Greek Traditions
Serendipity Photography have captured many Greek weddings in our time, we are always inspired by the vibrant and family oriented tradition of the Greek Orthodox Ceremony. One such couple who wed in the Greek tradition were Julie and Nick, scroll down to the bottom of the page for some stunning photographs from their ceremony.
Stavrina and Pandelis delighted their guests with many Greek traditions, including a huge variety of spirited traditional Greek dancing from different regions and special traditional dance costumes made inland in Greece.
Pandelis created a dramatic show of skilled Greek dancing including a Tsamiko with friends from his dancing group. Pandelis has enjoyed learning dances from all over Greece, carrying on the spirit of festivity and celebration in the village traditions.
Stavrina sang a mixture of contemporary Greek inspired jazz songs and more traditional numbers, including the blues styled Rembetika. Singing has been a passion with years of lessons then many performances since her early teens, creating powerful and haunting music as well as bringing the joy of the well loved songs to the community.
Stavrina and Pandelis and their guests enjoyed a very special night at Leonda by the Yarra, with wonderful food and a great setting for such a never to be forgotten party!
The Greek Orthodox sacrament of marriage is unique in many ways, it’s important to acknowledge that the ceremony has remained almost entirely unchanged since its origination centuries ago. Another notable aspect of the Orthodox marriage is that the bride and groom do not exchange vows; instead it is their presence before Christ through the priest and the congregation that signifies their wish to be joined and to accept the lord into their new home. The union of the bride and groom is completed with the Crowning. Here the priest takes the crowns from the altar table, blesses the bride and groom, and then places the crowns upon their heads. The priest then leads the newly joined husband and wife around the table — a type of religious dance, celebrating the union. During the procession, a series of hymns are sung.
We have been surrounded by Greek culture all our lives an wanted to integrate our love for Greek culture, Stavrina singing and Pandelis dancing.
Highlights included Stavrina singing a solo (Barbagiannakakis) after the speeches.
Pandelis then surprised everyone by jumping onto the dance floor wearing his traditional costume (foustanella), and danced a Tsamiko with friends from his dancing group.