Philip Greentree:- Marriage Celebrant performing Orthodox wedding ceremonies including Greek wedding ceremonies, Serbian wedding ceremonies, Macedonian wedding ceremonies, Russian wedding ceremonies, Ukrainian wedding ceremonies, Roumanian wedding ceremonies, Bulgarian wedding ceremonies.

Philip Greentree has adapted the Orthodox church ceremony to Australian civil requirements.

Yes!
I do
perform Orthodox ceremonies
in
Sydney
including
weekdays

This ceremony is easily adapted to Greek, Serbian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Roumanian & other Eastern Orthodox based cultures.

All the traditional rituals such as crowning with stefana, wine sharing etc have been retained.

Optional rituals included

Leon & Liz being crowned at St Patrick's Nulkaba. Photo Chris Elfes

Crowning with stefana ... the bride and groom are "crowned" by the koumbaro to show that the couple are the King and Queen of their union as man and wife.

Candle ceremony ... the bride and groom each hold a lighted candle, which symbolizes the light of purity in their lives.

Ring exchange ceremony ... the koumbara(o) exchanges the rings three times. The exchange signifies that in married life, the weakness of one partner will be compensated by the strength of the other, the imperfections of one, by the perfection of the other. By themselves, the newly betrothed are incomplete, but together they are made perfect.

Near the end of the cermony, I invite the bride to remove her rings from the right hand to the left to comply with Australian custom.

Special Candle Ceremony... simply brilliant in a mixed cultural ceremony. The couple's parents light two candles, each representing the two familes. At te end of the ceremony, the couple use their family's flame to light a third, unity candle repsenting not just the creation of a new line, but the creation of that new culture we call Austalia.

Sharing wine from the common cup ... this represents the "common cup" of life denoting the mutual sharing of joy and sorrow, the token of a life of harmony. The drinking of wine from the common cup serves to impress upon the couple that from that moment on they will share everything in life, joys, as well as sorrows, and that they are to "bear one another’s burdens." Their joys will be doubled and their sorrows halved because they will be shared.

Hand-joining

... the couple hold hands, symbolizing that they are joined as one. Depending on your culture wil determine whether or not the wrists are covered with a satin cloth.

Other local rituals at your option
In my civil ceremonies, there is no reason why the groom can't meet his bride as she arrives outside t the wedding place, then walk her in to where they are to be married.

The Koumbara(o) (Greek), Kum(a) (Serbian)
In the Orthodox ceremony, the religious sponsor (sort of like the God Parent in western churches) plays a significant role.

For the civil ceremony, the best man or best women acts as the koumbara or koumbaro. Yes, I once attended an Orthodox Greek wedding, where the groom had a best woman. I thought that was pretty cool. Since then, in fact, I have had two weddings in 2007 alone, where the groom had a best woman! How times have changed!

Stan and Kristy's Greek wedding at Cyprus Lakes Resort

Silvana & David being crowned by Silvana's best Australian friend acting as the Kuma. This was one of the happiest weddings I have performed!

Make Your Own Stefana (Crowns)

Click to enlarge
One of Philip's Newcastle clients was so surprised at the high cost of purchasing a commercially made stefana, she made her own.

Close-up of the gold chain mounted on the gold loop
Click to Enlarge
Silvana decided on gold crowns for her Serbian Orthodox wedding and the result was, simply stunning.

Her total cost? Firstly, she purchased everything from the Spotlight store in Newcastle. Cost: Metal rings $ 2.99 each , Gold Chain $1.40 - 1.60 p/metre (I used 1 metre for each ring), packet of beads/crystals $ 3.00, beading wire to attach beads $2.50 spool of ribbon $ 2.00 - so total cost worked out to approx. $ 19.00 - that's correct, $19. Silvana said that if she had made the stefana from white satin, instead of gold chain, the cost would have been a lot less.

Call me at
philip.greentree

Call me at
philip.greentree