Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

not sure who cleans up but my sister & a few of my cousins got married there as well and it was never an issue.

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

The wedding that I went to on Saturday at St. Nick's we threw rose pedals. And yes Father Paul (I heard) is strict and goes by the book. Not sure about who cleaned up though.

Edited to say: Yes that's it Irene. I love that place!

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

Hrmm I forgot to ask for St. Nicks - did any of you girls see problems with brides who wore strapless gowns? I'm ordering mine tomorrow and it's strapless.


And no, Father Paul won't be doing my wedding.

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

My sister wore strapless and it was fine.

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

sweet

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

Good Luck tomorrow Olga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't even started looking

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

Olga, I wore strapless with no problems! So did my cousins. Good luck with your dress!!!

Re: is anyone throwing rose petals?

Good luck Olga!

Thanks girls...I had the same question. I know our churches are very particular about the way women dress in church. Most of the dresses that I have liked are strapless but I may have them make me a small jacket since it will be January.

Some questions

Hi girls, I had a few questions maybe you could help with. Someone had mentioned something about a church program, the description I found on weddingchannel was very outdated. Does anyone have a sample go church program I could look at?
2-How long is the church ceremony?I booked the church for 3 and the hall for 7. It seems like too much time! What do you girls think?

Anyone else getting married at St. Catherine's in Astoria on September 4?

Thanks

Re: Some questions

I have my cousins program at home. I'll post the format that she used either later this evening or tomorrow morning.

My church time is at 3:00 and the hall is at 6:30 so only a half hour difference. What hall are you getting married at? You should take into account the ceremony time ( i think it is usually an hour wihtout a full mass), the receiving line and then pictures and traffic. I dont think it is too much time. I just went to a wedding a few weeks ago. The church was at 3 and the hall at 6 and bec of traffic the didnt have enough time to take pictures even with their cocktail time, and ended up taking pictures even after the reception started.

How is the rest of your planning going?

Re: Some questions

crest hollow in sept. The only thing I booked is the hall, church, and band (Mylos). THAT'S IT! I think I'm gonna start more in depth when it's exactly a year before. Now I'm gathering information from this boards.

Re: Some questions

alejay - First off Welcome!

Second - I would not wait until Sept to book. I was originally having a Sept Wedding and when I was starting the vendor search in MARCH a LOT of things were booked! I mean halls to photographers to bands!

I would start doing it ASAP - then I switched my date to May and I found everything was free for the vendors I wanted! The moral of the story - Sept is the new June so go shopping now and DO NOT WAIT!

Re: Some questions

So as promised this is what my cousin used in her program - sorry it took so long! It is a bit long and I dont know if it is the same as the one on the knot. My cousin had programs rather detailed because her husband isnt greek and she wanted everyone understanding the ceremony.


HOLY MATRIMONY

Holy Matrimony is a Sacrament of teh Greek Orthodox Church in which a woman and a man solemly vow before Christ, the priest, and the congregation to be true to each other for life. Their union is blessed by Christ through the Church. God's grace is imparted to them top live together in His love, mutually fulfilling and perfecting each other.
THe marriage ceremony of the Greek Orthodox Church is unique in that nor words are exchanged between bride and groom. It is filled with ritual and symbolism. Each of the acts which you will witness today hold a special meaning and significance.

THE JOINING OF THE RIGHT HANDS

THe right hand of the bride and groom are joined when teh priest reads the prayer that beseeches God to 'join these thy servant, unite them in one mind and one flesh.' The hands are kept joined throughout the service to symbolize the 'oneness' of the couple.

THE CANDLES

The wedding service begins immediately following teh Bethrothal Service. The bride and groom are handed candles with the satin ribbons and addorned with springs of orange blossoms which bring fruitfulness to the marriage. The candles are like the lamps of teh five wise maidens of the Bible, who because they had enough oil in their lamps, were able to receive teh Bride-groom, Christ, when he came in the darkness of the night. THe candles symbolize teh spiritual willingness of the couple to receive Christ, who will belss them through this sacrament.

THE CROWNING

The office of the crowning, which follows, is the climax of teh wedding service. THe crowns are signs of the glory and honor with which God growns the bride and groom during teh sacrament. They are crowned as queen and king of their own little kingdom, their home, which they will rule with wisdom, justice, and integrity.

When the crowning takes place, the priest, taking the crowns and holding them above the couple, says 'The servants god, (insert couples name), are crowned in teh name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.'

Some interprety the crowns used in the Orthodox wedding ceremony to refer to the crowns of martyrdom since every true marriage invovled immesurable self-sacrifice on both sides.

THE CEREMONIAL WALK

WIth crowns in place and linked to each other by a ribbon, the priest then leads the groom, who leads the bride, in a procession around the altar three times. On the altar are placed the Gospel and the Cross. The one containing the word of God, the other being the symbol of our redemption by Christ. THis is the first walk that the couple takes as husband and wife. The Church, in the person of the priest, leads them in the way they must walk. This way is symbolized by the circle, at the center of which are the Gospel and the Cross of our Lord. This expresses the fact that the way of teh Chirstian liviing is a perfect orbit and the center of life, who is Jesus Christ our Lord.

During the ceremonial walk around the table a hymn is sung to teh Holy Martyrs reminding the newly married couple of the sacrificial love tehy are to have for one another in marriage; a love that seeks not its own, but is willing to sacrifice it all for the one loved.

THE COMMON CUP

THe rite of the crowning is followed by teh reading of the Epistle and the Gospel. THe Gospel reading describes the marriage at Cana of Galilee which was attended and blessed by Christ and for which He reserved His first miracle. There He coverted water to wine and gave of it to teh newlyweds. In remembrance of this blessing, wine is give to the couple. THis is the 'common cup' of life denoting the mutual sharing of joy and shorrow, the token of a life of harmony. THe drinking of the wine from the common cup serves to impress upon the couple that from that moment on they will share everything in life, joys as well as sorrows, and that they are to 'bear one another's burdens.' Through sharing their joys will be doubled and their sorrows halved.

THE RINGS

THe rings are blessed by the priest who takes them in his hand, and making the sign of the corss over thier heads, says, 'The servant of God, (insert grooms name), is betrothed to the maid of God, (Insert brides name), in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.'

THe rings, which are the symbol of the betrothal from the most ancient times, are then exchanged by the koumbaro/koumbara, by taking the bride's ring and placing it on the groom's finger and vice versa. This exchange signifies that in married life the weakness of the one parner will be compensated for by the strengths of the other. Alone, the newly-betroithed are incomplete, but together they are made perfect, whole. THus, the exchange of the rings gives the expression to the fact that the spouses, in marriage, will constantly be complimenting each other; each being enriched by the union.

THE BLESSING

THe couple return to their places and teh priest, blessing the groom says, 'Be though magnified, O bridegroom, as Abraham, and blessed as Isaac, and increased as Jacob, walking in peac and working in righteous and the commandments of God.' And blessing the bride he says, 'And though, O bride, be thou magnified as Sarah, and glad as Rebecca and do thou increase like unto Rachael, rejoicing in thine own husband, fulfilling the conditions of the law; for so it is well pleasing to God.'

Re: Greek Brides??

I used the same thing for my programs too. I made them myself on the computer, but it was my old computer and I don't have it saved anymore. It helped all the non-Greek people and some of the Greek people too with understanding what goes on.

I threw rose petals at my church (St. Nick, Flushing) and no one said a word. They didn't even ask me what I was planning to throw. I guess they cleaned it up afterwards.

they also didn't say anything about my spaghetti strap dress even though on the paper it said no uncovered shoulders - it was July!

Fr. Paul can be a stickler, but he didn't do my wedding, because my uncle did the ceremony since he is a priest. Also my cousin's husband from Indiana who is also a priest and then Fr. John from St. Nicks kind of hung around too. So we had three priests marrying us and poor DH isn't even Greek!!!

Re: Greek Brides??

I have a question for the girls at St. Nicks - did St. Nick's require you to have any type of formal sit down with a priest - like the Catholic pre-cana - if you are both Greek Orthodox?

Do we EVER meet with the priest before the rehersal?

Re: Greek Brides??

I am getting married at St. Demetrios in Merrick and I am pretty sure we have to meet with the priest three times before we get married for some kind of counseling.

anyone else?

Olgaki-How is dress shopping going?

Re: Greek Brides??

I ORDERED MY DRESS!!!!

Here is the link from B2B
My Dress

Re: Greek Brides??

We had to meet with the priest a few weeks before the wedding. He asked us a few questions about ourselves and then talked about the importance of marriage. He even brought up the topic of sex and I was so mortified.

Re: Greek Brides??

THANKS GIRLS

ATTICAQT-thanks for the perfect program! I am def. using it.

Olgaki- you def got me motivated. I will start looking for photo this week.

Re: Greek Brides??

anyone getting their make-up done? I'm looking for suggestions.