Three days of love, joy and happiness: the II All-Russian Wedding Festival has ended at the National Centre RUSSIA

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On July 10, the II All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts" finished its work at the National Centre RUSSIA. The third day of the festival was full of bright events: a large-scale cultural and educational program, the announcement of the winning couples in 7 nominations, and the closing ceremony. The next All-Russian Wedding Festival will be held in 2026. The project is implemented with support of Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.

The All-Russian Wedding Festival, a celebration of sincere love and national unity, started on July 8, the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, and lasted for three days. Its key events were the simultaneous marriage registration ceremonies for loved ones from all over Russia -- thus 206 couples created families at the festival. These are newlyweds from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol, from Kamchatka, Perm, Khabarovsk Territories, the republics of Karelia, Sakha (Yakutia), Tatarstan, and Udmurtia, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Tomsk regions, and other regions of the country. This year, it was decided to make the festival an annual event, and the initiative was supported by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova and First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Sergey Kiriyenko.

One of the most colorful events of the third day of the festival was the closing ceremony. Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, addressed the newlyweds and all participants of the festival with a welcoming speech.

"It is a great honor to me to attend the II All-Russian Wedding Festival. I sincerely congratulate you on one of the most important events in your life, which took place at the National Centre RUSSIA. I am very pleased that there are three student families among you. We are very glad that  more and more student families appear — there are already 26,000 student families, of which about 13,000 are student families with children. This is the love that unites us, inspires and gives us wings to fly. This is what we live for. I wish that children's laughter always sounds around, and that the hearth created by you is always filled with warmth. Love, joy and happiness to all!" said Olga Petrova. 

Grigory Gurov, Head of Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, also spoke at the ceremony.

"I've been married for fourteen years. Every morning I look at my wife and realize that I can't imagine any other life. I don't know anymore what I could be without her. This is a  very close person to me, who once was  a complete stranger — we met quite by chance in the street. And this is an incredible joy. I always give a sad look to people who are debating whether to get married or to not get married. After all, they impoverish their lives. Congratulations, you have received the most precious thing — each other. And it is important to keep cherishing your feelings, to hear your spouse, and to love," Grigory Gurov emphasized.

Alexey Zharich,Deputy Head of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, congratulated the participants of the festival.

"Our president said recently that our common goal is to make a large family a fashion trend in Russia. And who will do it better than you --who will bring these words to life," said Alexey Zharich, addressing the newlyweds. — And I also want to appeal to all employers in the country and to those enterprises where our newlyweds work today. The employers should also actively participate in creating the trend of a large family with many children, and help their employees: provide conditions for women to have children and resume their careers, while reducing the burden on the family." 

Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA, addressed congratulations and parting words to the newlyweds and participants of the festival. 

"Our second All-Russian Wedding Festival is coming to an end. It took three days filled with sunshine, love and a new beginning. More than two hundred couples from different parts of our country, from Yakutia to Sevastopol, said “yes” to each other. This once again shows that love makes our country, as before, strong and happy. Our President speaks about this very often: that's how it was, that's how it is, and that's how it will be," Natalia Virtuozova remarked. — Thank you for coming to the festival, and thank you for showing by your example that there is nothing more important in this world than love. As a team, we wish everyone that after many, many years you will say to each other: “We have become even stronger, closer, more reliable and happier.” And your children and grandchildren will also hear and share that. And may love protect our country, and may your families be protected by peace, prosperity and faith. Be happy!"

An important part of the closing ceremony was the announcement of the winning couples in 7 nominations of the festival: "Professional pride", "Big Family — Big Love", "Creative Union", "Love Beyond Time", "First Love: a Dream that Came True", "Loving the Business and Each Other", "Two Hearts — One Dream". The presenters were a married couple: TV presenter, singer, blogger Regina Todorenko and singer, dancer, actor Vlad Topalov.

Speaking on stage, Vlad Topalov, being asked by his wife, shared the secret of their family happiness.

"There are no life hacks in family happiness . There is life, love, and your feelings. And most importantly, there is and should be a desire to move forward together. You know, I've had an interesting, eventful, vibrant life. There have been ups and downs. And very often I caught myself thinking, "ok, back then it would be better not to do it, but here I could have done it better." But recently I read a book, and I found in it a very simple thought that touched me: the price of your present life is your past life. And so, what I gained when I met my wife, how my life, my soul, and my world changed, and that our children appeared -- is, of course, the most valuable thing. It's some kind of God's blessing. And since everything that was, and that I wanted to change, brought me here today, it was worth it," Vlad Topalov admitted. 

The awards were presented to the winners by Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; Grigory Gurov, Head of Federal Agency for Youth Affairs; Alexey Zharich, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office for Public Projects; Anastasia Zvyagina, Deputy General Director of the National Centre RUSSIA; Ekaterina and Eduard Shapovalov  — authors and founders of "Gastronomic Map of Russia", a federal project for development of Russian cuisine; Anastasia Belyavskaya and Oleg Sidorov, artists, bloggers, hosts of the show "Po Kaverochku", aka musical family NANSI & SIDOROV; married couple of DJs Arif and Nata; Irina and Sergey Shirokikh, a married couple of centenarians from the Kursk region, who have been married for 51 years.

A surprise for the closing ceremony was prepared by the presenters Regina Todorenko and Vlad Topalov. For the attendees of the ceremony they sang a song called  "Time Zones". A symbolic finale of the ceremony was a song called "Family", which was performed by the Sretensky Monastery Choir, Regina Todorenko and Vlad Topalov, Tuoma Kuba, Miravi, the "Jam" ensemble, and vocal-and-instrumental-ensemble "Proletarian Tango". 

On the third day of the festival, a cultural and educational program was also held. It included public talks, master classes, a lecture, a gastronomic performance and a literature club. All these events were about traditions of Russian weddings, or about modern wedding trends, or about building family relationships.

As in previous days, everyone could visit the exposition of exclusive wedding costumes. Historical wedding dresses, pre-revolutionary and Soviet dresses, as well as modern author's works were presented in one of the pavilions of the National Centre RUSSIA. Showcasing brands included Valentin Yudashkin, Alexander Arutyunov, Measure, GAPANOVICH, Edem Couture and others. Also, the "Russian Style" fashion show was held as part of the festival. It was dedicated to the work of modern designers who have many children.

Guided tours of the expositions "The Birth of Scale" and "The Journey Across Russia" were organized especially for guests of the festival. The visitors saw children's creative themed works "House of Happiness for the loving ones", made by students of architectural studios, and young visitors of the expos. Guests got familiar with family dynasties that have left a vivid mark in the history of Russia, and also learned about traditions and wedding ceremonies of different regions of the country.

The music treat of the third day was the evening concert, an immersion in the world of feelings. The beloved Russian musical works of the 20th century were performed by the soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, laureate of international competitions Diana Kazanlieva, and laureate of international competitions, artistic director of "Overton" Yakub Suvorov, accompanied by the leading concertmaster of the Mikhailovsky Theater Natalia Dudik.