Learn Hardcore Russian: Жених и невеста одинаково волнуются перед церемонией. - The groom and the bride are equally nervous before the ceremony.

Жених is a male person who is engaged or is about to be married: groom / fiancé.
Невеста is a female person who is engaged or is about to be married: bride / fiancée.

Russian normally uses жених and невеста for both the engagement period and the wedding day. Context tells you whether it’s more like fiancé/fiancée or bride/groom in English.

Why is the verb волнуются in the plural form?

The subject is жених и невеста (two people), so grammatically it is plural.
Therefore the verb must be in 3rd person plural: они волнуются.

If it were just one person, you would say:

Жених волнуется. – The groom is nervous.
Невеста волнуется. – The bride is nervous.

What does the reflexive ending -ся in волнуются do? How is волноваться different from волновать?

Волноваться is the reflexive verb “to worry, to be nervous, to feel agitated.” The reflexive suffix is -ся (after vowels) / -сь (after some consonants).
Non‑reflexive волновать means “to make someone worry, to disturb, to agitate someone.”

Examples:

Эта новость волнует меня. – This news worries me. (волновать – someone causes worry)
Я волнуюсь из‑за экзамена. – I am nervous about the exam. (волноваться – I myself feel nervous)

What tense and aspect is волнуются? How would I say “were nervous” or “will be nervous”?

Волнуются is present tense, imperfective aspect, 3rd person plural of волноваться.

Basic forms:

Present: они волнуются – they are nervous / they get nervous
Past: они волновались – they were nervous / they were worrying
Future (compound, because the verb is imperfective): они будут волноваться – they will be nervous / will be worrying

What exactly does одинаково mean here? Is it like “equally”? How is it related to одинаковый?

Yes, одинаково is an adverb meaning “equally, to the same degree, in the same way.”
It modifies the verb волнуются: they are nervous to the same degree.

Одинаково comes from the adjective одинаковый (same, identical, equal):

одинаковый цвет – the same color
они одинаково волнуются – they are equally nervous

So:

одинаковый = adjective (what kind? what sort?)
одинаково = adverb (how? in what way? to what degree?)

Could одинаково go in a different position, like Жених и невеста перед церемонией одинаково волнуются? Would that be correct?

Yes, that word order is also correct:

Жених и невеста одинаково волнуются перед церемонией.
Жених и невеста перед церемонией одинаково волнуются.
Одинаково волнуются жених и невеста перед церемонией.

They all mean the same thing; only the emphasis shifts slightly.
Putting одинаково first (Одинаково волнуются…) makes “equally” more prominent, more contrastive in style.

What case is церемонией and why does перед use that form?

Церемонией is instrumental singular of церемония.

Declension (singular) of церемония:

nominative: церемония
genitive: церемонии
dative: церемонии
accusative: церемонию
instrumental: церемонией
prepositional: церемонии

The preposition перед (“before” in time, or “in front of” in space) takes the instrumental case:

перед домом – in front of the house
перед экзаменом – before the exam
перед церемонией – before the ceremony

Is there a difference between перед церемонией and до церемонии?

Both can be translated as “before the ceremony,” but the nuance is different:

перед церемонией suggests closer in time, just before it, or the period immediately leading up to it.
до церемонии is more general: any time before the ceremony, not necessarily right beforehand.

In this sentence, перед церемонией fits well because we imagine the bride and groom in the moments leading up to the ceremony.

How strong is волнуются emotionally? Is it more like “are worried,” “are nervous,” or “are excited”?

Волноваться is quite flexible. It covers:

being worried / anxious
being nervous
being excited and emotionally stirred up (not always negative)

In Жених и невеста одинаково волнуются перед церемонией, it implies a mix of nervousness and emotional excitement before an important event, not deep anxiety or fear.

Why are there no articles like “the” in Жених и невеста одинаково волнуются перед церемонией? How do we know it’s “the” bride and groom and not “a” bride and groom?

Russian has no articles, so it does not mark “a” vs “the” grammatically.

Whether you understand жених и невеста as “the bride and (the) groom” or “a bride and (a) groom” depends on context. In a typical wedding context, listeners naturally interpret it as the specific couple (the bride and groom), not just any random bride and groom.

How do you pronounce each word, and where is the stress?

Stressed vowels are marked with an accent:

Жених – жени́х
и – и (no stress, just short “i”)
невеста – неве́ста
одинаково – одина́ково
волнуются – волну́ются
перед – пе́ред
церемонией – церемо́нией (це-ре-мо́-ни-ей)

Correct stress is important; for example, saying одинако́во instead of одина́ково will sound wrong to native speakers.

Could we say Жених и невеста нервничают перед церемонией instead? What is the difference between волнуются and нервничают?

Yes, Жених и невеста нервничают перед церемонией is grammatically correct.

Differences:

нервничать focuses more strongly on being nervous, tense, possibly fidgety – more clearly negative.
волноваться is broader and can include positive emotional excitement as well as nervousness.

So волнуются sounds a bit softer and more neutral; it fits well for mixed excitement and nerves before a big event like a wedding.