Bridal Parade (Bridal Carnival) — an annual festive procession of Nizhny Novgorod brides. Held in June, close to the date of the summer solstice.
Nature of the event
The Bridal Parade introduces potential clients to the offerings of Nizhny Novgorod's wedding and entertainment industries.
Guests can look forward to a vibrant, dynamic show programme, photo sessions with the best wedding photographers in Nizhny Novgorod, video presentations from sponsors, and the most current ideas of the 2009 wedding season.
Competitions are planned, with winners receiving prizes and gift certificates from sponsors.
Background
Nizhny Novgorod first witnessed such a large number of brides gathered at one time on 27 July 2008. The festive procession was dedicated to the Year of the Family in Russia.
However, the event showed that society's core values — family and motherhood — are not bound to any particular time. It was therefore decided to make the parade an annual tradition.
The tradition of the "Bridal Festival" dates back to 27 April 1670, the day the bride review for Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich came to a close. In all, seventy young women from Moscow and other Russian cities were presented to the tsar. The thirty-sixth candidate was ultimately chosen as his bride — Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the future mother of Peter the Great. Had only a single bride been brought before Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich on that distant day in 1670, when the tradition was born, the sovereign would hardly have been pleased.
In the press
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On 28 April 2009, the Vera Theatre hosted a unique parade — the "Bridal Festival" — organised by the administration of Kanavinsky District together with the Main Registry Office Department of Nizhny Novgorod Region.
What made the parade unique that year was that only one young couple who had filed an application with the registry office for marriage registration appeared at the event, instead of the announced forty. "Apparently the mistake was made at the registry office itself; on our end, everything necessary to invite young couples to the celebration had been done," commented Valeriya Sevostyanova, press secretary of the Kanavinsky District administration. Well, with one bride or with forty — the celebration had to go on, and go on it did. The head of Kanavinsky District, Boris Krokhin, congratulated both the young couple and the Agafonov family, who were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary, and presented them with commemorative gifts. The announced competitions and contests were not destined to take place due to a lack of participants; however, the entertainment programme was far from sparse — children's ensemble performances, family amateur acts — all of which saved the celebration from complete failure. |
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