The Stunning Intricacies of an Uzbek Wedding Captured by VOGUE

Russian photographer Olya Shurygina has long had close ties with Uzbekistan. Her grandmother was born in Uzbekistan and worked as a fashion designer in the city of Margilan in the Ferghana valley, a region that has long been famous for its textile production.

In 2019, Shurygina went to the village of Forish, located about a four-hour drive southwest of Tashkent, where she was invited to a local wedding.

During her travels in Uzbekistan, Olga Shurygina noted the contrast between the centuries-old traditions of the Muslim country and the influence of Western trends. The wedding was held according to ancient Uzbek traditions, and lasted for two days with all the rites and ceremonies.

The bride and groom met each other a year before the wedding. Preparing for the wedding is troublesome. And in Uzbekistan-especially troublesome: preparing the house, choosing furniture, wedding dresses and dowry.

The bride and groom chose the wedding dress together in the salon. It was optic white and had Disney-princess-level volume. “She has makeup like Kim Kardashian, including the eyelashes,” says Shurygina of the bride during the ceremony. “It is her big holiday and where everyone celebrates her.”

On the morning of the wedding day, guests gathered at the bride's family home while she was at the beauty salon. While she was away, the guests tasted the traditional morning pilaf. An interesting tradition: the groom also sends his portion of morning pilaf to the bride, along with sweets, so that life is full of prosperity and well-being.

Before leaving the house, the bride says goodbye to her parents, covering her face with a white veil, she makes a bow of gratitude to her mother and father and receives their blessing for a new life. One of the most important details is the dowry, which came in the form of a thin stack of colorful soft mattresses called kurpacha. Kurpacha in the each Uzbek home demonstrates prosperity and spread in the house, most often during the arrival of guests.

Before the wedding, the bride and groom went to a photo session at a local studio in the city. After the photo shoot, they walked around the city with their friends and then returned to the village where all the guests were waiting for them.

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