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Yassou!
A lot of the Greek traditions happen DURING the ceremony. I would make a really comprehensive program for your guests that explains everything. I can send you some stuff if you want. Are you at all familiar with the ceremony?
As for the reception, there isn't much. You should give your guests an odd number (usually 5 or 7) of Jordan almonds as a party favor. You could have a Greek band or just play some Greek music on a CD, but there are no real "traditions" that happen at the reception.
I went to a Greek wedding over the summer. Definitely have a very thorough program. Is your ceremony going to be in Greek or English? The one I went to was in English, but the program was still helpful in explaining what the heck they were doing up there. At the reception, I just saw a bunch of money flying around (literally.) Do some Greek dancing. I'm sure since your FI is full Greek his mother can help a ton. Good luck!
Were getting married in a greek church ,and the priest told me some things , but ..it was hard to understand him, i'm asssuming the wedding is going to be in greek ..
Joccelyn i would love for u to send me anything u can on this ...
as for the reception ,my honey doesn't like jordan almonds , so he nixed that idea ..however i told him he's greek dancing ..lol..i have never seen him do it , but i've been to greek festivals and i think its awesome ..lol..I've told our dj that there would be greek music being played along with american..
Thanks for the help .
A Greek wedding doesn't have to be in Greek. Mine wasn't. It's not fair for the guests! As for the almonds, they are actually part of the ceremony. They are blessed on your marriage tray along with the Bible, your crowns, and your candles. I am not sure if they are optional for the ceremony. Even if you do another favor, I would still do the almonds at the reception. You don't have to eat them and sticking them in some bags isn't expensive. But it is a huge, symbolic tradition with a lot of meaning. If your goal is to make your Greek guests appreciate your effort, it would be a big faux pas to skip them.
If you send me a message with your e-mail, I will send you the programs that I made that describe all the traditions.
I would also consider buying A Guide to Greek Orthodox Traditions in America. It is definitely helpful and rather interesting. It has a lot of stuff in it, beyond just wedding traditions and is pretty entertaining. All the cousins got it for Christmas one year and had a lot of fun with it. It could be helpful if you want to retain some traditions in your family after the wedding.
Hello Orthodox brides!^^ There's also a lot of good info on Orthodox sites about the ceremony rituals and traditions (I'm OCA not Greek Orthodox, so I'm not sure if there are some minor differences in our wedding traditions). Minor point though....I do think that you should check with your particular church about the style of crowns they have! You may have to develop your veil/hair style around it.
Greek music was big for my sister's wedding. My mom made a playlist and we danced while the band was on a break. Her "must play" song? "Orea Pou Ine I Nifi Mas" (How beautiful Our Bride Is -- there's gotta be a better way to translate that) it's really traditional, sweet, and guaranteed to get everybody dancing.
I talked to my honey and we're definately goin to be greek music , but there will be No breaking of the plates ..( my sister had asked if we were doing that) ...our reception venue won't go along with that ,which is too bad , but understandable . As for the book ,i am definately buying that , sounds interesting :) so thank you for the suggestion and yeah i will definately look into what i am goin to need and such for the actual ceremony.
Jocelyn- Thanks so much for letting me see how the programs should look like , that helped Alot :)
Is there is anything else i should know about ? I heard that its also customary to do a money dance , but is it necessary , i'm not too keen on that idea .
No one breaks plates.
And I have never been to a Greek wedding with a money dance.
@ brattkatt-
I forgot to tell you that you will need someone who is Orthodox in your wedding party as either the best man or maid of honor. The wedding involves the priest, the couple, and the "sponsor" who has a huge role during the ceremony. Traditionally, there was just a best man who stood up with the couple (no wedding party). That person must be baptized Orthodox. In the programs I sent you, the person is called the Koumbara. You can look through and see what that person has to do. For us, it was my sister.
It's so nice to see a post like this considering I am soon to embark on my own Big Fat Greek Wedding.
@jocelyn3476 - I've never seen plates broken anywhere. People ask me all the time and I think it's the funniest thing.
I've also never been to a Greek wedding ceremony that wasn't entirely in Greek. I'm maintaining the tradition even though FI isn't Greek. My priest will say a little something in Greek and English at the end of the ceremony.
Also, totally agree about the jordan almonds. Can't imagine a Greek wedding w/o them.
@brattkatt22 - there is no money dance in the traditional sense of pinning it on the bride. Generally, the families of the bride and groom will "shower" the couple with money as they are Greek dancing. I've been to family weddings where people bring hundreds of dollars in singles and literally throw it on the couple. It is actually wonderful and at the end of the night it is collected by the band or dj and is considered their tip. I'm actually planning on telling FI's family about this when the time comes. Not b/c I expect them to do it, but so they know about it and can participate if they want.
@NYBride -
Where are you in NY? I am kind of excited to see a Greek lawyer bride local to me!
@jocelyn - LI. The Greek community is so small, I wouldn't be surprised if we know eachother or at the very least, know people in common. What about you? Feel free to PM me and we can chat.
Are you giving up your last name?
For me, that was tough. I love my last name. But I would rather just have one family name. I joked about combining our names to be McTrakis. Take the front end of his and the back end of mine for a flawlessly Irish-Greek lastname.
We've had some struggles over this as well. FI wants me to take his last name but I'm not. I have a very Greek first and last name and even though I love FI, want to keep my name. I totally here you on wanting one name for the family. FI was willing to compromise and told me to keep my name professionally, another huge reason I'm staying w/ my name, but I had to explain to him I can't have two last names, one for my professional life and one for my personal life. He didn't quite understand the legal logistics regarding a name change. 
Have to say my parents are in total denial that I'm not marrying someone Greek. Struggle.Every.Step.Of.The Way. Hope you didn't have to go through a lot of the nonsense I'm experiencing. Sigh.
BTW - The end of your last name is an awful lot like the ending of my mother's maiden name. Interesting.
Maybe we are related.
An "-akis" ending is native to some region, but I can't remember where exactly. Ages ago, in Greece, my family was "-akos" but they had some huge family feud with another family and moved to the Cyclades and changed the "o" to an "i" so they wouldn't be found. Brillant, no?
I send you a message about my intercultural marriage experiences.
WOOHOO Greek Orthodox Brides! Getting married at St. Sophia in DC! I was just converted/baptized in April :)
no baby pool involved ;)
Jocelyn , thanks for the update about the Koumbara , luckily the mr's brothers will be his best men and they are greek ,who were baptized and everything , so that will be good ,I've decided not to convert and my honey isn't realyl pushing me to ,which is fine with me. We have discussed the changing of the last name and i am defin taking his , we will have the same monogram when that happens K D all the way for us :) So what does everyone think of the movie , My big fat greek wedding ? Do you guys think its very stereotypical ? I actually asked him about it , and some of the things they say are true , some obviously exaggerated ? and just a side note , since i know my fil's do drink the stuff , should we serve Ouzo , at the reception ?
The movie is pretty funny. It takes all of the little things Greeks do and blows them up to the extreme. No family is actually like that. But most of our families are a little bit like that.
Out of curiosity, what religion are you? I assumed you were Greek but just really far removed from your culture and the church.
Also, if his family drinks ouzo, have some in stock at the bar so people can order it. I wouldn't serve it at the tables or anything.
Though I am not Greek, (I'm Italian, so similiar in traditions), I am having ethic folk dancers perform at my reception...just to get people in the mood to dance and loosen up.
That and sambuca....
My FI I half Greek. We thought long and hard over if we were going to incorporate any Greek traditions into the ceremony and reception, but for the most part it looks like no. We may play a few Greek songs at the reception, but that appears to be it.
As for A Big Fat Greek Wedding- the line in there where her aunt says to her vegetarian FI that lamb is not meat? Yeah, we get that from my FI's Greek family ALL the time! Especially at Greek Easter when they try filling our plates with lamb. He's been a vegetarian for a decade and he says their insistance that he eat lamb has never ceased. Heh. :)
Jocelyn- I'm actually a non practicing Catholic and he's the full blooded Greek :) Which is why i don't mind getting married in the greek church and performing these greek traditions , i think it would be fun for my family to learn new things ..lol..
Every yr i been with the mr , he and his family have taught me .to just smile and try the food ( even if u know u won't like it ..ie spinach and cheese pies)..lol....stamata dfanazzis ( spell wrong but it means stop yelling ..lol) that when there yelling , there actually talking ..which i get confused , since i don't speak greek ..:( That there all a stubborn bunch ( which is why i fit in perfectly) ..and Meat really is very important to them ..haha So when i saw the movie ..i thought it all was TRUE ..lol.. You all have been a great help and Jocelyn i don't know if i told u already , but i did order that book...:) Thank u guys for helping :)
brattkatt22 - That is too funny! I totally know what you mean about the yelling (Greek talking). My fiance is full Greek and I am Irish/Puerto Rican. I will be converting to Greek Orthodox. I was raised Roman Catholic and the Greek church recognizes my baptism, so no baby pool needed. Thank god!
jocelyn3476 - I like the combining names idea. HA. My name would be McTeloniatis, but the last thing I would need is another syllable.
As for traditions I will have jordan almond favors and some Greek music. I was thinking a DJ and a small Greek band. I just do not want to offend the band by not letting them play all night. I want to please the Greek guests and non-Greek guests. Also I think breaking plates might be fun, but is that too american?
Hello ladies!! I am sad I didn't see this post sooner! My hubby and I are both 100% Greek so our wedding was as Greek as they get! As for traditions I think you got them all, the ceremony, the koufeta (jordan almonds), the money (like NYBride said, it's more of a showering with money, not a money dance).. the dancing..etc. I'm not sure if you are still looking for advice so I won't post any further tips but I wanted to say yassas!
i am greek too. defintely looking forward to the wedding. anyone getting married in Astoria?
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i am trying to incorporate some greek traditions into our wedding. My wedding colors are a little bit me and a little bit Greek side since there blue , white and black .Also where getting married in a Greek church..if thats important ..I just wanted to do more greek traditions but i don't know them all..Neither does the man, and hes full Greek ..lol..