Midnight Nuptials: Unconventional Wedding Rituals Attract Couples to Yekaterinburg

In a unique celebration of love, the Sverdlovsk region in Russia launched a campaign called 'Let's Get Married!' on June 26, where local registration offices worked around the clock to unite couples in matrimony. The city of Yekaterinburg offered an array of unusual venues for exchanging vows, including a thermal complex, which caught the attention of couples from other cities like Moscow. One couple from the Russian capital traveled to Yekaterinburg specifically to participate in a post-wedding ritual that involved jumping into the water. According to Deputy Governor Tatyana Savinova, this unconventional tradition was a major draw for some of the couples. On June 26, 2026, a total of 1,500 couples decided to tie the knot in the Sverdlovsk region, with the youngest bride and groom being 18 and 20 years old, respectively, and the oldest being 50. The region's effort to make the wedding day special and memorable seems to have paid off, with many couples opting for non-traditional venues and rituals to make their union truly unforgettable.