
Relatives and friends of Fatme Robova's family prepare and arrange her wedding dowry in front of her parents' house in Ribnovo, Bulgaria. Ribnovo is home to a few thousand Pomaks, or Bulgarian-speaking Muslims.

Ribnovo is high in the Rhodope Mountains, about 130 miles south of the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.

People carry wedding gifts on the first day of the two-day ceremony.

This donkey was part of the wedding dowry.

Ribnovo residents look through a window on the first day of the wedding ceremony.

The dowry includes items curated throughout the bride's lifetime to place in the couple's new home. Blankets, dishes and other items are put on display outside the bride's home as a symbol of the family's worth.

The families gather for eating and dancing the "horo," a Balkan folk dance performed in a circle.

Relatives are seen in front of the house of Robova's fiance, Refat Atipov. They are holding some of the gifts prepared from his family for his future wife and her family.

Robova, left, and Atipov dance on the second day of their wedding ceremony.

A relative of the bride has her makeup applied on the second wedding day.

One of Robova's relatives is seen in a mirror while the bride's traditional makeup is applied.

Robova is dressed in traditional garments and elaborate face paint called "gelina." The face-painting process, a symbol of the bride's purity, can take up to two hours. It is considered a specialized art.

A portrait of Robova after her makeup was finished.




