I got married!! Yes, its true. I went to Russia and am now a married woman. Who would of guessed it would only take visiting Siberia to make it happen. I am also the proud mother of two twins. They are the first two of an expected 18 children that I will have. What more could a girl want?

Look how happy I am.

So, this is how it all went down.

During our great 10 day adventure around Lake Baikal, we visited an old believer (старообря́дцы) house.  In case of confusion, old believers are a religious group who refused to accept the reforms imposed upon Russian Orthodoxy by Nikon. As a result, many were exiled to Siberia. We were lucky enough to visit one of these communities and get to talk with them and experience real old believer life.

Upon arrival, we were met by a very kind older woman. She was dressed in traditional old believer dress (please see above picture of me). Traditional Old Believer dress for women includes first a long sleeved collared shirt followed by a colorful dress, which is followed by layers of almost apron like garments. To top off the outfit, very large necklaces are worn comprised of large beads and a headdress is worn.

After our introduction, the old lady kindly showed us around her house. We got to see the farming tools in the backyard, the inside bedrooms, kitchen, and icons which are traditionally placed in the corner of the house. After our tour, we were invited to our feast!

Besides my wedding, this was the second best part of our day. Everything we ate was homemade, besides the sugar and salt. We had fresh vegetables, honey, sweets, mashed potatoes, soup, juice, and most importantly, homemade vodka! I very graciously accepted refills of this delicacy.

It should be noted here that prior to my wedding, I did not know I was going to be getting married..

Stuffed to the brim, we made our way outside and enjoyed a show of Old Believer songs and dancing which involves quite a bit of foot work and high notes. Then, it was my time to shine!

My soon to be husband, Nick, was escorted away with a fellow man to be prepared while I was sat in the very front of room.

Not knowing what was going to happen, my hair was first being braided into two long braids with ribbon and tied into little knots on top of my head. Following this was my transformation into a traditional Old Believer outfit. I looked great and more importantly, I was very warm in my numerous layers.

I was soon informed that one of the Old Believer ladies was going to by my mom and she wanted to marry me off as I was becoming older and in desperate need of a husband. Luckily, my knight in shining armor Nick would soon arrive in search of a lovely Old Believer wife.

Now, marriages do not just happen spontaneously. That would be ridiculous! Instead, my family met with Nicks family and some negotiating took place, some arguing, but it ended with a nice compromise and we were soon to be married. Yippee!

We immediately celebrated together with a traditional Old Believer dance in which we circled each other numerous times. Additionally, as a couple, we had to choose from a circle of different cups. Thankfully, we chose the cup that had sugar in it. A sweet marriage was predicted!

Afterwards, we were whisked away to live happily ever after.

This wasn’t the end of our story though.

After a harsh winter we returned, with two little bundles of joy! Twins! A sweet life indeed.