A Party To Remember: Fun With The Wedding Party

So after the wedding ceremony, we gathered hectically outside the church to take some group pictures. 

These were the only ones we managed! The first one with our parents and the second one with our friends from the US and Canada, who came all the way out here for our wedding!

Well, as for the rest of the pictures, lets just say that our formals weren't very...formal! Observe... :)

One of my favorite ones of us!

The entire wedding party

I love the look on Mr. Milk's face in this pic! He looks very pleased with himself and his harem!

My turn!

The boys hated that I made them do this! And our photographer duly noted that I had been reading too many blogs! :)

Hanging out :)

And now the fun begins! Or is this the first indication of domestic violence?! (joke people!). Oh, if you are wondering what we are doing digging around in my bust, we are removing flower petals that got stuck between the 2 layers of fabric when people threw them at us.

Clearly this next series of photos was the boys idea...

Finally I've had enough and shoo him away!

Have I mentioned how much I loved all the colors! And the ladies white hydrangea bouquets against their colorful dresses!

Someone at some point here said something funny...

And we ended up like this!

This next series of pictures is one of my faves (yes, I have A LOT of favorites). If you enlarge the picture, you will see that BM in teal is grabbing MOH in magenta by the hair! There was a lot of pushing and shoving for this bouquet...

But...

with the flowers in the air...

A clear winner emerged! As you can see, only my MOH really wanted this bouquet! She is getting married in may 2012!

And I couldn't have the photographer leave without the "must-have" pic of our shoes! Poor guy actually almost fell down a flight of stairs while taking this! Sorry Petro!

All Photos courtesy of Petros Sordinas Photography

Up next: the party gets in full swing!

A Party To Remember: The Wedding Ceremony

So now we are ready to get into this small church of ours and make this official!

Lets do this...

Doesn't our priest look like Richard Gere! He was so handsome!

At this point Mr. Milk whispered something in my ear that I didn't hear. While I thought he was saying something sweet, he was actually making fun! When the priest said something about the virgin Mary, he turned around and asked if I was a virgin! Boys will be boys!

A view of the entire church. I love how this angel makes it look larger than it actually is! Even though we had TWO airconditions working, because one door was left open so that the guests outside could hear and see, and because the tiny church was packed, it was boiling inside! My poor maid of honor felt faint for most of the ceremony :(

The holy bible with our rings placed on it to be blessed. They are each wrapped with a red ribbon.

Holy communion, ready to be given to us by the priest in the goblet. 

The exchange of rings. In the Greek-Orthodox tradition, the bestman and maid of honor exchange the rings between the couple three times. They are also placed on the right hand instead of the left. 

SInce it was warm in the church, our bestman and maid of honor were really attentive and would wipe off any sweat with a hankie. Mr. Milk saw that our bestman was starting to get a little hot under the collar and decide to return the favor! I love how proud of himself he is in the second pic!

The priest blessing our crowns and then placing them on our heads. This indicates our unity, as they are connected with a long ribbon.

All crowned :)

During the reading from the Apostle's book, there is a saying, which directly translated reads "and the woman must be afraid of the man". This is a misunderstanding of sorts, since the holy books were written in ancient Greek, and the word for "afraid" actually meant respect. What typically happens at this point, is the couple tries to step on each others foot! The first to accomplish this will have the upper hand in the marriage :) We had decided with Mr. Milk that this tradition was not for us. A few minutes before this part was to come up, the priest approached us and said "I can't imagine you want to step on each other?" We both said no, and he said, "I would rather you give each other a kiss!" What can I say, he was handsome and sweet! Here is the pic of this kiss at that point in the ceremony :)

Communion. The bread is dunked in the wine and is fed to us three times each.

Then we had to take three sips of the wine. 

And then we take our first steps as a married couple! Lead by the priest, we circle the alter three times, with our bestman and maid of honor in tow. Each time we come to the front of the alter, we kiss the bible.

I love this picture!

Final blessing from the priest, he kisses our crowns.

We cannot take them off ourselves, so our bestman did that.

Another photo I love! My ladies waiting outside the church for us to come out!

Here we come!

Confetti, petals, and streamers!

First kiss as husband and wife!

All Photos courtesy of Petros Sordinas Photography

Up next: Formals!

A Party To Remember: Heading To The Church

Mr. Milk arrived at the wedding venue a few hours before the time of the wedding. He checked in, was taken to our suite, freshened up, and waited for the time to come so he could do this...

Walking to the church with his side of the wedding party and friends and family

He looks happy to be doing this :)

Best Man, FIL, Mr. Milk checking his phone :) We were probably texting each other at this point. It is traditional for the groom to hold the brides bouquet and hand it to her when they meet outside the church for the first time. 

So the groom waits outside the church with his best man and parent, for the bride to arrive and be handed over to him. The couple walks into the church, to the alter, together.

Have I mentioned how much I love my bouquet? A LOT!

Outside the church. The church was tiny, it only fit 40 people, so had about another 80 seats outside.

Guests have started to gather, seeking some shade from the heat of the day. 

More guests!

And the bride's entourage has arrived! Waiting for everyone to gather at the hotel lobby before we head up to the church. 

See some friends and family that I hadn't seen earlier. 

And we're off!

Seconds before walking down the aisle, everyone takes their places, ready for the surprise to come :)

So I completely stole this idea from my gal pal Stacey over at All Consumed Bride, who had made a sign for her groom. I decided to make a small sign for each of the girls to present to Mr. Milk as they walked past him. The first one reads "Run Mr. Milk, Run!"

Second one reads "Still Here?!" giving him another opportunity to rethink it all

He is given one "Last Chance...". Unfortunately my Maid of Honor walked too fast and to close the other bridesmaid and the photographer didn't have a chance to take a picture of the last sign, which read "Too Late!" :)

And here comes the bride! I decided that I wanted to walk down the aisle with both my parents. 

Our first meeting! I love this shot of us hugging as the two dads looking on :)

Last kiss as an engaged couple!

And of course more tears for me :)

All Photos courtesy of Petros Sordinas Photography

Up next: The wedding ceremony