Into the future — together with family: the National Centre RUSSIA will host the All-Russian Wedding Festival with a vibrant cultural and educational program

From July 8 to July 10, the 2nd All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Connecting hearts" will take place. During three days, more than 200 couples from all over the country will say "yes" to each other and register their marriages. Along with the ceremonies, the program will include cultural and educational events: themed public talks, creative workshops and excursions. In addition, the newlyweds, their guests and other participants of the festival will be able to get familiar with various wedding traditions, learn the basics of family psychology, and try their hand at creativity.

The All-Russian Wedding Festival is a celebration of sincere love and all-national unity, because nothing unites people more than a shared experience of happy moments in life. The festival starts on July 8, the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, and its central event will be a simultaneous marriage registration ceremony for sweethearts from all over Russia. On this day, the newlyweds will also go for a yacht trip along the Moskva River, and then, surrounded by their guests, will head a procession along the picturesque embankment to the National Centre RUSSIA, where the Registry Office staff will solemnly seal family alliances.

An important part of the festival will be passing-through of the flame of the All-Russian family hearth "Heart of Russia". This tradition was established at the International RUSSIA EXPO: the fire was brought from Murom, one of the oldest cities in Russia, where Saints Peter and Fevronia lived, and who became a centuries-old symbol of love and fidelity. All that time, the fire was carefully kept in an icon lamp in the registry office at VDNH. Couples who got married at the First All-Russian Wedding Festival will give the newlyweds of 2025 the family hearths lit from this lamp. These hearths will become a symbol of continuity of traditions and of a strong family union.

The cultural and educational program of the festival is aimed both at newlyweds, and at those who are interested in wedding traditions of the peoples of Russia, and in trends of the wedding industry.

"The All-Russian Wedding Festival is an important step in creating a new tradition. As our President noted, only creative, enthusiastic people can turn a strong family into a fashion trend and a true symbol of Russia's development. At the festival, every couple will feel that their love is part of a big country, and guests will see how wonderful the sincere feelings and strong alliances are," said Anastasia Zvyagina, Deputy General Director of the National Centre RUSSIA.

On the second day of the festival, on July 9, there will also be a wedding ceremony for couples from different regions of Russia. A cultural and educational program will be available for all participants. It is aimed both at newlyweds, and at all those who share traditional family values. In particular, interesting public talks will be held, with famous historians, journalists, psychologists, musicians, stylists, beauty experts and heads of wedding agencies sharing their knowledge and experience. The program includes discussions of history of weddings, of culture, and family values. Among speakers are Nikolay Zharinov, Alexey Chesnakov, Vyacheslav Dubynin and others.

A variety of master classes will allow the newlyweds, as well as their guests and all those who love creativity, to show their talents, master new skills and make wonderful souvenirs with sacred meaning. Thus, masters of folk crafts will teach the attendees to make "nerazluchnik" dolls and other charms for the house, as well as to weave "wreaths of happiness" from meadow grasses.

During the festival, famous artists and music bands will perform and sing for participants and guests. Among them: Nansi & Sidorov, NILETTO, Uma2rman, and other performers.

The wedding festival will not be complete without culinary workshops. Thus, participants will see a "Culinary Art" gastroshow, at which they will learn some secrets of cooking the traditional dishes of Russian wedding cuisine. The cooking will be followed by tasting. For example, the newlyweds will prepare "bannik" - a Russian ritual dish, a wedding bread sewn into a tablecloth.

The festival will feature an exposition of exclusive wedding costumes, works by leading Russian fashion houses which managed to embody high art in fabrics. Among the brands are Valentin Yudashkin, Alexander Arutyunov, Measure, GAPANOVICH and Edem Couture.

A meeting of the Literature Club "What would you (like to) read?!" will be held among other events of the festival. The conversation will focus on books that reflect the values of love, devotion and family relationships. Moderator is Alexey Chesnakov, professor at the Higher School of Economics, author of the telegram channel "Chesnakov.The library".

For the just married newlyweds, their guests and all those who will want to join, there will be held thematic tours of expositions "The Birth of Scale" and "Journey Across Russia" at the National Centre RUSSIA. These routes will pass through the prism of family and love, showing the guests how destinies of people and history of the country have been intertwining into a single plot.

The final chord of the program will be the closing ceremony of the 2nd All-Russian Wedding Festival on July 10. There, newlyweds from all over the country will be greeted by heads of federal agencies, by public and political figures, by opinion leaders. After that, a musical evening will follow: a concert-immersion into the world of feelings through the popularly beloved Russian music works of the 20th century. They will be performed by Diana Kazanlieva, soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre, laureate of international music competitions, and Yakub Suvorov, laureate of international competitions, artistic director of "Overton" creative Association. Natalia Dudik, leading concertmaster of the Mikhailovsky Theater, will accompany the famous voices.

The full program of the festival is available on the official website of the National Centre RUSSIA in the "Events" section.