Russian wedding part 2.

Once the gauntlet has been run and the barrage of questions answered, the groom finally is allowed passage to his bride. Then it's off to ZAGS, the marriage registry office, to make it official. Some couples do have their ceremonies in church, however a trip to ZAGS is obligatory, as the state doesn't recognise the marriage unless the couple have the correct paper work, which can only be obtained at the registry office.
The wedding's motorcade to ZAGS normally includes 6 to 10 or more cars, decorated with flowers, small balls and ribbons. The car with newly weds and their witnesses - the bride's female friend and the fiance's friend - head the procession.
The official part to the day is the quickest. I remember at my own wedding thinking how very efficient the registry office was. Pumping out thousands of weddings a day, I was astonished at how well the ceremony timetable was kept. As one wedding was completed and whisked through the back door, the next scheduled was brought in through the front to the tune of Mendelson's march, just like clock work. Not a minute was spared.
Once the couple have exchanged rings and said their vows the groom physically picks up the bride and carries her to the first of many champagne drink stops. In my case I remember carrying Nastya with great trepidation, not because she was heavy (she's defiantly not) but because the steps leading out of ZAGS were saturated due to the heavy rain. The drink stop was familiar however, just like the Gold Coast Marathon, small tables set out in the open with dozens on plastic cups filled with a refreshing beverage.
After ZAGS the wedding cortege proceeds on visiting many of the different monuments around the city and to lay flowers at the Eternal Fire, this is obligatory. Drinking champagne and taking photos all the way.
Finally it is time for the reception, were the couples family and friends congregate in front of the designated restaurant or resort in order to meet the newly-weds with bread and salt. There is a tradition for the newly weds to break-off a piece of bread simultaneously - and the person, whose piece is bigger, becomes the head of the family.
Stay tuned for the final instalment where the celebrations run completely out of control.