The Basics of a Greek Wedding Ceremony

The world got a look at the Greek wedding in the hit movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding starring Nia Vardalos. If you want to learn more about what is involved in a Greek wedding ceremony, keep reading. This article will explore in more depth the beautiful traditions involved in this type of wedding. There is something very unique about the Greek Orthodox wedding, which is that the bride and groom do not speak vows. This is different from most every wedding in every culture. The very arrival of the bride and groom at the church is enough to convey their commitment to one another and the marriage.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the groom and guests will wait outside of the church until the bride arrives. When the bride arrives, the groom hands her the bridal bouquet and they enter the church followed by the guests. Rather than separating the family and friends of the bride and groom into sides, everyone sits together in a mixed group. Some people even stand if the church is small. As you can see, many of the traditions are very different from what most people think of when they think of a wedding ceremony. There are two distinct aspects of the ceremony: The Service of Betrothal and the Ceremony of the Sacrament of Marriage.

The Service of the Betrothal begins with the blessing of the rings by the priest. The rings are placed on the third finger of the right hand and moved three times by the sponsor. The ceremony continues with a variety of prayers after which the couple's right hands are placed together and remain there for the remainder of the ceremony. Then, the couple is crowned with crowns connected by white ribbon. The sponsor exchanges the crowns from the head of bride to groom three times. Many things in a Greek wedding are done three times in representation of the Holy Trinity.

Another part of the Greek wedding ceremony is the walk around the altar, done three times of course. After the walk, the priest blesses the couple and says a brief prayer about the commitment of marriage. Their joined hands are separated by the Bible which represents the symbolism that the marriage can only be broken by God. Following a Greek wedding comes the reception, which features lots of revelry and food. If you've never been to such a wedding and plan to attend one, you will surely find the ceremony beautiful and emotional and the reception a lot of fun!

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