The wedding rituals of Siberian Germans consisted of three parts: pre-wedding rites and customs, the wedding itself and post-wedding rites. Traditionally, the wedding was preceded by matchmaking. Any acquaintance or relative of the groom could be a matchmaker, as long as he was a cheerful and talkative person. Matchmakers were smartly dressed, with red bands or white ribbons on their sleeves. Matchmaking was usually held on Friday or Saturday at noon.

The matchmakers entered the bride’s house, put bread on the table and started a conversation. The purpose of the visit was more often revealed allegorically, praising the groom, his positive qualities and property, and advocating for the wedding. The bride’s parents deliberately belittled her virtues, because there was a belief about evil spirits who, out of envy for the young girl, could inflict diseases on the bride and jinx her.

The parties argued for a long time and then got down to business. The period between the matchmaking and the wedding was three to four weeks, during which intensive preparations were made. A week before the wedding, guests were invited. Special masters of the wedding feast became the central figures. They carried a stoch wedding staff, which was decorated with flowers on top. Everyone who intended to come, had to tie a colored ribbon on the staff. The number of ribbons determined the number of expected guests.

Young people gathered at the bride’s house, bringing treats. The bride cried, and her friends soothed her, singing farewell songs. Young people tended to make as much noise as possible. They loudly smashed dishes for good luck. According to the belief, the noise scared away evil forces. The house was cleaned and decorated for the wedding, in the warm season wedding tables could be set in the yard.

The staff from the museum’s collection was made of wood. In the upper part, the craftsman made a handle with a knob and decorated the staff with transverse circular grooves arranged in pairs. This staff is a copy of the original piece from the 1960s. It was made by the museum restorer Viktor Sergeevich Yakshin. He worked in the restoration department, which had been established a few years before this copy was made in 1987.