Getting married In Belarus

[Brad and Vika 129]

With Gorky Park near where you are standing, and the Botanical Garden behind the flame? Just checking my orientation.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

With Gorky Park near where you are standing, and the Botanical Garden behind the flame? Just checking my orientation.

I'm not sure what the name of the park is, but once you go past that Victory monument you cross a bridge over the river and there is a park on the left side and the river is to the right with paved walking paths on both sides of the river with lots of tree's, etc..

There's two bridges you cross before getting into Nemega and I believe this is the second one you cross down below. That church steeple in the background is from one of those two big churches you see on the hill from Hotel Belarus, Planeta, etc... one is Catholic and the other Orthodox.

[slim 1,514]

Ah... the white pants.

[Brad and Vika 129]

I'm not sure what the name of the park is, but once you go past that Victory monument you cross a bridge over the river and there is a park on the left side and the river is to the right with paved walking paths on both sides of the river with lots of tree's, etc..

There's two bridges you cross before getting into Nemega and I believe this is the second one you cross down below. That church steeple in the background is from one of those two big churches you see on the hill from Hotel Belarus, Planeta, etc... one is Catholic and the other Orthodox.

Yep, that's the one. There used to be a bunch of pizza parlors and a brew pub over there. I recognize the lake with the pedal boats. There is a statue or fountain there that has girls taking flowers from the water - some sort of folk story.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Yep, that's the one. There used to be a bunch of pizza parlors and a brew pub over there. I recognize the lake with the pedal boats. There is a statue or fountain there that has girls taking flowers from the water - some sort of folk story.

Your thinking of the bridge right in the center of Nemega...it's further down that road. It would be the "third bridge" from the Victory Square monument. Nemega is where all the action is... shopping center,casino's, pizza parlors, night clubs, strip joints, etc...

That's the lake ...where the river gets wide and has all the paddle boats. Further down is a damn. That church steeple way in the background is the one that shows up in that pic in my previous post on here. To the right of that bridge in this pic is the subway station and across the street from that is that shopping center. To the left of the bridge and down a bit is that big circus building with the round top...on the right side of the road, and on the left is the Presidential Palace. I took that pic from "Old Town" ...the back way to the US embassy and not so far from Hotel Belarus that has the strip joints on the first floor and a big night club (West World) on the second floor.

This is the island that the gals bring flowers to. It has that war monument for the dead on it.

This is that shopping center just to the right of that bridge in the top pic in this post. It has two or three floors, a pizza joint, and another one across the street, and a grocery store on the street level along with some other shops. It's like the center of Minsk more or less and the grocery store is almost as big as some of the ones we have here in the states.

Edited December 12, 2011 by Why_Me

[xebec 195]

I just got married in Belarus in November. Here's what we submitted to ZAGS (everything with apostille and translated-note: they were particular about the translations....everything must be translated, and the translator's statement must be notarized...all originals, apostilles, and translations must be bound together with a seal)

-Letter of free status

-Divorce certificate from your state (I didn't need the entire 25 page decree), if applicable

-Translated passport, all pages

-There is a 30 day waiting period required between submission of the application for marriage, and the actual marriage date. This can be waived with a letter from your employer stating that you can't be away from work for the period required by ZAGS (mine was simply a statement of the days I was released from work, on letterhead, with the signatures of my supervisors), with official stamp if possible (they asked for this specifically)

-Translated copies of your flight itenerary, supporting the fact that you must return to your home country

-Registration, with Ovir....required within 5 working days. They check this everywhere now, if dealing with officials

With this paperwork we were able to sign the application, and get married the same day. But bear in mind that this was with ZAGS in Ivanava, not in Minsk. Larisa was firm that this would have been much more difficult in Minsk, and could not be accomplished nearly as quickly.

Good luck with your wedding, and congratulations. I'm in Minsk with my wife now, so if you need anymore help, I can ask her...

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I just got married in Belarus in November. Here's what we submitted to ZAGS (everything with apostille and translated-note: they were particular about the translations....everything must be translated, and the translator's statement must be notarized...all originals, apostilles, and translations must be bound together with a seal)

-Letter of free status

-Divorce certificate from your state (I didn't need the entire 25 page decree), if applicable

-Translated passport, all pages

-There is a 30 day waiting period required between submission of the application for marriage, and the actual marriage date. This can be waived with a letter from your employer stating that you can't be away from work for the period required by ZAGS (mine was simply a statement of the days I was released from work, on letterhead, with the signatures of my supervisors), with official stamp if possible (they asked for this specifically)

-Translated copies of your flight itenerary, supporting the fact that you must return to your home country

-Registration, with Ovir....required within 5 working days. They check this everywhere now, if dealing with officials

With this paperwork we were able to sign the application, and get married the same day. But bear in mind that this was with ZAGS in Ivanava, not in Minsk. Larisa was firm that this would have been much more difficult in Minsk, and could not be accomplished nearly as quickly.

Good luck with your wedding, and congratulations. I'm in Minsk with my wife now, so if you need anymore help, I can ask her...

Americans are only allowed to stay in Belarus 30 days a year unless they have a business visa, and once you show them your visa...invite or tourist they know your on a timeline. We had a 17 day wait in Zhodino from the time we filled out the paperwork at the ZAGS which was the day after I arrived.

[cluelessinny 2]

I just got married in Belarus in November. Here's what we submitted to ZAGS (everything with apostille and translated-note: they were particular about the translations....everything must be translated, and the translator's statement must be notarized...all originals, apostilles, and translations must be bound together with a seal)

-Letter of free status

-Divorce certificate from your state (I didn't need the entire 25 page decree), if applicable

-Translated passport, all pages

-There is a 30 day waiting period required between submission of the application for marriage, and the actual marriage date. This can be waived with a letter from your employer stating that you can't be away from work for the period required by ZAGS (mine was simply a statement of the days I was released from work, on letterhead, with the signatures of my supervisors), with official stamp if possible (they asked for this specifically)

-Translated copies of your flight itenerary, supporting the fact that you must return to your home country

-Registration, with Ovir....required within 5 working days. They check this everywhere now, if dealing with officials

With this paperwork we were able to sign the application, and get married the same day. But bear in mind that this was with ZAGS in Ivanava, not in Minsk. Larisa was firm that this would have been much more difficult in Minsk, and could not be accomplished nearly as quickly.

Good luck with your wedding, and congratulations. I'm in Minsk with my wife now, so if you need anymore help, I can ask her...

Thanks a lot, Did you wife have to set the date first or did you go down on the day you arrived? or translated docs, the issue i am having with My Future wife is she wants a small ceremony buts whats to know the date first. I will have her call the Vitesbk zags and talk to them, I will ask later about the from from work I am still confused about that

But thanks again and congrats to you also

[xebec 195]

Thanks a lot, Did you wife have to set the date first or did you go down on the day you arrived? or translated docs, the issue i am having with My Future wife is she wants a small ceremony buts whats to know the date first. I will have her call the Vitesbk zags and talk to them, I will ask later about the from from work I am still confused about that

But thanks again and congrats to you also

Larisa tells me she went into ZAGS ahead of time and then set the date (She explained the situation to them in detail, so she could get a firm date. She had the same issues....needed to plan the reception in Minsk, invite family, etc.) Ivanava ZAGS was very flexible.... it may depend on where you plan to have the wedding. If she is registered as a Minsk resident,your choices are very limited.... you must marry in Minsk, and it must be at ZAGS wedding palace Бракосочитания near Victory Square- this is the only one that will handle weddings between citizens and foreigners (at least that is my understanding). If you want, you can PM me contact information- Larisa said she would be happy to help your fiance in whatever way she can....phone, email, etc.

Edited December 19, 2011 by xebec

[xebec 195]

Wanted to add.... I just noticed that your wife seems to be in Vitebsk. That should make matters easier....

The letter from work was simple. It stated something to the effect of " "Name" Has leave to be away from work from __________ to _________. He must return to duty on or before _______________. Make sure it is on letterhead, and signed by one or more supervisors with appropriate sounding titles. They also asked that it bear the official stamp of the organization or company (unusual in the US, I know. Mine didn't have it).

BTW.... I scanned all my documents and attatched them to her, so she could print them and have them translated ahead of time. She also took them to ZAGS, so they could give her an idea of what else we needed, or needed to do.

[cluelessinny 2]

I haven't been on for a while, here's the update

Her documents never made it to her

I was working tons of ot

So I run to redo all the docs she needs while taking a long lunch

I resent everything GGD

I forgot my passport was in pants and washed it, when all my OT was over with

Then the documents show up the next day

and the doc I sent GGD are sitting in Minsk

3 days after they are to be delivered

ZAGS rejected the inquiry because I didn't have my middle name on it

they still gave us a date of the tuesday I am there to resubmit everything

and a friday wedding

so Now I just wait for my passport to come

[visaveteran1 33]

Ah... the white pants.

Good catch!

[slim 1,514]

Good catch!

I don't miss stuff like that.

And what gets me in the next pics down, there are no less than half a dozen women wearing dresses or skirts (every woman wearing heels of some type) and the rest are wearing fashionable pants of some type. I don't see a single lady looking frumpy, dumpy, like a hippie, peasant or anything. All I see is women with a wonderful fashion sense who enjoy looking like women.

[visaveteran1 33]

I don't miss stuff like that.

And what gets me in the next pics down, there are no less than half a dozen women wearing dresses or skirts (every woman wearing heels of some type) and the rest are wearing fashionable pants of some type. I don't see a single lady looking frumpy, dumpy, like a hippie, peasant or anything. All I see is women with a wonderful fashion sense who enjoy looking like women.

And all the men are wearing black pants...I'm told to avoid laundering as long as possible. One of my Russian ladies got angry with me when I showed up wearing black jeans. She had told me about why Russian men wear black. I said, I'm not Russian. She was still angry.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

I don't miss stuff like that.

And what gets me in the next pics down, there are no less than half a dozen women wearing dresses or skirts (every woman wearing heels of some type) and the rest are wearing fashionable pants of some type. I don't see a single lady looking frumpy, dumpy, like a hippie, peasant or anything. All I see is women with a wonderful fashion sense who enjoy looking like women.

Even a simple little trip to the grocery store or a kiosk for a pack of smokes is like taking a trip in heaven. I used to make two to three trips to the store a day just to check out the chicks on the sidewalk and in the store. We don't have night clubs here in Alaska that can match up with the chicks over there you see shopping for groceries.

The subway in Minsk was another big hit. Wave after wave of chicks that looked and dressed like models. I love those chicks.