Greek Orthodox Ceremony Questions

abby382 · April 2010

Hey everyone,

I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer. My fiance is Greek Orthodox and I am not. I have been baptized in a Christian chuch so I know that we can get married in an Orthodox Church.

My questions are- can my father still walk me down the aisle? And can we have our pictures taken before the ceremony. I really hate the idea of having to take all our pictures after.

Thanks so much!

kathyt11 · May 2010

Hey thats great that you are marrying a Greek man! I am Greek Orthodox myself and I am marrying a Russian Jewish guy

Anyway of course your dad can still walk you down the aisle! We do this too, its alittle different, sometimes the mom and dad walk down with the bride but i am sure you can do it the way you like. I also think its nice to tie in both cultures since you are both different. And, as far as taking pics before the wedding, I would talk to your fiance and see how he feels about it. I mean me and my fiance talked about it and we decided that we want to take pics before the wedding too because we can get it out of the way and plus photographers get paid by the hour might as well meet up earlier and take the pics then. And, there are tons of photographers that will make it look nice the first meet up (when u guys see each other for the first time) Plus you get all the stress and anxiety all out the way!

Hope I was helpful to ya, sorry for the long reply! haha

demi69 · June 2010

Hi, yes, your dad could walk you down the aisle. I would make sure you are able to get married without the Greek Orthodox christening, though. I've never known a GO priest that will marry a non GO without the 10 minute christening ceremony ahead of time.

fembott25 · August 2010

I am Jewish and my FI is GO. He really wants Greek traditions tied into the wedding. Since you are in the same sort of situation, can anyone recomen any alerntatives to tie in Greek traditions in to the wedding. Ideally he would love someone GO to marry us along with a Rabbi but the more I sear the more I realize this is not possible. Perhaps anyoe can suggest options.

cherrycoke99 · August 2010

Kathy-how are you and your FI handling the ceremony? I am Serbian Orthodox and my FI is part Russian Jewish and part Italian Catholic. I really want to have the ceremony in the Orthodox church, however our priest will not allow any Jewish traditions. Kind of all or nothing with us! We are planning to meet with the priest next month to see what our options are. I have not been able to find any info online about Eastern Orthodox and Jewish marriages. We are out there!!!

ravenray · November 2010

I would recommend incorporating your other traditional wants into your reception. Orthodox are pretty unbending on the service.
abby382- I am pretty sure you either have to be baptized on christened to get married in the Orthodox church. Talk with your priest; it’s not all the same everywhere. Once again ask your priest about your father walking you down the isle. He will be the best person to let you know what you can and can't do during the service. Pictures though have no bearing on this so go ahead, take all the pictures you want

adgirl712 · November 2010

Help! I'm Catholic and my FI is Greek Orthodox. We would like to include traditions from both religions, and have both priests present if possible. What are our options for an inter-faith ceremony? If we get married in a Catholic Church, would the Greek priest come as well? If we chose the GO church, could a catholic priest come? Would a GO priest be willing to do an interfaith ceremony at the venue??

sewingdame · January 2011

It's very unlikely that you will find a Greek priest willing to be part of your ceremony anywhere outside of the Greek church. The reason why Greek Orthodox people usually don't have outdoor weddings is because it's not allowed to have a wedding outside of the church because there is no altar. Also, the altar is blessed and set up in a certain way for GO weddings that may not be the same for Catholic weddings. GO churches are very strict, a GO is not allowed to receive communion in any other church, or even be a godparent to anyone who isn't GO. Also, in the GO faith, you need a koumbaro or koumbara, this is a man or woman that is of the GO faith that will be the "godparent" of your wedding and usually of your first child.

As for the dad walking you down the aisle, it's completely allowed. Usually, the person who walks you down the aisle is defined by your cultural traditions, not the church. Some Greeks have both parents walk them down the aisle. Some Greeks actually have the groom waiting outside with the bride's bouquet where the Groom kisses the father of the bride's hand, hands her the bouquet and the priest leads the bride and groom into the church with everyone else following them. In other parts of the greece, it is the koumbaro who walks the bride down the aisle.

As far as the baptismal goes, you must be christian and baptized and have a certificate to prove baptism or else you will have to undergo classes to convert and the whole baptismal process. If you're already baptized Christian, usually you must pick a GO godparent and be anointed with holy oil and water in a short ceremony and also receive communion.

As for the Jewish and Greek weddings....I think you might just have to stick to incorporating both cultures into the reception and choose either a GO or Jewish ceremony. Take into consideration that if you plan to baptize your children, you should probably have a GO ceremony. Some churches can be very strict and will not allow baptismal of a child if the parents were not married in their faith. Even to incorporate the crowns, the rings etc from a GO ceremony, everything is done in 3 to represent the Holy Trinity.

Good luck to everyone!

Kerriberri27 · May 2011

I'm Catholic and my fiance is GO, I am fine with having an orthodox ceremony, but I really want wedding vows. I want to look into his eyes, resite our vows and say I Do! We spoke to the priest and he said it was not possible to do so. It brings me tears thinking about this. I don't know what I can do. We've been together for 11 years and it's something I've envisions in my mind for so long. I'm just so sad.

nicholeandboz · September 2011

I am Greek Orthodox and so is my fiancé. The GO Church will marry baptized Orthodox people with baptized Christians; you do not have to be Orthodox, but must be baptized in the name of the Trinity into a Christian church. As far as vows, the marriage service is a sacrament in the GO Church and vows are not usually a part of it. I have seen a GO couple married who said vows (traditional "til death do us part" vows) before the Orthodox service began...maybe that would be an option? It is really up to the priest who is officiating.
Adgirl712 - A GO priest is permitted to attend weddings in other churches, and the Catholic church is the closest relative, so this may very well be possible. As far as I know, Catholic priests are welcome to attend GO weddings but may not officiate.
abby328 - You can certainly have your dad walk you down the aisle - GO weddings very often have the traditional entrances with flower girls etc.

Hope this helps!

tdedes · February 2012

Hi all, can anyone provide me with your experience in success having a greek orthodox cermony with a jewish partner? I am open to all suggestions including those at the reception (although prefer in the church).

Thanks

mezzosinger8 · February 2012

Hi, I'm having the same exact dilemma. Did you ever figure out a good compromise??

tdedes · June 2012

In Response to <a href="http://interfaith.weddings.com/Sites/Weddings/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_interfaith-weddings-1_greek-orthodox-ceremony-questions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:429Discussion:66778ff4-a5e9-4085-a2d3-9c0dc4ee218fPost:069b802f-de41-4443-8131-e588c4701ac5">Re: Greek Orthodox Ceremony Questions</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi, I'm having the same exact dilemma. Did you ever figure out a good compromise??
Posted by mezzosinger8[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>Hi There- </div><div>no, not really but I think we are deciding to have an interfaith/non demoninational wedding in a Protestant church. The church seems very flexible. How about you?

</div>

Ericoamdstephe · November 2012

Anyone heard of GO marrying a mormon? i am GO and my fiance is mormon. He was baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints under the holy trinity. I am currently awaiting the priest to give me an answer.

zervosal31 · January 2013

My parents will not be attending my wedding at the Greek Orthodox Church. I am catholic. I also have two children from a previous wedding. Can my children walk me down the aisle? Sister? What are my other options?

zervosal31 · January 2013

My parents will not be attending my wedding at the Greek Orthodox Church. I am catholic. I also have two children from a previous wedding. Can my children walk me down the aisle? Sister? What are my other options?

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