My Macedonian Wedding

If someone would have told me three years ago, that one day I would work in Afghanistan, meet my future husband, quit my job and move to the Republic of Macedonia and be married in a Christian Orthodox Church, I probably would have punched them in the face and told them they needed medication.  But, I would be wrong, because all of those things happened.

It's been forever since my last post, but between the wedding planning and paperwork for citizenship, it was too overwhelming to post anything.  But now that things have settled, I can finally digest what I went through.  I will start with the Church ceremony.


The ceremony was held at Saint Nikola Church in Kumanovo, Macedonia, on September 30th, 2011.

Unlike American tradition, the bride and groom arrive at the Church together and the Church ceremony is only witnessed by the family's closest relatives and friends.

The ceremony was around thirty minutes or so and spoken entirely in Macedonian. The Christian Orthodox church allows interfaith marriages, but one partner and one witness must be Christian Orthodox, thank goodness, because I'm Roman Catholic.  The Bride wears a veil during the wedding service and during the reception that follows. (I took mine off after the ceremony, what can I say, I'm a Catholic)

Our service began at the door of the church and was completed before the altar. Standing before the priest, with the Groom on my right side, we were asked if we came of our own free will, and if we have not promised ourselves to someone else.

Then the Priest invited us, and the attendants, to enter the church and stand before the altar.  The Priest gave us lighted candles which we held throughout the service. The candles were a symbol to indicate that Christ, will light the way of our new life together.

 The Betrothal Service

The Betrothal dramatizes the free decision made by the Bride and Groom, and is symbolized by the giving of rings.   In the Betrothal service, the Priest blesses the rings of the Bride and Groom, then places them on their right hands. The Kum or Kuma (Godfather or Godmother) and Maid of Honor or Second Witness follows the Priest and exchanges the rings three times signifying that their lives are entwined forever. 

However, before the rings are placed on our right finger, the the bride and groom kiss them. The rings are placed on the fourth finger of the right hand because the right hand is the preferred hand, indicating good. The Priest then placed a portion of his vestment over our crossed hands and recited the marriage vows and this commenced the Betrothal Service.

  

The Marriage Ceremony

The Marriage Ceremony began immediately after the Betrothal service culminating in the crowning. Following a series of petitions and prayers the Priest joined our hands together. This is an ancient symbol of marriage in which the Priest prays for God to "unite your servants, and crown them in one flesh..."

The Priest then held the wedding crowns, joined by a ribbon, and made the sign of the cross with them three times over us. 

 

The crown is kissed by the Groom before it is placed. The same happens with the Bride. This same procedure was done by the Kuma and second witness.  An old wives tale says that if you clink the crowns during the three exchanges, the marriage will be cursed with a lot of fighting.  My Godmother clinked my crowns, thanks Kuma!!!  After that, an epistle excerpt was read, exhorting husband and wife to unconditional love and support of one another and bless our marriage.

     

We then drank wine from a common cup and ate bread dipped in wine to signify that we will be sharing the happiness and sorrows of life together. 

The Priest then lead us around the altar table three times and we took a bow at each side.  With the Bible in his hand, he reminded us that the Word of God should lead us through our life. The circle represents eternal marriage, for a circle has neither a beginning or and end.

 

The Priest then used the Bible to uncouple our hands signifying that only God can come between us.

I'm not sure if this is part of the Macedonian tradition, 

but we kissed anyways.  

 

Then all of the guests came to congratulated us and wished us well. We kissed each of them three times.  There was a whole lot of three's throughout the entire day. Then we took pictures and headed to the reception, at Exclusive Restaurant.  But I'll save that for another post.

 The end

 All of pictures were taken by Atelier 22, Alternative Wedding Photography. They came highly recommended and are amazing!!! BTW, they speak English too!!!

Email:	atelier22@rocketmail.com / atelier_22@yahoo.com
Phone:	78804279078809444