In Russia, only civil ceremonies are considered official. Couples hoping to have a religious ceremony must also have a civil one. They apply to the Department of Registration of Civil Statuses to be allowed to have a wedding.
Once the application is complete, couples must wait one month before the actual ceremony.
In those religious ceremonies, if the bride and groom are a traditional Orthodox couple, they are crowned as royalty for the day. They stand on a special carpet to recite their vows, but before doing so, the couple races to the carpet. The winner is often considered the head of the household.
Russians have multiple ways of testing who will be the head of the household. Couples share the wedding loaf known as the Karavay, and whoever takes the biggest bite is considered head of the family.
Even single relatives get the spotlight on a Cajun wedding day