Wedding in Santorini – Greek tradition
Greek tradition – Wedding rings!
The most of Greeks are Orthodox Christians, and, in accordance with the Greek tradition, they wear wedding rings on the ring finger of their right hand. This tradition of wearing a wedding ring on the right hand comes from the Roman custom. “Sinister” means “left” in the Latin and has a meaning of “evil” carrying a negative meaning. “Dexter” means “right” in the Latin, and it turned into the word “dexterity”. Thus, the left hand had a negative connotation, and the right hand – a positive one. ”
Bridal shoes!
At a Greek wedding there is a custom. According to it the last bridesmaid’s name to rub off from the sole of the bridal shoes will be the next person to get married. That’s why, of course, all the girls who can’t wait to get married are very strategic about where to write their names. The best area is the side which is less likely to be worn down. And when writing, it’s better to press hard with a marker pen guaranteeing big and clear letters! Anyone who avoids thinking about a marriage writes their names on the edge of a shoe and encourages the bride to dance most of the night. The only rule is to write all the bridesmaids’ names to ensure equal chances for everybody!
Koufeta is sweet sugar almonds that are traditionally used as wedding favors or so-called bomboniere and made for guests at a Greek wedding. The Best Man and Maid of Honour usually purchase the koufeta as one of their gifts for the Bride and Groom on their wedding day. People often ask about the number of koufeta that should be put inside of the bomboniere. And why they say it must necessarily be an odd number?
Here are some interesting facts about the number of koufeta in bomboniere:
WHY DO WE USE ODD NUMBERS FOR KOUFETA?
Greeks choose an odd number of koufeta in bomboniere and wedding bomboniere in itself, because such a number is not divisible by two. This has an idea that a couple will never be separated!
HOW MANY KOUFETA SHOULD BE USED?
A wedding bomboniere traditionally has an odd number of coufeta: 3-5-7-11. The most common number is 7 as it is the Heaven one.
Others say there should be 5 koufeta, because it symbolizes health, joy, fertility, prosperity and longevity.
WHAT COLOR OF KOUFETA SHOULD BE USED?
White koufeta is traditionally used for wedding because this color means clearness.
However, many couples use one color for koufeta and bomboniere, like gold and silver, to match them with the whole wedding theme. In a Greek wedding shop you can always find gold and silver, as well as pink, blue, green and orange koufeta.
Pinning money! As a rule, the guests will always wait for the bride’s family to start this tradition. Then it is continued by close relatives and friends. They can pin several bills together and separately, or make the so-called money garland to pin one end to the bride and another one – to the groom. In other cases, relatives make a money envelope and fasten it to the bridal dress!