iten +39 333 85 99121 info@meraviglioseisolegreche.com
+39 333 85 99121 info@meraviglioseisolegreche.com
iten
Home > Attività Isole > grecia > THE GREEK WEDDING

THE GREEK WEDDING

If you haven’t seen the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” yet, we recommend you do so to understand how these wonderful ceremonies are experienced.

Don’t think that it is emphasized because it is a movie, in reality if you are lucky enough to participate you will realize that it is truly so noisy, jovial and fun.

Marriage is a very important sacrament for the Greeks, perhaps in recent decades the new generations wait or try to live together before the big step but it still remains an objective that is part of their culture.

The rites linked to a Greek wedding have a flavor of other times, but the beauty is precisely this being able to still preserve duties and values ​​of the past to create new family units and pass on customs that in our opinion are precious gifts to be preserved. Remember that the family in Greece is one of the solid foundations of the culture.

The first thing to do is the engagement. You can consider yourself engaged only when the man asks the father for the hand of his beloved. The presence of the respective parents, the closest relatives and a monk who has the task of blessing the rings that will be placed on the left hand of the engaged couple is mandatory. An auspicious rite, a true oath of infinite love that will bind them to a solemn promise. All this also creates a pact between the two families who together will have to support and help the new couple.

Secondly, the Dowry. The bride’s family is responsible for the house where the newlyweds will live, the trousseau that by tradition should be embroidered by the mother and aunts.

The day before the fateful “I do”, the wedding bed is prepared. Friends and relatives go to the new nest where the entire trousseau must be put on display for everyone. The virgin girls have the task of preparing the bed and the groom must inspect and check that everything is done to perfection with the authority to decide whether it is appropriate to undo and redo everything again until he is completely satisfied. Once prepared, the groom must thank the girls and friends and relatives will put money on the bed as a wish for a rich life. The children present will instead be made to play directly on the alcove to wish fertility.

For the fateful day, Greek tradition wants the women of the family to dress the bride, helping her with makeup, hair and dressing. The same goes for the groom, friends and the men of the house will help him by giving precious advice and encouragement for the new life he is approaching.

The bride will be accompanied by her father and older brother arm in arm to the church and it may seem that she is almost being carried by weight but this gesture also has a precise meaning, it represents the support and consent of the head of the family towards the union between his daughter and a man of other births. Once there, the father and brother give the girl to her future husband and together, each with a white candle in their right hand, they will cross the aisle to the altar where the priest will be waiting for them. The white candle at the wedding for the Orthodox religion, represents the union of the souls of the spouses.

The moment of exchanging rings is always something exciting, the rings are a sign of balance and strength for the couple. The priest will place the ring on the right ring finger three times and this gesture represents the continuous exchange that must always exist between them. The spouses will then be crowned with white garlands made of flowers and semi-precious stones (they are the symbol of the honor that God gives to the spouses and the wish for royalty, honor and glory) joined together by a ribbon always white held by the respective witnesses who in Greece are called Koubaro/a (their purpose is to witness the free status of the couple) who will cross them on the couple’s head three times to guarantee a union and mutual love. Afterwards the spouses will always have to drink the blessed wine three times from the same cup and this gesture represents the mutual trust of the new family. Finally, the bride and groom must go around the altar together with the Pope (this is what Orthodox priests are called) three times as the beginning of their religious journey together. You may wonder why everything is done three times, the reason is very simple, it represents the Holy Trinity.

And after all the mystical part that is really of great impact and emotion, we move on to the most carefree and fun phase, the Reception. Here you will see some beautiful things, the watchword in a Greek wedding is “pomp” nothing is by chance and nothing can be given up. The euphoria, the abundant dishes, liters of alcohol are necessary ingredients for a successful wedding party and in this the Greeks do not spare any expense. Tradition has it that the mother of the bride starts the breaking of the plates, it will be her to start with a plate full of wheat, sweets and coins that symbolize fertility, sweetness and well-being and then all the relatives, friends and the spouses follow suit.


Of course there will be typical music with the sound of bouzouki and the dance par excellence the Sirtaki.

To pay homage to the spouses, the guests during the dances, pin the envelopes containing money with pins on the wedding dresses or they are thrown and then collected and put in large baskets. At the end of the day, given the number of guests that is rarely less than two hundred people, the newlyweds manage to collect a lot of money for a comfortable start. The party then continues until late at night until the last survivor manages to resist.

Especially on the islands, weddings are a very heartfelt and spectacular event, think that sometimes an entire village is invited and the whole thing turns into a huge festival where you can have fun, eat, drink and dance until you drop.

So having said this, we hope you can participate in such a great and contagious joy and why not maybe think about your wedding in Greece, many now decide to take this important step in life right here and there are many wedding planners who can help you make a dream come true. Usually the favorite destination for future spouses is Santorini, after all with such a romantic landscape it is difficult not to choose it, but any island is fine, after all all of Greece is beautiful!

Perché prenotare con noi?

  • Garanzia del miglior prezzo senza problemi
  • Assistenza Clienti 24/7
  • Tour e attività selezionati con cura

Hai qualche domanda?

Non esitate a chiamarci. Siamo un team esperto e siamo felici di parlare con te.

+39 333 85 99121

info@meraviglioseisolegreche.com