Greek Wedding Traditions

Chances are you are not looking to have an ancient Greek wedding ceremony. Ancient Greek wedding laws are quite outdated, however many of the rituals and traditions used in Modern Greek weddings originate from practices and traditions that were used in ancient Greek weddings. The Greek orthodox wedding ceremonies that are used today have been unchanged for many centuries.

Greek orthodox weddings are ancient and beautiful. The Greek wedding ceremony consists of the service of betrothal and the ceremony of the sacrament of marriage. There are also many traditions that can be added to your ceremony, but aren’t commonly used in Modern Greek weddings, such as the making of Greek wedding bread and cakes containing coins.

Prior to the wedding, the groom waits outside the front of the church, with the guests of his wedding, for the bride to arrive. He usually is holding the brides bouquet of flowers and hands them to her when the meet. Often Greek wedding flowers include Mint and Marigolds because they are believed to be aphrodisiacs. In summer time, when most weddings occur, it is not unusual for several Greek weddings to be scheduled back to back. This often results in wedding guests from the previous Greek wedding visiting with guest of the next wedding while they wait in front of the church for the bride. Once the bride arrives, all of the guests follow the bride and groom into the church. There is no separation of the guests between the bride and groom’s families; they all sit together.

Greek wedding dresses are very similar to the white wedding gowns used by most western cultures today. During ancient Greece weddings, the bride would wear a red chiton. If the groom were not nude, he would also wear a red chiton.

If you are looking to create your own perfect Greek wedding, you can find many inexpensive ideas on the Internet. There are also countless places that you can find Greek wedding songs and Greek wedding favors. There are ideas readily available to help you create an inexpensive Greek wedding if you are working with a limited budget.

Some couples, due to culture and family pressure, want to combine a Greek orthodox and Catholic wedding. A word of warning- if you want to have your marriage recognized by the Greek orthodox, a catholic wedding performed in a Roman catholic church is not allowed. On the other hand, only one member of the marriage needs to be a member of the Greek orthodox to have a Greek orthodox wedding. The other member will need to be baptized prior to the wedding.