Weddings the Greek Orthodox Way

Written by Emmanuel Mendonca


The wedding service inrepparttar Greek Orthodox faith is an ancient and beautiful ceremony, which has been celebrated in its current form for centuries. The wedding ceremony is full of symbolism and is a great experience if you have never attended one before, because it is likely to be quite different from other weddings you have attended in Western Europe. The service is also rather unique becauserepparttar 145362 bride and groom do not make vows to each other – their presence together inrepparttar 145363 church is taken to mean that they are serious about getting married. There are no wedding rehearsals andrepparttar 145364 ceremony usually has a very relaxed atmosphere - guests take photos whenever they want to and often chat quietly among themselves throughoutrepparttar 145365 ceremony.

The Beginning ofrepparttar 145366 Wedding

In most casesrepparttar 145367 wedding guests will wait withrepparttar 145368 groom outsiderepparttar 145369 church untilrepparttar 145370 bride arrives (a few sneaky wedding pros will go intorepparttar 145371 church early to secure a good seat). Inrepparttar 145372 Summer, when most weddings take place, it is not unusual for ceremonies to be arranged back to back, sorepparttar 145373 guests attending a marriage will often stand around with those who have just attendedrepparttar 145374 previous wedding are ready to leave. Wedding dress commentators amongrepparttar 145375 crowd will get to consider and discuss at least two brides and maybe even a third as they leaverepparttar 145376 church – bargain! Meanwhile,repparttar 145377 groom waits forrepparttar 145378 bride atrepparttar 145379 entrance torepparttar 145380 church, often holding her floral bouquet. He hands it to her as they meet and they then go inside together followed byrepparttar 145381 guests. There is no separation ofrepparttar 145382 guests into guests ofrepparttar 145383 bride and guests ofrepparttar 145384 groom – everyone sits together and inrepparttar 145385 case of small churches, many people prefer to stand in a spot where they can get a good view ofrepparttar 145386 proceedings.

Service of Betrothal

The wedding ceremony itself is in two parts:repparttar 145387 Service of Betrothal andrepparttar 145388 Ceremony ofrepparttar 145389 Sacrament of Marriage. The exchanging of rings isrepparttar 145390 focus ofrepparttar 145391 Service of Betrothal. The priest blessesrepparttar 145392 rings by holding them in his right hand and makingrepparttar 145393 sign ofrepparttar 145394 cross overrepparttar 145395 heads ofrepparttar 145396 bride and groom. The rings are then placed onrepparttar 145397 third fingers of their right hands. The Koumbaro,repparttar 145398 couple’s religious sponsor, then swapsrepparttar 145399 rings over betweenrepparttar 145400 bride and groom’s fingers, three times. A number of rituals inrepparttar 145401 ceremony are repeated three times and this symbolisesrepparttar 145402 Holy Trinity: Godrepparttar 145403 Father,repparttar 145404 Son andrepparttar 145405 Holy Spirit.

Ceremony ofrepparttar 145406 Sacrament of Marriage

This Ceremony consists of several key parts. First, several prayers are said and then as they come to an end,repparttar 145407 priest joinsrepparttar 145408 right hands ofrepparttar 145409 bride and groom. Their hands remain joined untilrepparttar 145410 end ofrepparttar 145411 wedding ceremony, which symbolisesrepparttar 145412 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 byrepparttar 145413 priest. The crowns symboliserepparttar 145414 glory and honour that is being bestowed on them by God, andrepparttar 145415 the ribbon symbolises their unity. The Koumbaro then exchangesrepparttar 145416 crowns betweenrepparttar 145417 heads ofrepparttar 145418 couple, three times.

Wedding Dresses - How to Select the Best One for You

Written by Tanya Turner


Every bride would agree that her wedding dress should be perfect - not only does she want to look her best, on her special day, but her wedding dress also isrepparttar center of everybody's attention. But how would you selectrepparttar 145361 best one for you? Here is advice about selectingrepparttar 145362 best dress for your wedding.

Your wedding dress style should muchrepparttar 145363 wedding style

Do you plan a very formal wedding in a cathedral or is it going to be an informal beach ceremony? Before deciding onrepparttar 145364 dress, you should decide how formal your wedding is going to be. A long and puffy princess style wedding dress is no longer your only option - informal weddings and beach weddings are progressively becoming more popular. So now you can find all kinds of cheap wedding dresses - short or tea length dresses, colored wedding dresses and even white sarongs, for a Hawaiian wedding.

One advantage to an informal wedding dress is that it is much cheaper and more comfortable. Also, while a formal wedding gown almost always needs serious alteration, an informal dress is much easier to fit. So if you don't have that much time left before you wedding, an informal dress could be a good choice.

How to choserepparttar 145365 right bridal salon.

If you want to findrepparttar 145366 best dress, you will need to spend a couple of days visiting different salons. However, before you visit a bridal shop it is a good idea to call them and ask a few questions - this will save you trips to places that would only waste your time. When ringing a bridal salon you should ask:

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