Most couples wisely opt for a shortened version of the church marriage ceremony.After the marriage ceremony the coupe leaves the guests for a tour around the city sights.The groom and the bride go in the same train but in different cars.
A Russian wedding must be fun, or it is not a wedding.
Usually it's only the couple and the witnesses in one car but sometimes it may be two cars and the closest friends (seldom family: they must take care of the reception).
The couple visits memorials in memory of people who died in the World War II or Russian Civil War of 1918-1922, other famous graves or memorials, and lay flowers there.
The guests who are present give flowers to the bride, and drink a bottle of Champagne.
Nowadays many couples opt for a marriage in a church but church marriages in Russia still do not have official status, and the church requires a civil marriage certificate to arrange the ceremony for the couple (the couple must be officially married by ZAGS before the marriage in church).
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