Portland wedding photography by Ukrainian/Russian wedding photographer Oleksandr Havrylyuk.

Dictionary:

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of wedding vows by the couple, presentation of a gift (offering, ring(s), symbolic item, flowers, money), and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or leader. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayer or readings from Scripture may also be incorporated in the ceremony.

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism or for personal use. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such as documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by the qualities of:

A photographer is a person who takes a photograph using a camera. A professional photographer uses photography to make a living whilst an amateur photographer does not earn a living and typically takes photographs for pleasure and to record an event, place or person for future enjoyment.
Photographers are often categorized based on the subjects they photograph. Some photographers explore subjects typical of paintings such as landscape, still life, and portraiture. Other photographers specialize in subjects unique to photography, including street photography, documentary photography, fashion photography, wedding photography, war photography, photojournalism and commercial photography.

A photograph (often shortened to photo or pic (picture)) is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip.

The bride is a woman about to be married or newly-wed. The word may come from the Teutonic word for "cook". In Western culture, a bride may be attended by one or more bridesmaids or maids of honor. Her partner is the bridegroom or groom, who becomes her husband after the wedding.

A wedding dress or wedding gown is clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.

A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the painter or photographer, in order to most successfully engage the subject with the viewer.

Documentary photography usually refers to a type of professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur or student pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. The pictures usually depict a certain perspective of the photographer.
Usually such photographs are meant for publication, but are sometimes only for exhibition in an art gallery or other public forum. Sometimes an organization or company will commission documentary photography of its activities, but the pictures will only be for its private archives.

The Ukrainian Marriage Ceremony.
A Ukrainian marriage is filled with traditions that originate in both Eastern Rite Christianity and in Ukraine’s ancient pagan past.
Part of the Ukrainian marriage takes place at the bride's house. If you are not a close family member, you will most likely miss this part of the wedding. Before the church ceremony, the bride, the groom and their families meet at the home of the bride's parents for the blessing, the blahoslovenya. At the blessing, the parents express their approval and good wishes for the couple.
Virgin Mary StatueThe Betrothal part of the wedding ceremony takes place in the vestibule of the church, at which time the bride and groom affirm that they are entering the marriage freely. The priest then blesses the rings and places them on the fingers of the bride and groom.
In a Ukrainian marriage, the father does not walk his daughter down the aisle. Rather, the bride and groom enter the church together. One reason for this is that the father has already "given away" his daughter at the blahoslovenya. Another reason why the bride and groom enter arm in arm is that it represents an equal partnership.
The second part of the ceremony takes place at the front of the church and it includes the Crowning. Here, the bride and groom place their right hands on the Gospel and exchange vows.
The hands of the bride and groom are joined with an embroidered cloth, the rushnyk, which signifies their new union. Once bound to one another, the couple circles the small altar, the tetrapod, three times. This procession is called the "Dance of Isaiah". These are the first steps taken by the couple as husband and wife.
During the ceremony, the couple will drink wine three times to acknowledge the importance of the Holy Trinity and to remind us of Christ’s first miracle at the wedding at Cana.
Toward the end of the ceremony, the priest escorts the bride to the icon of Mary in the church. As the priest offers up prayers on her behalf, the bride kneels in front of the Virgin Mary and presents her with a bouquet of flowers.
The Reception
The reception starts with the welcoming of the bride and groom. The parents and starosty (two official witnesses) meet the newlyweds at the door. They offer them gifts of bread, salt, honey and wine. The newly-formed family then joins in a toast. In accordance with tradition, the father of the bride will drink the most wine out of the group.
Instead of a traditional wedding cake, Ukrainian weddings have their traditional korovai, a wedding bread symbolizing community. It is decorated with ornaments of baked dough. There are two birds which represent the couple and the other ornaments represent friends and family. In the middle of the korovai is a hiltse, a tree of life representing life and fertility.
Throughout the wedding reception, the traditional Ukrainian dance called the kolomeyka will take place as well as the singing of a song called Mnohaya Lita. It is a song of good wishes and means "many happy years".

A typical Ukrainian wedding is very colorful and exciting. It is usually an intricate affair that lasts between 2 and 3 days, but there are also a number of traditions that take place before the actual wedding. These are as important to a Ukraine bride as the ceremony itself.
First there is the "dohlyaduny" or the formal engagement. The groom comes to the bride's house with his friends and asks the parents of the Ukraine bride for permission to marry her. The custom is purely formal considering everything is arranged beforehand, but it dates back to ancient times when the "dohlyaduny" was an official proposal to the Ukraine bride. Her parents are the ones to decide whether or not she will marry her suitor.
The length of the engagement varies from bride to bride, but it is usually at least a month and a half, and will range up to a year or more. During this time much has to be done to get ready for the ceremony. A couple makes the lists of the guests, and chooses the restaurant and considers the menu that everyone can enjoy.
They also have to choose the photographer and videographer, as well as the person who makes the toast to the married couple. Choosing the church for the wedding is also an important decision. A Ukraine bride then chooses her wedding dress; usually a white color but lately, ivory and pale pink dresses have become a popular choice.
There are times that a Ukraine bride wears extraordinary garments called a "vyshyvanka", a national Ukrainian embroidered shirt. An indispensable part of a Ukraine bride's dress is the bridal veil. Though in many European countries it is a matter of taste, in Ukraine it is an absolute must, and something that is taken very seriously. The groom's clothes don't have to meet any particular requirements, but he usually wears a suit and tie even though he could get married in just a shirt and pants without the tie.
The wedding itself usually takes place on a Friday or Saturday. As with most American traditions, the Ukraine bride and her groom have to spend the night before separately. The groom has his bachelor or stag party, and the bride invites her friends for a "divych-vechir" or bachelorette party.
The morning of the ceremony the groom goes to his fiance's house and pays what is called the "vykup" or a ransom for a bride. According to another tradition there is only one bridesmaid, and she thinks out different contests for the broom to do, and if he fails he has to pay the "vykup".
Once he passes, he may see his bride. The wedding procession all goes to the civilian registry office where you register to get married, even if you have the wedding in a church. To have an actual church wedding is very important to Ukraine brides because by Orthodox beliefs, a wedding in a church means that the couple will be together in heaven, no matter whether the love lasts or not.
After the ceremony is completed, the couple and their guests will have about 3 to 5 hours in which they spend taking pictures. The dinner is then held either at a restaurant, or at home, depending on the number of guests. The Ukrainian bride is the center of attention of course and people spend time trying to steal her shoes, or the bride herself.
It is a tradition that brings fun and laughter to the ceremony, and the person who manages to do this can ask the bridesmaid or best man for anything he wants. The dancing and singing follows and usually lasts until dawn. The wedding continues into the next day for more fun and dancing. A good time is absolutely had by all.

Russian Wedding Traditions. A traditional Russian Wedding lasts for at least two days and some wedding last as long as a week. Throughout the celebration there is dancing, singing, extended toasts and a great deal of food and beverages. The Best Man and Maid of Honor are called witnesses, "svideteli" in Russian. The ceremony and the ring exchanges take place on the first day of the Wedding and on this special day many other events take place. Throughout the years, Russian Weddings have adopted many western cultures, including Bridesmaids and Flower girls.
Some traditional Russian Wedding Rituals include:
Paying the Ransom-Once the groom arrives at the bride's home, he must pay a ransom for the Bride, a term in Russian known as "vykup nevesty". The entire is played out in a comical fashion and everyone is entertained. Traditional Ceremony-In the next step, the Bride and Groom have and optional traditional ceremony in a church or a synagogue, depending on the couple's religion. In Russian this is called the "venchanie". Churches or synagogues do not have official government status and a civil ceremony must also be held.
Civil ceremony-Following the traditional ceremony, the couple must have a civil ceremony called "rospis v zagse". This ceremony takes place at the department of public services, formally known as ZAGS. At ZAGS the couple is greeted by family members with bread and salt. It is offered to the newlyweds by both parents as a symbol of health, prosperity and long life. Both bride and groom must take a bite of the bread and the one that takes the largest bite will be the head of the family! The ceremony ranges from 15 to 30 minutes and during this time the rings are exchanged and the couple is pronounced Husband and Wife.
Tour of the city-After the official part, it is customary for the bride and groom, and some of their close friends and relatives to go on a tour of the historic sites of the city, taking pictures and drinking champagne. In Moscow, popular stops include the Red Square, Grave of the Unknown Soldier and Sparrow Hills near Moscow State University. Usually by the end of the tour many guests are already singing and dancing.
Reception-After touring the city for several hours, the couple meets guests for the reception. -The first toast is made to the newlyweds and after the first shot, the guest begin to shout "Gorko, Gorko, Gorko..." "Gorko" means "bitter" and the guests are referring to the bitter wine. At this point the couple must kiss for a long time to take out the bitter taste of the wine. By Russian tradition everyone throws their champagne glasses on the floor and it is considered a good luck if the glasses break when they hit the ground. -The second toast is made to the parents. -The new couple dances the first dance of the night. -The groom should constantly keep his eyes on the bride. If the bride gets out of the groom’s sight, she could be stolen by his friends and the groom will have to pay the ransom. (again) -As the night continues the guests dance, sing, play games, and make toasts. -For the next several days, the family continues to eat, drink, and celebrate.

Christian Orthodox wedding ceremony.
Christian Orthodox wedding ceremony is quite different from the Catholic one. First of all, it may be Greek, Russian, Ukrainian or Lebanese. They all have very much in common with some differences as well.
Prior to filming in the church find out, whether you are allowed in the front of the altar, so you could see bride’s and groom’s faces or you have to stay behind the marrying couple. There are usually some restrictions different from church to church and from the priest to another priest, so be prepared. Discuss the range of your movement with the priest.
The altar itself in Orthodox Church is a sanctuary decorated with icons and lights with an ornamented door in the center. Nobody but the priest is allowed inside. You may be allowed to position yourself just outside of that door on the groom’s or the bride’s side, so you could see both the priest and the couple.
The couple does not speak too much during the ceremony. In Russian Church the priest usually asks if the bride and the groom have been baptized as Orthodox Christians, and after they confirm that, the questioning goes on. In the rest of Orthodox Churches that first question may be skipped and the priest proceeds to the next part, asking if the bride and the groom come on their own will and if they have not committed (or promised) to someone else. This questioning may happen at the door, as soon the couple enters the church, or in front of the altar prior to the ceremony. After the priest is satisfied with the answers, the ceremony commences, and the couple keeps silence until it’s over.
You need to shoot the priest blessing the rings and placing them on bride’s and groom’s fourth finger of the right hand. It may as well be the best man who places the rings on groom’s and bride’s hands, or they may help each other. The ring usually goes half way through and stays like that until the end of the ceremony.
Another key moment is crowning. The priest blesses two crowns, asks the bride and the groom to kiss crowns and passes crowns on to the best man or to the best man and the maid of honour (witnesses, friends, “druzhki” might be the other names of those participants). The crowns are being held above marrying couple’s heads and then later may be placed on their heads as the ceremony goes along. Then the couple is being offered red wine similar to Catholic tradition. The priest holds the cup in his hands and lets the couple to finish the wine in few takes.
The culmination of the crowning is a processional walk around the altar table. The priest goes first being followed by the bride and the groom, and then by the best man and the maid of honour. The ceremony includes three circles around the table and is considered to be a wedding culmination, so keep rolling on all three rounds.
At the end the priest, while standing in the altar door, invites the couple to come closer and talks to them in plain language wishing them well and welcoming them to keep coming to the church.
During the ceremony the priest would be going into the altar and back outside, reading from the bible and singing. You should ask the couple prior to the ceremony if they want you to shoot everything he says. If this is the case, just continue rolling all the time, especially if you don’t understand the language. If the couple lets you use your own discretion, do some beauty shots between shooting key moments: candles, icons, parents, children in the audience, reaction shots from the bridal party, wide shot from the back of the church, etc.
After the ceremony is over the couple leaves the church in very much the same way they would be leaving the Catholic church.

Description of Polish Wedding Customs
Early in the morning, the closest relatives begin to appear at the bride's home for breakfast and to help in preparations for the ceremony. Next, there is a wedding ceremony at the local church, followed by the reception at the local community house (the bride's family cottage could hardly accommodate all the wedding guests including relatives, friends, and the entire village.)
Music
Music is an important part of the wedding reception. The music must be lively and must continue with very few breaks. Guests typically pay the band for a specific dance. The success of the marriage is thought to depend on the amount of spontaneity and joy at the reception. A Polish proverb states "Jakie wesele takie pozycie" (like wedding, like life).
Singing
During the reception, most of the singing is done in chorus - often in two choruses. The bridesmaids usually sing one verse, then the married women respond with their verse. There is singing also by the guests at the table, praising the food and thanking their hosts.
Dancing
The dancing is done primarily for amusement, self-expression and happiness. It is a tradition that each man must dance with the bride, and with every woman and girl at the wedding. All guests at a Polish wedding must be prepared to dance, and dance, and dance.
Table setting
The tables are arranged in a U-shape, with the bride and groom in the middle surrounded by their parents, the maid of honor(druchna), best man (druzba), and important guests. The bride?s extended family is seated on the right side, while the groom?s family is on the left.
Wedding Dinner
Traditionally, the first course for a wedding dinner is soup, usually chicken noodle soup. The second course is meat, chicken or pork.
Photography
Taking pictures at the wedding is a very important tradition in Poland as is here in the US. Usually, the newlyweds, parents and druchna and druzba drive to the closest city for a sitting with a professional photographer. Alternatively, the photographer may come to the wedding to take pictures of the married couple with their wedding guests. Thus, we too will take pictures of the guests with the newlyweds.
Crossing the threshold
The bride and groom compete to cross the threshold first when coming into the reception hall. This determines who will rule their household. The bride is earnest in her attempts, but the best man is watching and will quickly shout "Step back, please!" if he sees her winning. Nowadays, the groom usually takes the bride in his arms and they pass over the threshold together, demonstrating that she allows him to rule the house, and that he will take great care of her and her needs.
Greeting with bread & salt
As the newly married couple returns from the church, they are greeted at the door of the reception hall by their parents with bread (chleb) and salt (sol). In some regions of Poland a glass of vodka is added. The groom sprinkles the bread with salt, the newlyweds both kiss the bread while the parents say "may you never lack it" (oby Wam go nigdy nie brakowalo). This ceremony is full of strong emotions. Often the newly-married couple, their parents, and guests cry during this ritual. In Poland, bread is considered a gift of God and must always be treated with deep respect. Salt which comes from the earth, is a basic necessity of life. Poles combine the "Gift of God", and the "basic necessity of life", and offer them on a tray on various occasions as a gesture of hospitality.
Oczepiny - the unveiling and capping ceremony
Oczepiny is one of the oldest and the most important of Polish wedding customs. In old days, it was so significant that only after oczepiny, and not the church ceremony, was the bride considered to be a married woman. Before oczepiny, the bride socializes and dances with her unmarried female friends. After oczepiny, she belongs to the married women's circle. The bride tries to delay the oczepiny ceremony, but it is up to the best man to decide when oczepiny will begin. On his command, the band performs the drum roll, and the bride is placed on dance floor, in a chair facing the guests. The maid of honor and the bride's mother-in-law stand at her side. All of the unmarried girls stand behind the bride. Married woman light candles, and surround the bride while singing. Next, the maiden of honor, removes the bride's veil. This is not an easy, as the bridesmaids have secured it with so many hairpins. Finally, the bride casts the veil behind her, and the girl who catches the veil is the next to marry. Now the married women take over. In old days they would cut the braid off the bride's hair. Nowadays, the bride?s hair is covered with a marriage cap, a gift from the bride's godmother. The bride tries to delay this event as long as possible by throwing the cap off. Finally, she accepts the cap and at this moment, is officially a married woman. Still holding candles and singing, the married woman present the bride in her wedding cap to the wedding guests. From now on, the bride socializes only with the married women.
Czepek dance - Money dance
The money dance is also an original Polish custom. It takes place after the oczepiny ceremony. Guests pay money for the privilege of dancing with the bride. The maid of honor collects money for the couple to use as they set-up their household together. Today guests pay to dance with both the bride and the groom. At the end of this ceremony, the bride and the groom dance together while the money is counted to determine who has collected more.
Wedding cake
The ceremonial wedding cake is believed to be derived from the Romans. This custom was continued throughout Europe for centuries. The first documented record of a special cake served at Polish weddings dates back to the thirteen century. This was a sweet bread in an oval shape called kolacz. Today the wedding cake has become a show piece, prepared by a professional baker complete with sculpted flowers and monograms.
Poprawiny
In old days, the wedding ceremonies continued for several days. Now weddings last only for one or two days, mainly because the modern tempo forbids feasts that go on for several days. The party on the second day is called poprawiny (do over again). Our poprawiny is after the Sunday mass between 12:00 and 2:00pm Wedding day
The wedding day is full of activity and emotions, alternating between sorrow and joy, solemnity and humor.