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- by Elizabeth Gregory
This past weekend, I attended a Greek wedding. This was the first one I had been to. Most of my friends who had never been kept telling me "let me know if it's just like 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'," which it wasn't.
The ceremony was conducted entirely in Greek. Luckily, one of the priests explained in English what would happen. There were several priests there including the groom's uncle who flew over from Greece to be the chief priest of the ceremony. There was a blessing and exchange of rings. (In Greek tradition, rings are worn on the right hand because that's the hand you raise when you take an oath). Following that, a crowning of the bride and groom with crowns made in the town in Greece where the Olympics were first held. These crowns are tied together with a ribbon and are interchanged between the bride and groom to show that they are now connected and interchanged in the new life together. Next, the bride and groom circle around the altar several times along with some members of the bridal party. Finally they are given a goblet of wine to share (this wine is not consecrated). As usual they kiss at the end and exit the church in typical wedding fashion. What I thought was the most interesting part of the entire ceremony is that neither the groom nor the bride say one word through the entire thing. There is no exchange of vows between them.
The reception was a lot of fun. There was a Greek band playing traditional Greek music. For those of us who did not have a chance to catch up on our Greek dance lessons, there was also a DJ who played typical American wedding music (sans chicken dance). The Greek dancing was fascinating to watch. Everyone in a circle holding hands dancing altogether or standing in a circle while people take turns dancing in the center one at a time.
There was money thrown up in the air ($1 bills). But it was left on the floor for several hours. My husband and I felt so guilty walking and dancing all over the money. During the parts where the Greek band was playing, it was easy to forget that we were in New Jersey. Overall a wonderful cultural experience and a lot of fun. We did receive the typical candy coated almonds, called koufeta as part of our wedding favor.
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