Anamaria & Ion envisioned a traditional Romanian wedding. The nuptials took place at the first Romanian church in Las Vegas, Nevada, “Saint George and Saint Dimitri the New” Romanian Orthodox Church.
We started out with getting ready images with Anamaria and the girls. The godparents arrived at the bride’s house when her hair and make up was getting done, the godmother helped her to get dressed (together with the bridesmaids) and she put the veil on the bride’s head.
In the meantime Zoltan was taking images of the guys getting ready.
Than Ion, the groom with the guys, a violin player and a ceremony master came over to the house where Anamaria was getting ready to ask for her hand in marriage and take her to the church to get married in front of God. But before that, the groomsman gave the bouquets to the bridesmaids and the couple pinned the boutonnieres on the guys.
Afterwards, right before leaving for the church, the godmother hold and broke a traditional bridal cake (sweet bread) over the Anamaria’s head, and through the 4 pieces to four different directions to the guest to eat.
Romanian Orthodox Church Traditional Wedding Ceremony
After that from the house everybody headed to the traditional religious ceremony what was held at the Romanian Orthodox Church.
The traditional wedding service in the Romanian Orthodox faith is an ancient and gorgeous ceremony that’s continued unchanged for centuries. It’s also a ceremony full of symbolism.
This Ceremony consists of several key parts. The godparents played very important role in Anamaria & Ion wedding. They had several traditional roles during the wedding ceremony and also at the party.
This Ceremony consists of several key parts. The godparents played very important role in Anamaria & Ion wedding. They had several traditional roles during the wedding ceremony and also at the party.
During the religious ceremony in the church the priest was reading prayers from the Bible in chanting voices.
The godmother and godfather stand by the couple, holding tall lit candles, decorated with flowers the second part of their ceremony. The burning flames of the candles symbolize the couple’s spiritual willingness to receive God’s blessings.
The Crowning is the centerpiece of the Eastern Orthodox marriage ceremony. The priest and godparents placed the crowns on the couple’s heads while they face the altar.
The groom and the bride are crowned as the king and queen of their own little kingdom, their newly created family
Than the couple received ladyfingers to eat it symbolically and then took three sips of wine from a shared cup. The cup represents life and symbolizes the couple’s mutual sharing of joy and sorrow. As they drink wine from the common cup, they were reminded that from that moment they will share everything equally.
In the final part of the wedding ceremony, the priest took the godfather by hand (with the candle), followed by the groom, the bride, the godmother with the other candle and walked around the middle church table three times, where the bible rested.
In this act, the couple takes their first steps as a married couple, with the Church (through the priest) leading them.
Thank you Eric Lindsey for taking pictures from the back of the church, giving a second angle for Anamaria & Ion’s images.