When you seriously decide that you want to marry a Ukrainian woman, you’ll go through all of the stages—denial, anger, depression, bargaining…and finally, come to the acceptance that marrying a Ukrainian woman is everything but not what you’ve expected. Believe us, you won’t get bored.
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Pick the best Ukrainian brides on our site and read on to learn about modern traditions of local marriages, what people actually do and what is a myth. As they say, it’s always good to come prepared!
Diving Into Ukrainian Culture and Marriage Traditions
With centuries of traditions and customs, marriage is one of the sacred rituals for Ukrainians. From pre-wedding blessing rituals to dancing with the veil, there are hundreds of little things that people still follow on their big day. But many of them have a modern spin, and many Western traditions were also adopted by modern couples.
If you think about marrying a Ukrainian girl, there are a few things to know:
- Most local women date men only if they see them as potential husbands. When you are dating a Ukrainian woman, in 99% of cases she is interested in building a family in the future. She doesn’t expect nor is ready for you to propose on the second date, but going into a relationship just for the sake of it is a rare thing.
- A guy is the only one who is proposing. Ukraine is a traditional country where men are expected to take the lead. Ukrainian women for marriage would rarely even ask someone out. But before asking a girl to become your wife, it’s good to ask her father for permission. Also, even after you hear “I do” in romantic surroundings, you still need to ask for your bride’s parent’s blessing in a tradition of “Svatannia” (matchmaking in Ukrainian), which is asking for permission and blessing to marry. Only after that are you considered to be engaged.
- Engagements are usually not long, and couples marry within a year. For most people, it is usually just waiting for the season they prefer or simply getting everything ready.
- Couples often have a civil and a church wedding. You can go just for civil registration, but having a wedding in a church only is forbidden.
- The modern wedding mixes old and new traditions. Many wedded couples are showered with wheat and coins for good luck, bite into korovaii (Ukrainian wedding bread), dance with the veil and unmarried girls (a symbol of good luck), and have a special ceremony of thanking their parents.
Also, there are some unusual traditions, like carrying the bride over the threshold for a happy entrance into a new life as one family or stealing the bride, where groomsmen are expected to pay a ransom. But all of that is mixed with modern elements like exchanging rings, honeymoons, and wedding vows. In some ways, Ukraine even jumped ahead in wedding development, as they actually have same-day weddings and online weddings in DIA (it’s an online governmental service for various social and legal things), but that’s just for local couples.
Hundreds of years ago and even recently, many parents didn’t want their Ukrainian women to marry foreigners because of the generational trauma of so many women being stolen to marry abroad because of their beauty. The most popular one is Roksolana, the first Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
But modern society and families are open to international marriages and they are very common in the country.
Key Steps to Prepare for Marrying a Ukrainian Woman
You’ve probably heard about a lot of tips for dating a Ukrainian woman, as finding a beautiful Ukrainian girl to marry is easier than making the relationship work. But we want to help you be prepared to marry a local lady! So, we created a list of steps for how to marry a Ukrainian woman without getting grey hair:
- Save up some money. Any wedding is not cheap, but International couples often spend more on their registration as there are a lot of additional expenses like visas, moving costs, flights, etc.
- Be her parent’s favorite. Ukrainians have very tight-knit families. The parent’s word is usually very influential! So, having your bride’s parents on your side will make the whole process of getting married way easier.
- Talk about wedding expectations. Discuss with your partner what type of wedding is ideal for both of you. This will help avoid misunderstandings.
- Pop the question. There is a stereotype that you must impress Ukrainian women with lavish proposals. But though every woman wants to get that 101 rose bouquet, most Ukrainian women would choose an intimate proposal over a public one.
- Decide where you want to have the ceremony. If you want to get married in Ukraine, apply with all of your translated documents, wait one month, verify your legal stay in Ukraine, and then receive a marriage certificate. You can also do that on the Diia portal. But if you choose to marry in the US, your bride will need to apply for a K-1 visa, and then you have to marry within 90 days of her arrival. But note that marriage in the US doesn’t immediately guarantee getting a green card.
Be very thorough with the legal aspects, do your research, and get legal help to save you time on redoing a lot of paperwork.
Real-Life Experiences: Tales of Marrying Ukrainian Women
I can’t say that marrying a girl from Ukraine was ever a dream of mine. Actually, I was quite skeptical about Slavic women and had more reasons not to marry a Ukrainian woman. But the Universe has a good sense of humor, as my wife is Ukrainian and that’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. We had a gorgeous wedding in Chicago after dong long-distance for almost two years. Won’t lie, it wasn’t easy. It’s hard to miss the physical touch and drown in all the thousands of documents that you need to get ready, translate, verify, and prove that you are in love. It was hard but totally worth it.
If you marry Ukrainian women, you’ll see that you’ve never been loved before. After being with my wife for 5 years, I can say that I won the lottery. She is the best, the nicest, the most loving, and the most open-hearted person I know. Our marriage is a blessing that gave us our son. But it might not have happened if I hadn’t replied to a letter that was hanging for over a week in my DMs. It still feels surreal to think about it. We had a civil celebration in Seattle and a big fat Ukrainian wedding in Vinnytsia. There were so many beautiful Ukrainian marriage traditions, songs, games, and loving people. I will cherish those memories forever. Oh, and besides, the cost was not high; I’d pay X200 the sum if I had even half of that in the US.
Conclusion
Ukrainian marriage traditions might cause some eye ticks, but Ukrainian ladies for marriage are definitely worth it. And the reality is that what really matters is the love you have and the family you start. You don’t have to follow something you don’t feel comfortable doing; just find your unique mix for your wedding and enjoy your happily ever after. If you don’t have a pair, check out the profiles of Ukrainian girls for marriage that we have!
