Everyone understands Latvian a little differently, but if you put all the associations, knowledge and ideas together, you would have a feeling of a single identity - about us as Latvians.

WHAT WE UNDERSTAND – WHAT IS A LATVIA WEDDING?

The first thing that most of us imagine when we hear about Latvianness in weddings are customs derived from ancient Latvian traditions, which are more or less, but almost always, observed. Books  Promise. The author of Latvian weddings , Signe Šlosberga, mentions newlyweds mixing, stealing and buying brides as the most popular wedding activities.

"All rituals are similar to ancient archaeological excavations, which are covered by a thick cultural layer - the deeper you dig, the older the finds and the more archaic. The oldest wedding traditions are incomprehensible today, because they have lost the original meaning, why they were formed. Written signs and deities - like, for example, Mara, Lyma, Thunder - our ancestors had before Christianity, and life went on in close harmony with and depending on the forces of nature," says Signe.

A connection with nature is also sought in modern weddings - for each couple it can be something different, for some - a ceremony by the sea, for others - a sacred place of ancestors, for others - an oak tree in the family yard.

In addition, in every wedding, the connection with nature as a sign of Latvian identity has a different role - starting with the choice of a simply beautiful landscape and ending with a place as a symbolically, energetically significant environment in accordance with ancient Latvian traditions.

THE ESSENCE OF ARRANGEMENT OF A LATVIA WEDDING – KNOWLEDGE

Contrary to the skepticism that young people simply imitate Latvianness and ancient Latvian traditions, guided by popular ideas, the couple who were approached by Līgavām.lv , sharing their experience, admitted that they had already accumulated knowledge about Latvian traditions in advance and, while preparing for the wedding, they themselves sought advice from experts as sources. In addition, the Internet was only useful as a starting point, looking for contacts for people for whom organizing a Latvian wedding is also a chore, but as a source, knowledge obtained from archeological excavation materials and publications about them is often mentioned as a source.

WEDDING VENUE

Rita and Ingmārs have been in folk dance groups for 11 years, currently the couple dances in TDK Līgo . They say that it was clear from the very beginning - we don't want any of the usual choices - churches or the registry office. The property of the Rita family was chosen as the venue for the wedding, where the couple is currently renovating their future residence - the ancestral home that was expropriated during the Soviet period and later recovered.

If possible, the place to start the common life path should be chosen not only close to nature, but also close to the heart - a place where the history of the family is kept and will continue, a place where energetically and symbolically everything is connected with the family, physical and spiritual maturity and growth.

Couples whose family homes are too far away or who don't have one, choose places that are close to nature and that they associate with the Latvian way of life. When the official papers are arranged in the registry office, only witnesses are present, inviting the other guests to the moment when the union is closed for real - at the level of body, heart and soul.

See the full wedding story here: https://ligavam.lv/kazu-stasts/rita-ingmars/

WEDDING DRESSES

All brides admit that they have never dreamed of a white wedding dress. On the contrary, it was clear that it was not a choice for them.

At their wedding, Rita and Ingmārs wore authentic Latvian folk costumes from different regions, but from the same time period. The time period is one of the things that must be taken into account when choosing a folk costume - the bride and groom's outfit can be from different decades, but it must correspond to one period, otherwise the couple will not look harmonious. Rita and Ingmārs always thought that one day they would sew their own personal folk costumes. The plus point of making outfits for weddings is that you can't wear any wedding outfit more than once, but it's completely different with folk costumes. Moreover, the fact that these folk costumes are being worn for the first time on such an important day adds an extra value.

The wedding dresses of Rita and Ingmar were combined by matching the accessories to the couple themselves, consulting with the leader of their folk dance group on whether the intended design meets the conditions. The leader of TDK Līgo Jānis Purvinņš was one of the first people to whom the couple turned for advice, because he knew that the leader chooses the design and colors of the dance costumes for his team as well, by putting meadow flowers together during summer walks and then going to the seamstress with this color combination. All this is not without knowledge - folk costumes of different regions have been studied over the years.

Rita's national costume represents Zemgali, and Ingmāra's - Kurzemi, according to where the families of each side come from. Ausma Spalviņa woven the fabric for Ingmar's folk costume separately, the socks and belts were found at the open air museum fair, the seamstress Iveta Līdere from Bauska helped a lot with the necessary purchases, advice and contacts.

Arta's stylized wedding dress, which was matched to the traditional bridal crown (made by Margarita Muntega) - unlike more usual when the wedding dress is chosen first - was also made by seamstress - Helena Ozola.

Advice for other couples - The best way to find the contacts you need is to go to one person who knows other people in their field. The second most useful approach to finding contacts is to go to the fairs at the Open Air Museum and get acquainted with both the craftspeople's works and the people themselves.

WEDDING RINGS

Couples who choose to celebrate their wedding close to ancient Latvian traditions and understanding of this event, also try to prefer Latvian signs and patterns in their rings, and also order yellow or combined gold rings, where several gold colors are combined. Couples are advised to choose wedding rings based on a ready-made sample of archaeological rings.

It is important that the signs are rendered correctly and that their combination and sequence correspond to a certain order.

The wedding rings of Agita and Dzintar depict the Latvian honor calendar, based on the important events typical of the year, among them the sun sign symbolizes the wedding day of both.

Traditional Latvian wedding rings are not chosen by couples for weddings partly due to their impracticality (because the strings can easily get caught), but sometimes they are preferred as engagement rings. Ingmārs received an answer from his bride with a gift - a men's ring with Latvian symbols of strength. Another Latvian engagement ring alternative is a silver ring with amber.

You can search for jewelry in the Gallery of Good Things (Agris Kramiņš and Artūrs Bunga, Rita and Ingmārs' wedding) and Kalupe jewelry.

WEDDING OFFICERS AND WEDDING RITUALS

As leaders of Latvian weddings, either tradition-bearers, for whom conducting weddings and other rituals is their daily occupation, or simply connoisseurs of rituals and traditions from a circle of acquaintances, are usually invited.

Before making your choice in favor of a Latvian wedding, every couple should realize that the ritual is not just an external, beautiful event. Rita and Ingmārs say - it is coding.

Rituals touch the soul. For example, before marriage, it is possible to go through a sauna ritual, which helps to get rid of the accumulated scum of the past.

See the full wedding story here: https://ligavam.lv/kazu-stasts/agnese-verners/

The main Latvian wedding rituals , to which couples are returning nowadays, are matching and matching. Alignment, which in terms of meaning implies the merging of two paths into one common one, can and is recommended to be repeated every ten years, because then an important phase of life has passed and something has changed in the self and the other, a lot has been left behind and perhaps it is necessary to stop and look back.

Wedding leaders, Ushers (a couple who have already eaten a pot of salt together and will be a good adviser and example) and Ushers (Assistant ushers, friends who do not have to be married or a couple) can be a good helper both in organizational matters and with the idea of holding a celebration. Latvian games, as an evening entertainment, are just one of the ways for guests to have a good time.

To whom to inquire about leading wedding rituals: Inese Krūmiņa (alignment, leading weddings), Antra Skutele (mixing), Jānis and Ieva Kušķi (leaders of Latvian rituals).

See the full wedding story here: https://ligavam.lv/kazu-stasts/arta-toms/

COSTS

As with any other customs and discretion, Latvian weddings are budget-wise exactly what the couple has in their pocket first. If the first is to choose what kind of wedding to have, the second is to understand what is the most important in everything and what can be adapted to financial possibilities. Latvian weddings can also be very expensive, but this is certainly not a prerequisite for such a celebration, because the most important thing is the foundation itself - the conclusion of the union between the new wife and husband.

WHAT DOES LATVISM AT A WEDDING MEAN FOR COUPLES?

Latvianness is definitely not a fashion thing in modern weddings. Every couple, sharing their emotions, especially emphasized that the Latvian wedding was the only choice that seemed correct, natural and meaningful at the emotional level.

When thinking about why Latvian, the answer comes naturally – people are looking for their roots, realizing that Latvianness is special and that it does not disappear, traveling long distances or getting to know the history and culture of other peoples and countries, thanks to open borders.

Agnes, whose husband Merlin is Latvian by nationality, celebrated not only the wedding, but also the hen party (a groom's bath was held for the groom). By sharing her experience, she in a sense expresses the feelings of all other couples - when searching for the meaning of life, a person encounters countless practices, beliefs and possibilities, but the feeling of Latvianness, Latvian signs and rituals are those that can be felt as one's own - a meaningful form of life, where every action has its own meaning, logic and basis in the natural order of life.

Choosing in favor of Latvian is self-awareness and bringing your confidence to one of the most important moments in life - a wedding. On the day when every couple can be themselves, for real, without conforming or compromising.