Kateso's married!

Our Kateso's married!
Yesterday was the big day.

It rained- but by 3pm when she and her husband Ruslan, the bridesmaid and best man and their close family arrived at our house for the pre-ceremony gathering, the rain had stopped and the sky began to clear.

Thick clouds. Moist air.
Kate's ivory glowed against the grey and green.

At our house the professional wedding MC had arranged games and competitions after Russian culture. Kate waited upstairs while Ruslan and his entourage arrived- Ruslan had to complete various tasks to earn his bride.
























He had to guess which lipstick-kiss on a poster is his Kate's; to write Kate's name in rice on a board looking only into a mirror; to split a log of wood (determining how many children they'll have); guessing which shoe box contained Kate's shoe- and finally, when he'd passed the tests, Ruslan was presented with his bride.
























Lovely, isn't he? Jake, in his element.

Thankfully, Ruslan wasn't happy with the "bride" his friends had tried to fool him with- Kate came down the stairs on cue, ready to greet Ruslan and his family.

In Russia, couples marry in the registry office. The office is open on certain days of the week, so couples and their small groups of witnesses are lined up in the foyer, waiting for their turn.

We arrived a little late, thanks to the taxi's non-arrival... We missed the first two minutes, and the ceremony was nearly finished. There were some musicians at the back, who played bars of this or that song on cue; the photographer directed everyone to their places, and the wedding was conducted by a woman in a nice suit, wearing a tight bun.



















After Ruslan and Kate were presented to us, we greeted them and presented them with flowers etc. Then we were ushered into an adjoining room so the next wedding party could come through.
























In the adjoining room was a long table laid out with champagne glasses (enough for one per adult) and two trays of chocolate.

We toasted Kate and Ruslan, some people said some things, and we we chatted for a few minutes.
























Before leaving the registry office, we took group photos; and when Ruslan and Kate arrived, he carried her down the steps while we delighted in throwing plastic rose petals, grain and small coins at them.



















Kate particularly wanted the 6 of us to come with her to take photos between the ceremony and the reception; it's tradition for newly weds to pay their respects and take photos at monuments throughout the city.
So we visited Lenin Square, Glory Square, and Kate and Ruslan paid their respects at the Neftigorsk memorial (remembering the town at the north of Sakhalin that was devastated by an earthquake in 1995).
There they fed pigeons.





















































































The reception was held in a restaurant, and was a little more familiar- though there were still games, a couple of admirably short speeches, more kissing than Pearl Harbor, as Jake said, and dancing. It was a media event.

Congratulations Kate and Ruslan!