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I was just wondering if there were any Greek/ Greek-American bees like me out there to discuss lambades, stefana, koufeta, etc!! Things that are particular to our orthodox church ceremonies...
:)
Anyone?
Me, me, me! :)
My FI is Lebanese (Antiochian Orthodox). His family attends the larger of the two Antiochian Orthodox churches here, but we chose the smaller of the two Antiochian churches to marry at. We like the fact that it is sort of neutral territory for us....and it is gorgeous. Since we met we've attended the Greek Orthodox church that I grew up in, though, and that is where we are having our pre-marital counseling.
I've been having a hard time finding the perfect stefana. There are just so many gorgeous choices. Lambades too. We're not having a koumbaro or koumbara per se, but rather having the priests from both of our churches perform those roles during the ceremony.
I love our ceremony. I am so thankful to have found the perfect Orthodox man. It wasn't always important to me, but it really hits home while planning. There is just something so comforting to me about the traditions involved, and the fact that both families are used to them makes it so nice.
Yay! Hello! Kala Stefana!
Stefana are such a fun detail! I am draping gold organza silk ribbon on my lambades with draped orchids.
I think the Orthodox ceremony is so beautifully symbolic! I am glad you have found the perfect man! :)
I'm not Greek, but I'm Orthodox. I'm an expat living in Korea, and we had a small church ceremony with my church family there in addition to a traditional Korean wedding and a Canadian party. Of course, being in a country with a very small Orthodox community, we didn't have many options for stefana, so our sponsors made them for us, and because we have a small English speaking population at the Cathedral in Seoul, everyone took some kind of role and it seemed like our whole English community was a vital part of the wedding ceremony.
I'm part Greek but I'm kind of unusual in that I'm not Greek Orthodox and never went to Greek school growing up or anything. My dad just wasn't that into it. I'm always jealous of the Greek girls who got to connect with their heritage in that way.
@jackndiane: I used to just hate going to Greek school, but now Im glad I did- I wouldnt have been able to live and work here if I hadn't gone through that... You could always find ways to connect with your heritage now in ways other than learning Greek...
@kouklitsa: Hello to my fellow Greek and *almost* date twin!!! :)
@Evie19: This is true. I actually tried to take Greek lessons a few years ago. So embarassing because I had to use the books for the little kids. LOL
I'm not Greek, but my FI is, and we'll be married in a Greek Orthodox church. It's been so fun learning about all of the different traditions. My family is not going to know what hit them! :)
@MrsMcGyro: :) At the church, I'm going to have little booklets explaining the ceremony to all my American friends who are coming for the wedding. It might be a nice idea for you to do that, or if you have a website you could have a page explaining it so it isn't all confusing...
It is such a nice, symbolic service with the crowns and walking around the table- first steps as man and wife, etc.
Have you found non-poofy lamabades (candles)? It seems all the lambades in the States are poofed out to the max!
I'm half greek. My mother is full greek and had the typical "big fat greek wedding". I believe 400 guests!
I will be having greek dancing with some old traditional greek music, but I'm having a traditional christian ceremony. Broke me mamas heart at first, but now she's totally excited. :)
@Lilubird: Yeah my wedding is considered very small at 320 final count so far...sigh...
My parents' wedding had 500 guests I think...:-O
Gotta love the Greek dancing! My poor FI (who is also Greek) is dreading the dancing...he's not that into it. :)
Hello!!! I'm Greek too!!I live in Athens!!!My wedding is in July and will take place in Florina (a city in north)! it's going to be a traditional wedding and very happy for it!
@dim_igou: So cool! Didnt know there were any other Greekies on this board! :) :) :)
I love traditional weddings, I'm sure yous will be very beautiful!
Mine will be in Athens.
@Evie19: We're explaining everything in our programs as well, and thankfully, the priest has agreed to do the majority of the mass in English.
We're not having any tulle on our lambades, just a few flowers. My dress isn't poofy or froofy at all, so I didn't want the candles to upstage me haha
@MrsMcGyro: That sounds great! Glad to hear about the non-poofy candles. ;) My dress isn't poofy either, so I agree- no need to be upstaged!
I'd really be interested in some stefana, lambades, koufeta inspiration if anyone has any pics. I'm especially interested in aisle/altar decorations as well.
@shaunna: Where are you located? I've found that in the U.S. most of the lamabdes are with lots of poofy tulle- and also most of the stefana are really busy...
I prefer .925 silver stefana, really simple styles like this:
For my lambades, I am wrapping a satin champagne colored fabric around them without any big bows, and then all along the satin fabric my florist is going to drape white orchids.
A lot of people in greece wrap the lambada around with a crown of green and flowers, but so many people do it that way that I wanted to do something different...
Forgot to add the koufetta- I am wrapping them in a raw silk ivory pouch wrapped in gold organza ribbon and I'm also going to hang a gold plated pomegranate charm.
I got mine wholesale so they were for an amazing price.
@Evie19: I'm based in the UK, and definitely want the lambades with flowers. I'm thinking of having big, stand-alone, lambades, with floral wreaths around them. I'll try to find a pic to give you an idea of what I mean.
@shaunna: Oh I bet there is a nice selection in the UK!
Yes I know what you mean by the wreaths, that is pretty :)
I'm not Greek, but I'm engaged to one and we'll be getting married in an Orthodox church. We were originally having the ceremony in Greece, but because family is larger, the majority of them probably wouldn't have been able to make it, so moved it to the US. This may be a completely stupid question, but I really have no idea as my fiance is really no help with anything related to wedding and I'm not familiar with the specifics of Greek weddings, but do have to buy the stefana yourself? I sort of assumed they were just provided by the church 
. Also, I've never even heard of lambades. Do you buy them yourself and are they a requirement for the Greek ceremony? How many do you need and where are they placed? Thanks in advance :)
Yes you have to buy stefana yourself. You can find them online on etsy or other stores.
You can ask the church about the lambades, but as far as I know you are supposed to buy those as well and they go on either side of the alter.
In Greece, the "koumbari" (best man and maid of honor) pay for these items and then the bride and groom get presents for them right before the wedding that costs around the same as what they spent for your wedding...Although I don't think this is done in the US and not sure about the UK.
Why won't your FI answer these questions for you?
@Evie19: I'm in the US and our koumbari are purchasing our stefana and lambades. As far as I know, it's tradition here to do it that way.
@MrsMcGyro: Yeah I thought it was supposed to work that way too, but I've known some Greek-American friends who have married in the States and their koumbari did not pay for those things so I wasn't sure...
What do your stefana look like? :)
@Evie19: I have no idea what they look like. Our koumbara is keeping them a secret. I hope she's taking my tastes into consideration instead of her own though! She's much much more showy than me.
@MrsMcGyro: :) That's interesting! Here the bride usually chooses them. I'm sure yours will be nice!
@Evie19: thanks for your response! I should probably change that date because although I am getting married in January in Greece it's only going to be the civil ceremony. We're having the actual Greek Orthodox ceremony in September 2012 in the US. If you don't mind me asking, are you from Greece? I was talking to my fiance about the koumbaros paying for parts of the wedding and he says that in Greece most people don't actually follow that tradition anymore? It's not a big deal either way, but from what he said it sounded like a lot (most?) of people don't have their koumbaros pay for stuff
@sweetestperfection: Hello! I grew up in the States but Ive been living in Greece for over 4 years now. Actually, the koumbari do indeed pay for the stefana (crowns), lambades (candles), the church/priest, and the flowers in the church.
Then before the wedding, the couple gives koumbari gifts that are on par with the amount they have spent for the wedding.
I have been to many many weddings and they have all worked this way..
@Evie19: καλα στεφανα κουκλιτσα! χαρικα που δεν ειμαι η μονι ελλινιδα... :)
@miss hellas: και εγω χαρικα!! εμεις οι ελληνες ειμαστε παντου!! Καλα στεφανα και φιλια!
@Evie19: ευχαριστω παρα πολυ για τισ ευχεσ σου!!! να'σαι παντοτε καλα, και ευτιχισμενη 
φιλακια!!!
I am a greek bride and my FI is irish-canadian. We will be having a greek orthodox ceremony at his university's chapel. My main concern is the stefana: my koumbara is 4ft 11 and Mr Rugbee is 6ft5!!! hahahaha!!
@FutureMrsRugbee: Thats funny. :) Our koumbara is also much shorter than me and FI, but she plans on wearing very high heels!
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