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It would seem that there is a shortage of everything and everything – well, what kind of celebration can we talk about. But love and thirst for romance, as always, won. Eyewitnesses tell about how weddings were arranged in pre-perestroika times and what tricks people went to to make everything pass according to the “first class”.
Whatever the financial situation in the family, money for the wedding was always found – it was not customary to sign quietly. This gave rise to many rumors, for example, that the bride was pregnant. Explain later that you have everything for love! But since marriages were often early, the lion’s share of the costs fell on the parents.
“1979. I was 18, I just entered the institute, my future husband was 19 – he was in his second year, – recalls Svetlana, 60 years old. Our parents organized our entire wedding. By that time we did not earn anything, received a meager scholarship. They saved on what they could: they celebrated at home, and collected wedding props from their own.
The coolest car in the family was my uncle — VAZ 2104 white. It was our wedding limousine. The dress was sewn for me from tulle for curtains – inexpensive, elegant and accessible – it was sold in many stores. The option to do without a white festive dress was not even considered. It’s a holiday – so the clothes had to be appropriate!
They collected dishes from the neighbors: I remember, they gave us a service – so we immediately put it to the guests. I can’t say that I was delighted with it, but it was instantly useful.”
All the best for the newlyweds
Where to get everything you need in a period of total shortage? For this, there were special shops for newlyweds, invitations to which were issued at the registry office. It was possible to get the coveted little book by submitting an application and choosing the date of the solemn event.
“In such stores you could buy a lot of things, but strictly according to the list and according to the principle “one thing in one hand”. But this is somewhere before the mid-80s, later the assortment of even these outlets became very scarce. The main value of such stores, in my opinion, were wedding rings – after all, gold was not so easy to acquire. – recalls Natalya, 58 years old.
“We have lost our book. – Elena, 65 years old, shares her memories. – The dress had to be sewn, but I had a unique one, from the most modern crimple, which was brought from abroad. How we wore this “glass” – now I can’t imagine! I didn’t have a veil, but not because I couldn’t snatch it in a honeymoon shop – I just didn’t want it. She put on a luxurious white shawl, complemented her hair with a living flower.
We filed an application with him, received an invitation to special stores and redeemed cards
The Soviet people quickly realized that honeymoon shops provided a unique opportunity to get hold of a shortage, and now not everyone applied with the intention to live their whole lives properly and happily. The main goal of some was to buy goods in stores. But no one fought against the violators. The maximum that threatened them was the disapproving glances of the registry office employees, and even then not always.
It happened that fictitious newlyweds became real. “I studied at the Institute of Chemical Technology and lived in a hostel,” says Olga, 67. – We were somehow celebrating the birthday of a neighbor, and then one of the guests suddenly suggested to me: “Come on, let’s fictitiously submit an application to the registry office.”
I knew that the guys practice such a scheme for acquiring something scarce. I thought, well, what – I’ll buy shoes for myself, maybe something else, why not. As it turned out later, this “businessman” studied at our university at a different faculty. We filed an application with him, received an invitation to special stores and redeemed cards. In the process, they rallied so much that they came in three months to officially sign at the registry office.
Chic, shine, beauty
But what about the wedding paraphernalia – the bride’s bouquet, a noisy feast!? “There were no florists in the late 70s,” says Lyudmila, 67. – What was sold in a flower kiosk, then it became a wedding bouquet. Most often it was carnations. Or seasonal flowers. In August – gladioli, in October – asters.
Of course, someone tried to add romance to what was happening. One of my relatives demanded exclusively white roses from the groom for the wedding. At that time, to fulfill such a whim was tantamount to getting the moon out of the sky. But he did! That’s what the power of love is capable of.”
But flowers are not so bad. The main thing is to organize a festive table. The question was not about which menu to choose, but about where to find products.
“Not everyone could afford a restaurant. Often the holiday was arranged at home. We cooked ourselves – there was no place to order. All the neighbors were involved in the search for ingredients, – Andrey, 68 years old, shares his memories. – One told me where he saw condensed milk – it will come in handy for a wedding cake, the other knows where to get meat for jelly.
One relative will get raw smoked sausage, the other – sprats. So the table was assembled. And if the wedding is student, then everything is simple – a bucket of vinaigrette and more booze. No one was expecting pickpockets.”
Wonders of disguise
It became even more difficult to arrange a wedding feast during the Prohibition period – starting in May 1985. Alcohol was bought by coupons: each adult was entitled to 2 bottles of vodka per month.
For special events, such as weddings and commemorations, it was possible to purchase additional alcohol on a special piece of paper – ten bottles of vodka. A real treasure in those days. At first, it was given at the time of application, as well as in a honeymoon store, but when the number of fictitious applications increased, they began to issue a “visa” for the purchase of alcohol almost along with a marriage certificate.
It is clear that ten bottles were not enough for a real wedding, because alcohol was saved for a whole year, bought by pull. On TV at that time, so-called “sober” weddings were often shown, on which carbonated drinks, teapots and samovars were on the tables instead of bottles of alcohol. But people who lived in those days, of course, remember what was poured into them most often. Teapots and samovars were the perfect camouflage for the “little white”.
They broke three accordions
The accordion, as a mandatory attribute of a wedding, remained in the 60s. In restaurants, it was replaced by VIA (vocal and instrumental ensembles, that is, musical groups. – Note ed.), and at home celebrations – a guitar. The “wedding sang and danced” format became unfashionable and remained, rather, in the villages. This led to complete bewilderment of the older generation.
“Friends said that my husband and I had the most fun wedding,” recalls Elena, 65. – My grandfather could not understand this in any way, for him we sat in the dark all evening and sang sad songs. What fun!?
And we had an amazing romantic atmosphere – candles, twilight, my husband played the guitar, we sang Beatles and Time Machine songs. What was on the table, what gifts were given – I don’t remember anything. It didn’t matter. But this romantic flair remained in my memory forever. I think I had the best wedding in the world!”