Denis and Nelya, both 30, from Moscow, Russia invited brown bear Stepan along to their very special ceremony. As well as witnessing the couple exchange vows, the bear also played the role of registrar at one point. Denis said: “We both knew Stepan is a very kind bear but still it is a huge, unpredictable animal so we were a bit scared, but still happy to be able to make our dream come true. It was a fantastic experience to have this photoshoot with Stepan”. (Photo by Olga Barantseva/Caters News)

Girls in red neckerchiefs dance on Red Square, with the GUM, the State Department Store and the Historical Museum in the background, during a ceremony to celebrate joining the Pioneers organization and 100th anniversary of the All-Union Pioneer Organization, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, May 22, 2022. Pro-Communist Russians are trying to preserve the Young Pioneers, which used to be the Communist league for pre-teens in the Soviet Union. (Photo by AP Photo/Stringer)

A girl wears a face mask to curb the spread of the coronavirus as she attends a prayer ceremony to mark the holiday of “Enkutatash”, the first day of the new year in the Ethiopian calendar, which is traditionally associated with the return of the Queen of Sheba to Ethiopia some 3,000 years ago, at Bole Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Friday, September 11, 2020. (Photo by Mulugeta Ayene/AP Photo)

Senegalese wrestlers cover themselves in sand as they prepare to start their training program in Petit Mbao on March 29, 2021. As Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, wrestlers now start prepare themselves for the start of wrestling tournaments. Senegalese wrestling, which has its roots in the ceremonies celebrating the end of harvests in Serer and Diola ethnic groups and remains surrounded by a thick cloud of mystical practice, is still extremely popular in this West African country. (Photo by John Wessels/AFP Photo)

Russian Communist party activists and supporters carry portraits of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin (R) and Soviet dictator Josef Stalin (L) as they attend a flowers-laying ceremony at the Lenin's Mausoleum on Red Square in downtown Moscow on November 7, 2021, marking the 104th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution also known as the October Revolution. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

Japanese sumo wrestler Kisenosato (C) holds a red sea bream next to his stablemaster Tagonoura's wife Kotomi as he celebtares after receiving messengers from the Japan Sumo Association bringing official notice of his promotion to Yokozuna, or grand champion, during a ceremony in Tokyo, Japan, January 25, 2017. (Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters)

Syrian Internal Security Forces dance in celebration during their graduation ceremony, at Ain Issa desert base, in Raqqa province, northeast Syria, Thursday, July 20, 2017. Some 250 residents of Syria's Raqqa province are the latest batch to graduate from a brief U.S-training course that is preparing an internal security force to hold and secure areas as they are captured from Islamic State militants. (Photo by Hussein Malla/AP Photo)

This screengrab from Thai TV Pool video taken on May 1, 2019 shows a ceremony in which Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn “legally married” Suthida Vajiralongkorn na Ayudhya in Bangkok. Thailand announced on May 1, 2019 that King Maha Vajiralongkorn's long-time consort had become his fourth wife, bestowed with the title Queen Suthida – a surprise move just days before his coronation. (Photo by Bureau of the Royal Household via Reuters)