A Real Greek Wedding

Guest post written by Ioanna Aggelidaki for her friends Eleni and Yannis.

Eleni was married to Yannis on August 23 2012, in the small Church of Saint Onoufrios, right by the sea. Read about an actual Greek wedding that took place a very warm summer day in the island of Crete, in Greece.
Να ζήσετε (Na zisete)! – Live happily you guys!

Eleni and Yannis at the beach by the Church

Was your wedding a traditional one?
Yes. Well in Crete almost every couple keeps most of the Greek wedding traditions. We are raised this way and besides, our families and friends expect us to.

So what pre-wedding rituals did you have?
We had the krevati, 3 days before the wedding. Family members and close friends were invited to our house to witness the Priest blessing the wedding rings. The funny part came after that though. My husband had my girlfriends make our wedding bed 3 times! You see, two of my friends, the unmarried ones, made the bed and Yannis kept unmaking it until it looked perfect in his opinion. We had a great laugh! Then our families came into the bedroom to wish us a happy life together and threw money on the bed, you know, to help us a bit for our new beginning. And of course at the end we threw a baby girl on the bed.

Why did you do that?
Because I would like my first child to be a girl!

How about the wedding day, what did you do before the actual wedding?
I had my hair and make-up done of course! Apart from that, I went to my parent’s house to get ready for the wedding and invited my friends to give me a hand. It was a pretty hot day and I needed all the air I could get!

the bride's dad helps her put on the wedding shoe

Eleni’s dad helps her put on the wedding shoes

I really want to know about the wedding shoe! Did you write your single friend’s names on it???
Yes, yes, of course I did. And guess what? It worked! My friend Andrianna’s name wore off by the end of the night and she got engaged a few months after my wedding!

So the tradition is right after all!
It did work for my shoes!

How many koumbarous did you have?
Just one, a close friend of my husband. His wife was there too and she helped a lot so it feels like she is a koumbara too. I have to say that our koumbaros did a great job at crossing the stefana and an even better one at drinking the wine the priest gave us!

he koumbaros crossing the stefana of the bride and groom

The koumbaros crossing the stefana and the little paranyfaki

What about your bridesmaids?
Oh I had the cutest bridesmaid ever! She looked like an angel in that white dress.

So your girlfriends weren’t your bridesmaids?
No. My friends were very helpful, but they were not bridesmaids. They were responsible for giving the bombonieres to the guests after the wedding ritual. In every wedding I have been in Greece, the bridesmaid is usually a small girl or less often a boy, we call them “paranyfakia”. All they do is hold the bride’s dress as she walks down the aisle. I don’t think that we actually have bridesmaids in Greek weddings, you know, the way I see them in movies, with the matching dresses.

The friend’s of the bride giving the bombonieres to the guests

Tell me the truth now, did you leave poor Yannis waiting for you a long time at the church?
Hahaha! No, no, not much! About half an hour. But he was fine, he had his family and friends there keeping him company.

What did you do after the wedding?
What every couple does. We took our guests to a restaurant/club and danced all night. And of course there was lots of drinking and eating! We had the time of our lives…