Couples in love from across Russia take part in a ceremonial procession through central Moscow
Ahead of the ceremonial marriage registration at the III All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts", couples in love took a romantic boat trip along the Moskva River. This was followed by a ceremonial procession along Vystavochny Lane to the National Centre RUSSIA. The festival, dedicated to the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, is being held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 8–9 July.
"The idea for the Wedding Festival was born back at the RUSSIA EXPO, where couples from every region of our country were married. The III All-Russian Wedding Festival now also involves couples from the regions where branches of the National Centre have opened: Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk and Khanty-Mansiysk. And now Moscow is taking up the baton, with 150 wonderful couples from across the country getting married here today. In addition, the celebration is becoming international — couples in love have come to us from Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. People want to share their happiness, are proud of their families and see Russia as a stronghold of traditional values. We have wonderful couples who love each other, are not afraid to show their feelings and want to tell the whole country and the whole world about them. We would like to thank the Moscow Government, our co-organisers for this festival." said the Deputy Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA, Anastasia Zvyagina.
After the festival's opening ceremony, the couples took a boat trip along the Moskva River and enjoyed the beauty of the Russian capital. Moscow residents greeted the future newlyweds and congratulated them on their upcoming weddings. From the pier, the couples made their way to Vystavochny Lane, where the ceremonial procession took place — a route filled with deep meaning and symbolising the journey towards family happiness.
During the procession, festival participants were able to take a symbolic journey across the entire country. The route featured eight artistic installations dedicated to Russia's federal districts. Each one conveyed the distinctive character of a region through imagery, music, folk dances and decorative elements inspired by local traditions.
Russia's cultural symbols came to life along the route: the ancient Yakut circle dance "Osuokhai" represented the Far East, a khorovod with scarves represented Central Russia, the dynamic lezginka represented the Caucasus, Cossack sword spinning represented the South of the country, the Kanderepskaya quadrille represented Siberia, the Tatar dance "Akchatyr" represented the Volga region, the boatmen's dance represented the North-West, and the precise "blacksmith's" quadrille represented the Urals. Together, these performances created a single artistic tapestry, showcasing the wealth of cultures, traditions and peoples that make up a united Russia.
Maxim Yakovlev from the Moscow Region emphasised that the Wedding Festival was a truly large-scale event for him and his fiancée Yulia Karpikova, and that the future newlyweds loved everything about it. According to Yulia, her parents also submitted their marriage application on 8 July, 34 years ago. The couple wanted to create a new tradition in their large family as well — celebrating their wedding anniversary on this day.
To reflect the beauty and diversity of the cultures of the peoples of Russia in honour of the Year of Unity, many couples attended the wedding ceremony in national dress or modern interpretations of traditional costumes. Couples from Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Chuvashia and many other regions represented their homelands in traditional attire.
Mikhail Darbasov and Yelizaveta Nikolaeva from the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) proudly represented their region at the festival: "It was on this very day, 8 July, that we first met, and we decided that it would be wonderful to formalise our relationship on the Day of Family in the capital of Russia. For the wedding, we wore Yakut national costumes — a stylised khaladaai, traditional Yakut silver jewellery and a traditional men's camisole. Our parents were our stylists and designers — they chose the costumes and jewellery for us. We are proud to represent Yakutia and want to share our culture, as well as learn about the cultures of other peoples of our country and neighbouring states."
As the festival is now in its third year, many couples came on the recommendation of relatives, friends and acquaintances. Among them were Anton Borisov and Maria Kuznetsova from Saint Petersburg. "Our friends recommended the Wedding Festival to us — they had already taken part in it before, and we became the successors to this tradition. Getting married at the National Centre RUSSIA in the capital of our Motherland, together with many other couples from across the country, is very symbolic," Anton and Maria shared.
The festive procession culminated in a large khorovod of the newlyweds in front of the National Centre RUSSIA. The final destination of the procession was the Grand Concert Hall of the National Centre RUSSIA, where the ceremonial marriage registration of brides and grooms who found each other in different parts of the country will take place.
The full festival programme is available on the official russia.ru website in the "Events" section. A livestream of the event is available in the "Livestreams and Videos" section. The National Centre RUSSIA is organising the festival jointly with the Moscow Government and the Moscow Civil Registry Office.
Event photobank
Newlyweds from Nyagan, choreographers Yuri Osovin and Viktoria Khmyrova, took part in the production.
Vladivostok hosted the All-Russian Wedding Festival "Russia. Uniting Hearts" for the first time.
