Greek Wedding Traditions And Their Meanings

Greek weddings are steeped in tradition, symbolism and ancient cultural superstitions. From the engagement to the ceremony and beyond, there are many rituals to follow.

The engagement ceremony is a small celebration of the couple's upcoming life together, where rings are exchanged in front of close family and friends. The wedding date is also important, with certain times of the year considered good luck and others to be avoided.

On the day of the wedding, the bride and groom get ready separately, with their respective attendants. The bride writes the names of her single friends on the bottom of her wedding shoes, and the groom is shaved by his best man.

The ceremony itself is rich with symbolism. The couple is crowned with delicate white crowns, which are intertwined three times to symbolise their union. They sip from a common cup, and walk around the altar three times, led by the priest.

After the ceremony, the guests throw rice and koufeta (sugar-coated almonds) to symbolise fertility and the bittersweet nature of life. The couple then heads to the reception for food, drink, music and dancing.

Traditions and symbolism

The Engagement

The engagement ceremony is often a small gathering of close family, where the priest blesses the couple and their rings. The couple exchanges rings three times, first from the groom to the bride, then from the bride to the groom, to symbolise their lives becoming entwined. In some regions, the groom gives the bride her wedding shoes as a gift during the engagement ceremony. The bride pretends the shoes are too big, so the best man fills them with money until she is satisfied. The bride then writes the names of her single friends on the soles of the shoes, and by the end of the wedding day, the names that have worn off are believed to be the next to marry.

The Wedding Date

There are several times of the year when a Greek wedding cannot take place. These include the two weeks in August dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the forty days before Christmas, and the forty-day period of Lent before Easter.

The Wedding Ceremony

The Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony is rich in symbolism and tradition. The ceremony consists of two parts: the Service of Betrothal and the Service of the Crowning. The latter consists of five sections: The Prayers, The Crowning, Readings from Scripture, The Common Cup, and the Dance of Isaiah. The couple does not face each other but stand side by side, facing forward towards the altar. The priest joins their right hands and calls upon God to unify the couple in mind and body.

The Crowns

The highlight of the sacrament is the crowning of the couple. Two crowns, or 'stefana', are attached by a single white ribbon, symbolising the union of two people becoming one. The priest places the crowns on the couple's heads, and the best man exchanges them three times to seal their union. The crowns symbolise the glory and honour bestowed on the couple by God, crowning them as king and queen of their home.

The Candles

The ceremony begins with the lighting of two taper candles, or 'lambathes', one for the bride and one for the groom. The candles symbolise the couple's spiritual willingness to receive Christ and the light of God into their lives.

The Dance of Isaiah

The priest leads the couple in a ceremonial walk, called the Dance of Isaiah, around the altar table three times. The couple kiss the cross that the priest holds, and their mothers throw flower petals at them.

The Common Cup

The crowning is followed by a reading of the Gospel and a blessing of a cup of wine. The couple sip from the same cup, symbolising their mutual sharing of life's joys and sorrows.

The Bombonieres

For many Greek wedding guests, the tradition of handing out bombonieres, or koufeta, is a memorable aspect of the wedding. Bombonieres are Jordan almonds, or sugar-coated almonds, symbolising the sweet and bitter aspects of life. The salty-sweet combination is meant to represent life's ups and downs, with the hope that life brings more sweet than bitter. The almonds are wrapped in groups of five, an indivisible odd number, to symbolise the indivisible power of the couple's marriage.

The Marital Bed

The night before the wedding, the bride's mother and grandmother prepare the marital bed by covering it with flower petals, coins, and koufeta to ensure love, prosperity, and fertility. In some cases, a baby is rolled across the bed to guarantee fertility.

The Evil Eye

On her way to the church, the bride wears blue or a charm to ward off the evil eye, believed to be a hex placed by someone else's envy or jealousy. Guests also spit three times when complimenting the bride to ward off any negative energy.

The Reception

Greek weddings are incredibly joyous occasions, with exuberant group dances and music. The reception begins with the bride and groom leading a dance, followed by their families and wedding party. Greek weddings often include a money dance, where guests pin money to the couple's attire or toss dollar bills onto the dance floor. This is a fun, symbolic way to congratulate the couple and help them get established.

The Food

Food is an important part of Greek wedding traditions. Certain dishes always seem to appear on the menu, including yuvetsi (a lamb or beef stew with orzo), tiropita (a cheese pastry), and baklava (a pastry sweetened with honey and nuts).

Engagement and rings

In traditional Greek weddings, the engagement ceremony is the first of two services in the wedding ceremony of the Greek Orthodox Church. The second service is the Service of Marriage or Crowning.

During the engagement ceremony, the priest blesses the couple and the rings, which are then exchanged three times by the best man, moving them from the groom to the bride and vice versa. This back-and-forth movement symbolises the intertwining of the couple's lives. The rings are placed on the couple's right hands, as it is believed that the right hand is the hand that God blesses. The double wedding bands are a symbol of the agreement between the couple to live together in marriage.

After the engagement ceremony, there is usually a huge party with the couple's families.

In modern times, it is common for women to wear two rings: an engagement ring and a wedding band. In this case, the wedding band is placed on the right hand first, followed by the engagement ring, so that the wedding band is always closest to the heart.

The marital bed

Preparing the marital bed, or "To Krevati", is an important part of Greek wedding traditions. The ritual is usually performed the night before the wedding and involves decorating the bed with flower petals, coins, and koufeta (Jordan almonds) to ensure love, prosperity, and fertility for the couple. It is believed that a baby rolled across the bed guarantees fertility, and the gender of the baby determines the gender of the couple's first child.

The task of preparing the marital bed is entrusted only to the bride and her unmarried attendants. However, once the bed is ready, the groom must approve it, and any changes he requests must be made. The decorations on the bed include symbolic elements chosen to bless the marriage with luck, prosperity, and fertility. Money is added to symbolise prosperity and is usually scattered across the bed in large enough amounts to serve as a substantial gift. A baby or doll is placed on the bed to symbolise fertility, and the gender of the baby predicts the gender of the couple's firstborn child. Rice is also thrown on the bed to symbolise the couple putting down roots and establishing a stable and happy home.

In addition to these symbolic decorations, the bed may be adorned with rose petals, jewels, and glitter. The entire ritual is often photographed to preserve the moment and include it in the wedding album. "To Krevati" is a beloved tradition in Greek weddings, and many couples choose to incorporate it into their wedding festivities, even if they already live together before marriage.

The wedding ceremony

The ceremony itself is formal but not stiff, and it lasts about 45 minutes to an hour. It is composed of two services: the Service of Betrothal, or Engagement ceremony, and the Service of Marriage or Crowning.

During the Service of Betrothal, the priest blesses the wedding rings three times and announces that the groom is betrothed to the bride in the name of the Holy Trinity. The priest places the rings on the couple's right-hand ring fingers, and the Koumbaro exchanges the rings three times to signify that their lives are now intertwined.

The Service of Marriage begins with the Sacrament of Marriage, where the priest hands the couple white candles that symbolize their spiritual willingness to receive Christ in their lives. The candles are lit, and three prayers are read, portraying humanity as one continuous fabric that the couple is now entering.

The highlight of the sacrament is the Crowning, where the priest places two wedding crowns, or Stefana, on the couple's heads. The crowns are blessed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Koumbaro interchanges them three times to symbolize the sealing of the union. The crowns are tied together with a ribbon, symbolizing the unity of the couple and the presence of Christ.

Following the crowning is a reading from the Gospel, which tells of the marriage of Cana at Galilee, where Jesus performed his first miracle by changing water into wine. In remembrance of this blessing, the couple sips wine from a common cup, symbolizing that they will share everything in life. They are then led around the altar table three times by the Koumbaro as a Greek prayer is recited by the priest.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the priest blesses the couple and asks God to grant them a long, happy, and fruitful life together.

The wedding reception

The bride also calls all the single ladies to the dance floor to throw her bouquet, a tradition that predicts the next person to be married.

The reception is also a time to indulge in Greek delicacies and treats. Food is an important part of Greek wedding traditions, with dishes like yuvetsi (a lamb or beef stew with orzo), tiropita (a cheese pastry), and baklava (pastry sweetened with honey and nuts).

Guests also receive bonbonnieres, or koufeta, which are sugar-coated almonds. An odd number of these treats are given to each guest, symbolising purity, fertility, and the endurance of marriage.

Frequently asked questions