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!