The Guide to a Greek Orthodox Wedding

Good afternoon all, 

Today we are disecting the requirements in order to have a Greek Orthodox ceremony, of course the place to start is with whether you are eligible to marry in this faith:

• One of the couple must be Greek Orthodox and have a baptism certificate to prove it
• The other must be Christian and again have a baptism certificate to prove it

Next we have the dreaded paperwork:

• Certificate of No Impediment can be obtained from your local parish. Two friends or cousins must certify that you have never been married and are not related. You must ensure that the exact location of the wedding ceremony is included on the Certificate.
• Divorce or Death Certificate, if previously married a certified copy of the divorce decree or death certificate if marriage ended due to the death of spouse.
• Full birth certificate, the shorter version of the Certificate will not be accepted.
• Change of Name or Deed Poll Certificate, this is required in the event that the bride or groom has changed name by Deed Poll or court order
• Adoption Certificate required if either party was adopted.
• Declaration of N. 1599/86
• 2 copies of the declaration of intent to marry from a nation wide newspaper
• Proof of where you live, a recent telephone or electricity bill can be used
• Photocopy of your passport or your Greek identity card

Paperwork requirements for a Christian marrying in the Greek Orthodox Church

• Full Birth Certificate, the shorter version of the Certificate will not be accepted.
• Divorce or Death Certificate, if previously married a certified copy of the divorce decree or death certificate if marriage ended due to the death of spouse.
• Certificate of  No Impediment, this document certifies that both parties are free to marry and can be obtained from your local registrar and can take up to a month to obtain, this certificate must not be issued more than three months prior to the wedding date.
• Change of Name or Deed Poll Certificate, this is required in the event that the bride or groom has changed name by Deed Poll or court order.
• Adoption Certificate required if either party was adopted.
• Baptism Certificate, required only for a Catholic or Greek Orthodox ceremony
• Photocopy of passport
• A legal declaration that you will allow your future children to be brought up and baptized in the Christian Orthodox faith
• All paperwork provided must be stamped with an Apostille stamp, this is a special seal applied by an authority to certify that a document is a true copy of the original. These can be obtained by the Greek Embassy in your area or the Secretary of State.
• The Birth Certificate, Certificate of No Impediment, Divorce, Adoption or Change of Name Certificates will need to be stamped with an Apostille.
• Documents issued directly into Greek or issued by the Church do not need an Apostille stamp.
• Document Translations, All the above documents, except for the copies of passport must be officially translated into Greek at the Greek Embassy or Consulate. This must be completed at least one month before the wedding. Contact the Greek Embassy nearest you on www.greekembassy.org or www.greekembassy.org.uk

Once the paperwork is complete, it is then time to choose all the components required at the church for the Orthodox ceremony, this is what I call paraphenalia!

• 2 large candles, known as lambades, these can be on pedestals, free standing or even held by your best man and maid of honor. The most popular version is the free standing (around 20 cm wide) and around 1,5 cm in height, these can be decorated with flowers or left plain depending on the location and style of wedding that you are planning.
• The wedding crowns, known as stefana, these can be made of silver, crystals, pearls, even made of flowers. The most popoular is to have silver crowns perhaps with encrusted with crystals or a design hammered on to it
• The wine glass, an integral part of the Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony is that the bride, groom, best man and maid of honor drink from the one wine glass. You can choose to buy this in the same shop as you buy the lambades and stefana, however I would advise taking one from home as it seems a real waste buying one glass that will not really be used again in the future!
• The wine, DON'T FORGET THE WINE, must be red, the most common is Mavrodafni (although personally I can't stand it) but anything will do
• The caraf, this is purely for decorative purposed, you can decant the wine into a caraf that matches the wine glass, again this would be lovely as part of a set to use in the future! 
• The tray, during the ceremony the tray is laid out along with the glass, caraf, stefana, this can be ornate, plane, wooden, whatever matches your decor!
• The rice, this is my favorite part of the ceremony, guests are invited to throw rice at the couple, symbolising the wish for their marriage to sprout roots and sew itself into the ground, this is the only part of the Greek Orthodox ceremony that the guests get to play a part in, so ensure you have plenty of rice to hand, this can be dispayed in large baskets handed around by bridesmaids, in pouches, cones or any other small container and you usually estimate a handful or so of rice!

I hope this guide will help brides and grooms across the world who are planning a Greek Orthodox wedding and especially those who have never attended or watched the ceremony!

Kala Stefana