the newlyweds and leaves the church. At the door of the church there are two visitors with crossed swords in their hands, under which the newlyweds must pass. After that, the fun songs start. As a sign of the holiday, a gun is fired and everyone goes home, where everything is ready for the big celebration. Before entering the house, one of the wedding party will give the bride the money collected for her by the guests. Close relatives give her jewellery, belts, etc. Then they bring a 7-8-year-old boy, who is placed on the bride's lap, and from that day on, he becomes her nurseling.

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After that, newlyweds enter the hall where the table is laid, but here too it is necessary to follow the rules: the groom sits next to the bride and receives congratulations. One strange thing - in the wishes dedicated to the bride, they only wish her to have a son! Then they announce that the table is set. The groom leaves, and the bride sits silently with her eyes bent and waits for the woman of honor, who helps her to stand up and takes her to the table where her husband's relatives are sitting. Men are not allowed at this table. The maid of honor is usually ugly and devilish - she sits next to the bride, and on the other side she touches the most unsightly woman in the audience. The bride still wears her veil. Her closest female friends are sitting around her. During the festive dinner, which lasts the whole night, many toasts are made, a lot of wine is drunk, and many hours are sung and they wish the bride: "May your feet be happy!" May God bless you with happiness!” The guests from bride’s and groom’s side compete with each other in drinking wine, and all of them are served huge pieces of boiled beef or mutton! Drinking wine without leaving the table for 6-7 hours and finishing the glass to the and is considered the most honored thing to do.

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The feast is necessarily presided over by the “Tamada” (toastmaster), who offers toasts to the guests. In the middle of the dinner, the innocent bride, who has not eaten anything yet, has not laughed and has not looked at anyone, is forced to remove her veil. She remains at the table for another hour. Then the lady accompanying her gets permission from the mother to take the bride to the bedroom, but in such a way that no one notices it. A light dinner is brought only here for the bride, after which she sleeps, and her attendant waits for the groom at the door. "What do you want?" she asks the groom, who puts some coins in her hand and enters the bedroom. Meanwhile, the festive celebration and the feast continues.

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At dawn, the groom comes out of the room and leaves some mone in the bed according to his financial situation. The lady accompanying the bride enters the bedroom and helps the bride to dress and adorn herself.

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On the second day of the wedding, a horse race is organized. Different prizes are awarded to the winners, and then they sit down to the table again. As the evening approaches, the guests prepare to leave and bring with them what they did not have time to eat. Newlyweds give gifts to groomsmen and parents which might be horses, weapons, etc.

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After a week, the lady accompanying the bride leaves the house of the newlyweds and returns home. A heart-breaking scene of parting takes place. With the departure of this lady, the last thread that connected the bride to her parents' house is severed.

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For a year starting from this day, the newly married couple is completely obedient to their parents and does not even dare to sit down in their presence without permission. The bride, who is in charge of running the family affairs, works silently like a fairy, devotes her free time to needlework and gives her works to her husband's parents.

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