Greek Weddings and Traditions

Greek Film Festival – Bang Bang Wedding

siamavris — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:39:33 +0000

BANG BANG WEDDING – A MOVIE SHOWING AT THE GREEK FILM FESTIVAL

Bang Bang Wedding is a movie showing at the Greek Film Festival in Brisbane tonight. Here is the blurb from the Greek Film Festival’s Website:

‘Starring Melbourne’s own Alex Dimitriades and directed by a New Yorker also of Greek heritage, Bang Bang Wedding is a fast-paced, light-hearted and stylish road-trip set against a spectacular backdrop in Crete.

Ilias (Alex Dimitriades) and Marina (Faye Xila) exchange vows without a hitch, but when they set off for the reception, a small yet important typo on the invitation ensures whatever can go wrong will go wrong. A collision causes amnesia for one guest, with only a veterinarian available for treatment, while others become embroiled in a little illegal activity and gatecrash a party of a very different nature. “It’s an invitation to taste a modern/tradition Greek wedding, starting at the altar and evolving into a crazy ride on the way to the reception.”

Greek Film Centre Warnings: Mild coarse language Cast: Alex Dimitriades, Faye Xila, Hrisa Ropa, Giorgos Karamihos, Betty Maggira, Vilma Tsakiri, Hristos Biros, Takis Hrisikakos About the Director: Born and reared in the USA, Christine Crokos studied film at USC Cinema School and worked with Warner Bros Studios, Copper Media and Runaway Editing. Bang Bang Wedding is her first feature film.’

I am looking forward to watching the film.

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Surviving a Greek Mother In-Law

siamavris — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 22:17:09 +0000

I found this article on how to Survive a Greek Mother In-Law by Carrie Klepzig and i thought it would be fun to share. Check out the original post at: http://www.ehow.com/how_2117418_survive-greek-mother-inlaw.html

How to Survive a Greek Mother In-Law

By Carrie Klepzig

Congratulations. You have just married into a fun, dynamic and probably very large family. You have married a Greek. The head of the household in theory is the father, however, in reality is the mother that makes and breaks the rules in a traditional Greek home. There are a few things that you will need to know and remember to survive your new very loving, yet very intrusive mother in-law.

Step 1

The first thing you must remember is that you will never be good enough for her son or daughter. Her children are her life and she expects nothing but the best for them and from them. Once you acknowledge that you are merely a second best because Christ himself or the Virgin Mary were unavailable for marriage, the rest should be easy. Once married please know that you are now Greek yourself, regardless of your DNA, if you did not want to become Greek, you should not have married one, according to your new mother in-law

Step 2

Answer the phone when she calls, preferably the first time she calls. This phone call will occur when she wakes up. It does not matter that you are still sleeping, she will call to make sure that her child did not die in the middle of the night. Failing to answer the phone by the third phone call will result in her calling every hospital in town, thus making her even more excitable and angry when you finally do answer the phone.

Step 3

We are lucky to live in a world of technology. Cell phones, computers, blackberries, etc., are all mechanisms that make a Greek child accessible at all hours in every part of the globe. Your mother in-law will keep the numbers and email addresses of every one of her children tucked away in her wallet. Therefore, you cannot hide. She will find you. Answer the phone.

Step 4

There are no invitations in Greek homes. Greek parents love to go for ‘drives’ and those leisurely moments will lead to your front door, unannounced. If you are lucky, they will not have a key, but if for some reason you are not home, they will wait in the driveway, calling you on every available mode of communication you have. There they will sit, in your driveway, until you come home.

Step 5

If by chance they do have a key you will come home to a home cooked meal, laundry that is finished, folded and put away, and furniture that is rearranged. On the days when your mother in-law has not come over, you will be sure to somehow find your way to her home. This visit will be either for dinner, for maintenance on some part of her house or just so she can see her grandchildren. It will not matter that she just saw them that morning. She wants to see them again.

Step 6

Finally, remember that everything she does from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to sleep is for her children. You, as the spouse of one of these children will benefit in several ways. You will never go hungry. You will always have a baby-sitter. You will always have new clothes and so will your children. You will never go missing unreported. You will always have a defense attorney. You will never be right, but it is okay, your spouse has never been right either. And above all, you will always be loved, even though you are not what she had always ‘hoped’ for.

Tips & Warnings

A sense of humor is key, laugh and your Greek mother in-law will laugh with you. She means well and her intentions are golden.
If you want to stay married to your Greek spouse, you must accept that you are also marrying his or her family. ‘Til death do you part.

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Stuffing up the Stephana

siamavris — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:55:50 +0000

It was my worst fear. I thought I was going to stuff up the Stephana…

I went to a Greek wedding a couple of weeks before my sister’s wedding and the Koumbara Stuffed up the Stephana. It was the Koumbara’s most important role in the whole wedding and she didn’t know what to do.

The Koumbara just couldn’t get her hands the right way. The Priest tried to help but for the thirty seconds of confusion, the entire room of guests broke into laughter.

It funny for the people who were standing inside the Church to watch but it was completley embarrasing for the Koumbara. She had stuffed up the Stephana.

For weeks, I kept playing this over in my mind. I didn’t want to stuff it up. I didn’t want everyone to laugh at me. So i watched a few Greek Wedding videos and I practiced the crossing of the Stephana.

WHAT TO DO:

First, cross your arms. Use your right hand to hold the Stephana of the Bride and your left hand to hold the Stephana of the Groom.

Then, here comes the tricky part… cross your hands over. Before you start, check which arm is on top. If you are right handed then you will probably have your right hand on top. If you are starting with your right hand on top, then simply cross your hands over so that the left hand is on top. Then cross it back and put your right hand on top.

Do this 3 times.

The trick is to put the Bride’s Stephana back on the Bride’s head. It does not touch the Grooms head. This is the same for the Groom. The Grooms Stephana goes back to the Groom and never touches the Brides head.

This is the same practice for crossing the rings.

Here is a pic from my sister’s wedding. Have a look at how my hands cross over.

Did you Stuffed up the Stephana? What happened and what did you do?

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Mamma Mia! Greek Weddings

siamavris — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 09:25:34 +0000

British couples flock to Greek islands for Mamma Mia! weddings

Posted on Telegraph.co.uk by Alastair Jamieson (Published: 9:23AM BST 09 Aug 2009) Click here to go to the origional article.

More than 200 British fans of ‘Mamma Mia!’ are getting married on
Greek islands this summer to recreate the wedding scene in their
favourite film.

A travel agency offering a special ‘Mamma Mia! marriage’ package is
flying couples to Greece for custom-made ceremonies with the same
rustic charm as the one featured in the romantic comedy featuring
Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan.

Jane and Andreas Palikiras, who run London-based Ionian Weddings, say
Greek weddings are a “growth industry” and that they had organised
more than 100 such ceremonies this summer.

They told the Sunday Times that many British couples are choosing the
islands of Skiathos or Skopelos, both of which featured in the box
office hit film, and some are insisting on an Abba soundtrack to
complete the experience.

Sharon Lawrence, 28, a business travel consultant from Colchester, who
got married on Skiathos, said: “As soon as I saw the film I thought
‘this is it’ but I didn’t even know which part of Greece it was in. So
I got on the internet and did some research.”

She wed Kevin, a 33 year-old printer, at the town hall on June 2
followed by a reception for 30 similar to the one in the film, which
is an adaptation of the successful West End show.

Mr Palikiras said it was not possible to get married in the exact same
hilltop chapel on Skopelos used in the film because it is too small
and is reserved for members of the Greek Orthodox religion.

He said the film had driven up tourism on the islands featured in the
films but conceded locals were “probably getting a bit sick of it”.

He added that bookings rose 60 per cent after the DVD of the film was
released just before Christmas last year.

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Zebekiko – Greek Dance at a Wedding

siamavris — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 09:09:16 +0000

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