Ukrainian Wedding Video and Photography

Wedding day

On Sunday, the molody (bridegroom; literally — the young one) was to go to his bride’s house whence they would go to church. The bridegroom’s mother walked him to the gate of their household, blessing him and throwing grain or small coins over him.

At one point on the way to the bride’s house, the bridegroom’s progress was barred and “ransom” for the bride was demanded by a group of the bride’s friends. The bridegroom had to give out presents, food and drink, or money, and then he would be let through. This ritual was called “pereyma” — “interception.”

When he arrived at the bride’s place, the bridegroom was supposed to take her in his arms and carry her some distance from the house to the waiting carriage or wagon. The wedding train consisted of many horse-drawn wagons and other similar vehicles which were decorated with flowers, ribbons and rugs. In one of the wagons was carried the vesilne hiltse — the Tree of Life which also symbolized the continuity of generations (a sort of “genealogical tree”). Traditions of arranging the wedding trains varied from region to region. In the Carpathians, for example, the participants, including the molodi (the betrotheds; literally — “the young ones”) rode on horseback rather than in wagons. The procession looked noble and impressive, and the bride and the bridegroom were referred to as “knyaz” — “Duke,” and “knyahynya” — “Duchess.” The bride carried a dyven — bread roll in the shape of a wheel, or rather a tire, through which she would ceremoniously look in the four directions of the world and see what the future held for her with her husband-to-be. The bridegroom carried figurines of an ox and a plow made of bread which symbolized husbandry and the work he would be doing.

After the wedding ceremony in church, the couple proceeded to the bride’s place where a huge wedding reception was held. Rituals of the wedding party varied in different parts of Ukraine, but usually, the newlyweds would go around the korovay (wedding bread) three times and then sit on a bench covered with a sheep skin coat, the fur outside — it was a symbol of prosperity. Then the newlyweds were given bread and healthy and good-looking children to hold in their arms — for good luck in having healthy children.

Dances, in which all the guests were involved, were part of the wedding celebrations; mostly, people danced not in pairs but all together in a circle.

There were hundreds of different songs sung at the wedding parties, most of which consisted of good wishes for a long happy life of the newlyweds, of thanks to the parents, of asking God to grant a happy destiny to the newlyweds, of expressions of sorrow of the parents parting with their children. Some of the things were of quite a bawdry nature, or teasing.

Closer to the evening, the wedding wreath was removed from the bride’s head and a headscarf was put on instead. This ritual, called “pokryvannya” — “covering”, symbolized the bride’s transition from girlhood to the status of a married woman. The karavay, which was of a very big size, was then cut into small pieces and everybody present at the pokryvannya ceremony was given a piece, the newlyweds included.

The newlyweds were to spend their first night together in a komora — a store-room or store-house. As they were not supposed to eat or drink anything during the wedding party, the newlyweds were given a baked chicken and a bowl of honey to eat.

The young wife’s nightgown with bloodspots was displayed the next morning as evidence of losing her virginity during the night. The absence of such evidence would bring shame not only on the young woman but on her parents as well.

Wedding celebrations continued for a week or more, with customs and rituals differing from region to region, but in spite of the local differences, the general pattern remained more or less the same.