Fact Check

Do These Photographs Show a Bride in a Revealing Beaded Dress?

"Are these pictures from a real wedding, and if so what's the story behind the dress?"

Published March 6, 2005

Claim:
Photographs show a bride wearing a revealing beaded dress.

A set of photographs seemingly showing a bride wearing a rather revealing beaded dress at her nuptials drew many inquiries from readers in March 2005:

These photos have been circulating around — any chance you could find out if these are from a real wedding and if so the story behind the dress?

The photographs were indeed as described, and the pictured woman was Anna Atamanchuk, a professional belly dancer teaching that art in St. Petersburg, Russia. (The setting in the pictures was likely the civil portion of a wedding ceremony, where the bride and groom officially register their marriage.)

Several other photographs on a Russian belly dance website capture Anna performance in the same beaded dress:



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