Maria & Justin

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Wedding Party

No "traditional" bridal party! We want everyone to enjoy the celebration without having to worry about any "duties." We will be having a traditional Greek Orthodox wedding, and there are pieces and parts to that. Below you'll find a brief explanation of the ceremony and those who will participate. We also wanted to highlight a few family members who have helped so much throughout this process.

Nancy and George Pyrini

Koumbari

Nancy & George have been close friends since we met at the Int'l Conference of Information Communication Technologies in Education - Nancy is the Director, George is the Manager, and my parents and I have participated as presenters for many years. Nancy & George are brilliant scholars, dancers, & parents to their daughter, Despina. In a Greek Orthodox wedding, the koumbari act as sponsors to the couple. Also Orthodox--because they are participating in the Sacrament of Marriage, a meaningful milestone in Orthodox faith--the koumbari play an active role by placing the rings on our right hands & the "stephana" (crowns) on our heads 3x to represent the Holy Trinity. The crowns are connected w/ ribbon, binding us (a literal & figurative symbolism) before we take our first steps together

Dr. Deacon Orestes Varonis

Orthodox Deacon

My dad was born in Chios, across the street from the church in which we are getting married (Agia Marina Kaloplitou); around 1950, when he was 2 years old, he and the family helped build the church along with the rest of the neighborhood. At 17, Orestes left Chios by boat to attend school in Michigan with, you guessed it, $50 in his pocket. The trip took nearly 3 months. He is a living, breathing miracle in my eyes. (For more on this story, please ask to see his PowerPoint, which is amazing.) Orestes is a studied and prolific Byzantine chanter; he has been a cantor in the Orthodox church for many years. In 2004 he became an ordained deacon. He will be participating as such during our ceremony in Chios. I can't wait for everyone to hear him chant, I have dreamed about this.

Symeon Blake Williams

Flower Child

Symeon is our Goddaughter - I baptized her with my brother Yianni almost four years ago. The baptism was actually the first time Justin met my parents, and true to form, Litsa put Justin right to work by handing him a video camera and told him to get to it. He remembers fondly all of the “Giant Eagle” olive oil that was part of the ceremony. Sym’s mom, Nanetta, is one of our oldest and dearest family friends (my sister, really) and we are so honored to have our girl throw petals at our wedding! (Note to Symeon: do whatever you want actually. Throw lemons if you’d prefer. It’s your day, koukla xx)