Greek Wedding Planning, Wedding Traditions in Greece

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Greek Wedding Traditions

In Greece a couple becomes engaged by exchanging rings in the presence of family and friends. After the engagement there is always a feast. They consider this ceremony as binding as a wedding.

Weddings in Greece almost always take place on a Sunday.

On the Wednesday before the wedding they perform the ritual of "starting the leaven." Relatives are invited to come to the home and watch the flour being sieved by a boy and a girl. There is silence throughout the whole process until there is enough flour. Then the people watching throw coins into the sieve and yell out their wishes of good luck.

On Friday, the ceremony known as the "filling of the sacks" takes place. The brides mother places a cooper pan in a sack and the bride fills it and other sacks with all of her possessions while visitors throw coins in among her things.

While the "filling of the sacks" is going on, the groom sends pitchers of wine around the village to his friends and relatives with an invitation to the wedding feast. The bride's father does the same for his friends and relatives. The bride goes on Saturday with some of her friends to invite other girls in the village. She gives out sweets instead of wine.

The most important person man at a Greek wedding is not the groom or the priest, it's the koumbaros or sponsor. He is usually the groom's godfather or it can be another man nominated as a mark of great honor.

The wedding procession starts at the groom's house where a wedding flag is raised. Then the flag bearer leads the priest, the groom and his family over to the bride's house. The bride's mother offers the groom wine and herbs for his lapel. After he drinks the bride leaves for the church on the arm of a male relative and the rest of the party follows them on foot.

At the ceremony, the bride and groom are "crowned" by the best man to show that the couple are the King and Queen of their union as man and wife. The Greek tradition of the Kalamantiano, the Circle Dance (famous from the movie Zorba), is done at the reception. Candy-coated almonds are given to the guests as favors.

After the ceremony the bride goes to the groom's house where the flag is raised again. She then throws a piece of old iron onto the roof to symbolize the strength of her new home.

Comments on the above follow:

- having the wedding on Sunday has nothing to do with tradition just like it has nothing to do with tradition in America. It is just easier to have it in the weekend when no one works.

- the only thing that does happen a few days before the wedding is "to krevati". This is when the bride and groom invite family and friends to their new home and the priest blesses it. Then unmarried guests prepare the bed with new white linens and flowers. All the guests then throw money and gifts on the bed to wish the couple good luck and fortune. Lastly, young children jump on the bed for wishes of fertility. As far as the "starting the leaven" and "filling the sacks" goes, it never happens. And if it does happen in some small village up in some mountain that no one knows about, that doesn't mean that it is a Greek tradition that is always done in all Greek weddings. And the same goes for the "pitchers of wine sent to friends and family" and the "wine and herbs in the grooms lapel" and the "old iron onto the roof".

- the Koumbaro is NOT the most important man at the wedding. That is like saying the Best man is the most important at an American wedding. Yes he is important, yes you want him there, but he is NOT the most important.

- In Greece we don't have any wedding flags.

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