It's Good to be Queen: Last Wedding of the Season: The Bush's!

So this last weekend wasn't only taken up by Halloween fun, but also wedding fun! You guys are probably wonder when the heck we are done with all the weddings. Well this was it, the last one of the season and so far 2012 does not look quite as busy! This wedding was for the Bush's!

Derrick is a good friend of Kev's from high school and Alex is his lovely lady and new wife! WOO! The two of them met in college, at Youngstown State, where Derrick was a starting football player! I brag on my friends alright?!

YSU Football player!

Ok, back to wedding festivities. One of the biggest things I was looking forward to for this wedding, other than getting to see two good friends become one, is that Alex is Greek Orthodox and Derrick was recently baptized Greek so that they could have their wedding in the church.

Gorgeous Church!

I've never been to a Greek wedding...I'm not sure I even know anyone else that is Greek. I wasn't sure what to expect but I'd heard different things about them and really the closest thing to a Greek ceremony I'd ever seen is in movies. The one thing I'd heard over and over again was that it was long. It wasn't that a long! Not sure what they were talking about? They do have quite different traditions though, but interesting and aren't really "weird" just different. For example they do not say vows, ever, and they do everything in 3's. Doing everything in 3 represents the Holy Trinity.

They also do a Crowning:

During the service the priest will do the sign of the cross, 3 times, over the heads of the bride & groom. Then he will lay the crowns on their heads. The crown is a symbol of glory and honor to God. Sometimes it can also represent martyrdom, showing the self sacrifice of the bride & groom. Once the crowns are placed on their heads the Koumbaro (religious sponsor) then crossed the crowns on the bride & grooms head, 3 times as a witness to seal the union between the bride & groom. You also will notice the ribbon connecting the two crowns. This is a symbol of unity of the couple and established them as King and Queen of their home. Hey with all this crowning and Queen talk maybe I should become Greek Orthodox!

Then there was the circling of the table or ceremonial walk:

After the crowning the priest then leads the couple around the table, which hold the Gospel and the Cross. The Gospel containing the word of God, and the other being a symbol of our redemption to Jesus. The first steps as husband and wife and in the church, in front of the priest leads them in the way they must walk. The way is symbolized by the circle at the center of which is the Gospel & cross of our Lord. Meaning that our perfect way of life is to orbit the center of life, Jesus or the Lord.

I was probably even more excited to see what Alex's dress was going to look like. There were some girls that I'd seen there dresses or pretty much knew them well enough to know exactly what to expect. However, Alex was not one of those that I knew what to expect. I did know it would be beautiful! And it was :) It was perfect for her!

Alex with her sister. Check out that beautiful dress!

I had a great time at the reception! The food was great, we got to catch up with the cville crowd that we don't always get to see, and of course there was a lot of dancing.