Greek Wedding

I have a question, my FH and I are getting married in a Greek church, hes Greek so I did it for him, but in talking with my FMIL she was saying something along the lines of we dont do any type of vows?? Is that true????

Re: Greek Wedding

That is in fact true. the priest will do all the talking, you'll have the rings put on your fingers three times, the crowns will be put on your head 3 times, you'll walk around a small table three times, and you'll take a drink from a glass of wine, and then...ta da! you're married!

Re: Greek Wedding

IS there a way to tie in some type of vows??

Re: Greek Wedding

check out this link for more info

Re: Greek Wedding

sorry but it is true, there are no words spoken between the bride and groom...did your fh tell you at all about an orthodox ceremony and what goes on? First of all its long, the short version is at least an hour, my mother had to do the long traditional version and it was close to 2 hours.

Some things you do are walk around the table 3x, you get crowned...ill post the greek orthodox ceremony for you in a sec so you have a better understanding

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by Linmike08

IS there a way to tie in some type of vows??

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doubtful...the ceremony is pretty much set in stone...which church are you getting married at? sometimes the priests can change some things...it might be best to call and ask to speak directly to the priest

Re: Greek Wedding

here is some more info:

In most cases the wedding guests will wait with the groom outside the church until the bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go into the church early to secure a good seat). In the Summer, when most weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged back to back, so the guests attending a marriage will often stand around with those who have just attended the previous wedding as they prepare to leave. Wedding dress commentators among the crowd will get to consider and discuss at least two brides and maybe even a third as they leave the church ? bargain! Meanwhile, the nervous groom waits for the bride at the entrance to the church, often holding her floral bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside together followed by the guests. There is no separation of the guests into guests of the bride and guests of the groom ? everyone sits together and in the case of small churches, many people prefer to stand in a spot where they can get a good view of the proceedings.

Service of Betrothal

The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage. The exchanging of rings is the focus of the Service of Betrothal. The priest blesses the rings by holding them in his right hand and making the sign of the cross over the heads of the bride and groom. The rings are then placed on the third fingers of their right hands. The 'Koumbaro', the couple's religious sponsor, then swaps the rings over between the bride and groom's fingers, three times. A number of rituals in the ceremony are repeated three times and this symbolises the Holy Trinity: God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage

This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are said and then as they come to an end, the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom. Their hands remain joined until the end of the wedding ceremony, which symbolises the couple's union.

The Crowning

The bride and groom are crowned with thin crowns, or 'stefana', which are joined by a white ribbon and have been blessed by the priest. The crowns symbolise the glory and honour that is being bestowed on them by God, and the the ribbon symbolises their unity. The 'Koumbaro' then exchanges the crowns between the heads of the couple, three times.

The Common Cup

The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel, which tells of the marriage of Cana at Galilee. It was at this wedding that Jesus performed his first miracle, changing water into wine, which was then given to the married couple. Wine is given to the couple and they each drink from it three times.

The Ceremonial Walk

The priest the leads the couple, who are still wearing their 'stefana', three times around the altar on their first steps as a married couple. The 'Koumbaro' follows close behind the couple holding the 'stefana' place. At this point the couple (and anyone standing nearby) is usually showered with rice, which was earlier handed out to the wedding guests. The priest will often make use of the bible he is holding to give himself some protection!

The Removal of the Crowns

When the Ceremonial Walk has ended, the priest blesses the couple, the crowns are removed and he then separates their previously joined hands with the bible, reminding them that only God can break the union which they have just entered into.

Wedding traditions

Much of the information available on Greek Orthodox wedding traditions is a little outdated and contains generalisations that give the impression that certain traditions are followed by everyone who gets married. Some of these traditions are set out below

- Rolling a baby on the marital bed to encourage fertility.

- The throwing of money onto the marital bed.

- The pinning of money onto the bride (and sometimes also the groom) at the wedding reception.

Although these rituals are seen as traditional, fewer and fewer young people marrying today are following them, because they are seen as old-fashioned. Many people do not wish to put their guests through the ordeal of other people being able to see how much money they pin on the bride, for example. Although money is still a very common, as well as practical, wedding present it is often given to the couple before the wedding day or to a third person at the wedding reception, for safe-keeping. Greeks living in the more remote parts of Greece and abroad, who will naturally feel more strongly about doing things the traditional way, are more likely to follow these traditions than those living in Athens, for example. Like weddings everywhere, Greek weddings are changing. At the time of writing, there is a growing fashion to go and get married on an island and I recently heard someone say that he was looking into getting married in a ski resort. He was wisely advised by a friend 'You had better first ask the priest if he wants to perform a marriage up a mountain'!

Re: Greek Wedding

thanks girls for your help....I didnt know much about this..FH didnt either.....hes parents are the 'greek ones' im hoping we can make some changes.....no vows I dont know if I like that

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by Linmike08

thanks girls for your help....I didnt know much about this..FH didnt either.....hes parents are the 'greek ones' im hoping we can make some changes.....no vows I dont know if I like that

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i'll be honest with you, greek orthodox is a bit strict when it comes to this...the reason theres vows in the catholic church and not the orthodox church bc in the catholic church its said the bride and groom marry eachother its not the priest who marries them technically, in the orthodox religion its said couples are married by god within his church so to say vows would go against the religion and its customs.

Re: Greek Wedding

can you say your 'vows' at the reception?

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by Annoulak

can you say your 'vows' at the reception?

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i was gonna ask you or tell her to ask a greek person on here, would the greek church allow vows? i am orthodox but i am romanian not greek but its still the same religion...i dont know how possible this is

Re: Greek Wedding

No vows in a Greek Church. You dont have to write them. Its not like a Catholic church with the vows. Thank goodness I dont have to write any

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by MPAS

No vows in a Greek Church. You dont have to write them. Its not like a Catholic church with the vows. Thank goodness I dont have to write any

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catholics dont write their vows, if you want to and even then you cant always do it in a church...i am getting married in a catholic church and the vows we say are just what we repeat after the priest

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by MPAS

No vows in a Greek Church. You dont have to write them. Its not like a Catholic church with the vows. Thank goodness I dont have to write any

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catholics dont write their vows, if you want to and even then you cant always do it in a church...i am getting married in a catholic church and the vows we say are just what we repeat after the priest

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ohhh really??? Alot of girls here are writing their own. I see many posts about vow writing. Do they have an option in a Catholic church?

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by Linmike08

thanks girls for your help....I didnt know much about this..FH didnt either.....hes parents are the 'greek ones' im hoping we can make some changes.....no vows I dont know if I like that

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The Greek Orthodox religion and church is very strict. I have never seen anything 'customized' in a Greek ceremony. I guess it never hurts to ask, but it's highly doubtful. Someone made mention of possibly saying vows at the reception, that may be something you want to look into.



**Edit** I just saw you are getting married at Archangel Michael . . . in Roslyn right?? You may have a chance there, only because they have a very 'Americanized' community there and I've been there a few times and they definitely do things their own way. They don't stick to the traditional ways. I say just ask

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by MPAS

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by MPAS

No vows in a Greek Church. You dont have to write them. Its not like a Catholic church with the vows. Thank goodness I dont have to write any

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catholics dont write their vows, if you want to and even then you cant always do it in a church...i am getting married in a catholic church and the vows we say are just what we repeat after the priest

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ohhh really??? Alot of girls here are writing their own. I see many posts about vow writing. Do they have an option in a Catholic church?

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you can write your vows if you want...but many do the traditional vows which is basically the vows you repeat after the priest.

here is an example of tradition catholic vows...some churches will do it a little different just the way its worded but still saying the same thing

, ______________ take you ______________ to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, 'til death do us part.

With this ring I thee wed, and pledge thee my troth... ________ will you take ______________here present, for your lawful wife/husband according to the rite of our Holy, Mother, the Catholic Church?

Re: Greek Wedding

OHHHHHH this is what they say? I only heard this on tv, lol. Ours is totally different.

Re: Greek Wedding

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Posted by MPAS

OHHHHHH this is what they say? I only heard this on tv, lol. Ours is totally different.

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yeah its very short, but basically what we will say to eachother, and after that is when they pronounce you husband and wife and we may kiss.