Greek Orthodox Wedding
If you’ve attended a Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony, you know these weddings are very significant. In fact, the ceremony is an important sacrament for the couple and goes beyond the standard wedding vows. The traditional ceremony in this case was at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church.
The procession is a little different than Western weddings. Typically, the exchange rings happens at the beginning of the ceremony. The priest blesses both rings before placing them on the third finger of their right hands. Next, the wedding sponsor swaps the rings between the bride and groom to symbolize their future connection.
The bride and groom are each given one white candle to hold for the remainder of the ceremony. When they light these candles, it signals the Sacrament of Marriage. The crowns symbolize the couple’s marriage as a blessing from God. Similar to the rings, they swap crowns between the bride and groom three times as well. The significance behind performing these rituals three times is the holy trinity. So the couple sips wine three times, and walk around the altar three times. Making circles around the wedding altar is a symbol of infinity and the couple’s eternity together. Finally, the officiant removes the Stefana crowns and says a prayer for the newly married couple.
If there is a first kiss, it’s often quick and unannounced. In fact, the highlight is after the ceremony when rice is thrown at couples as they exit. It means to wish fertility and wealth on the new family.
Reception
After the ceremony, we headed to Guildwood Inn for the reception. The garden grounds at this venue are absolutely stunning. So obviously we did the bulk of their wedding photos right on site. These two were very close to their bridal party as many of them doubled as family. As a result, we did a few rounds of photos with the bridal party to make sure everyone had their fill. The bride and groom were more introverts. So 15 minutes with the camera focused on just them was more than enough.
Even the reception highlights were downplayed drastically for the couple. But when the dance floor opened, these two stole the show. They were the first to lead the group dancing at this Greek Orthodox wedding. And they remained on that dance floor till the very end.
Hybrid Package
This is a relatively new service I offer. While many shooters in this industry can transition between photo and video… there are very few who can provide both simultaneously by themselves. It originally started out as an option for couples dealing with Covid guest count restrictions. By having a single photographer who could provide video as well, it opened up the opportunity to invite an additional guest. However this service has decided to stick around long past Covid simply for its convenience. By utilizing video cameras on tripods, I am able to remain continue photographing the event as per usual. Video coverage of this event is at the bottom of the page. It includes a full runthrough of the wedding ceremony and the scheduled highlights of the evening wedding reception. All speeches and vows are uncut so you remember every word
I also photographed their engagement shoot.
