The centuries old Orthodox Christian wedding ritual is rich in tradition and spiritual significance. There are no vows or oaths taken, rather, it is through signs (actions) that the couple pledges their lives to Christ and to each other. The first sign or action the couple takes is to present themselves on the altar in the Holy Temple of God.
This is where the man and woman seal their pledge to each other and to Christ. The unending pledge is represented by the rings, which are unending lines or circles. The back and forth movement of the rings between the bride and the groom manifests the interweaving of one life with the other. The Koumbara or Koumbaro (person who acts to the couple as a Godparent would to a Godchild, sponsor, advisor, spiritual mentor) exchanges the rings after they are blessed by the priest. The exchange establishes the seal of the bond. The rings are worn as a sign on the right hand in accordance with Biblical indication.
The priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom. He beseeches God to “join these, thy servants” and “unite them in one mind and one flesh.” This emphasizes their shared life and unity of purpose as they enter into the Holy Sacrament of Marriage. The bridal pair will hold hands for the duration of the service.
The crowning represents the citizenship of the bride and groom in the Kingdom of God. It also symbolizes the authority they have over their home and the self sacrifice they are making to each other and to God. The tie between the crowns represents the love and the bond between the couple. It is during the crowning that the priest calls upon the Holy Spirit to unite the couple as husband and wife. This union begins a process that leads to the creation of a harmonized unit. There is love, equality and order as God crowns the couple with glory and honor in marriage.
St. Paul to the Ephesians 5:21-33 The Orthodox faith recognizes that the man and the woman are unique individuals equally sacrificing themselves to one another as they become one flesh. Equality exists in the marriage. At the same time, order also exists. Just as Christ is the bridegroom of and the head of the church, so too the husband represents Christ in the marriage and the wife represents the church.
John 2:1-11 That Jesus was present at a wedding declares marriage to be Holy and honorable. That Jesus performed a sign, a miracle, an unexplainable event, at a wedding shows us that the sacrament of marriage contains a divine nature that is beyond explanation.
Everyone joins in prayer to pray the Lords prayer together with the couple.
The couple will mutually drink from the wine chalice as a sign that their lives are no longer only individual lives, but a shared life of one flesh.
The procession is a sign the couple makes publicly, to signify the unending journey they will take together. In ancient times, the procession was led from the church to the couples home. Today the procession is around the altar, it is led by the priest who carries the Holy Bible, this represents that the couple will follow God in their life together.
The priest, who is acting on behalf of Jesus Christ, then unjoins the hands that the holy sacrament put together to symbolize the tenet that what God has joined let no man put asunder.