What to Expect at a Greek Wedding

If you have never attended a Greek wedding, you may not know what to expect when you are invited to one. As in many cultures and religions, there are customs that carry on from generation to generation.

On the dance floor, you can expect the bride to lead a raucous dance known as the kalamatiano. The entire bridal party joins hands and skips in a circle. If you have been a guest at a Jewish wedding, this dance may be somewhat familiar to you, minus the chair. Other favored dances are the tsamiko, where skilled dancers leap into the air, and the rowdy zebekiko, where dancers sequentially take shots of ouzo off of the floor. The last dance of the night is shared by the bride and groom and guests pin money to their clothes. It is also customary for Greek men to cut their tie at the end of the reception and sell pieces to the wedding guests for cash.

Of course, expect food! Lots and lots of traditional Greek dishes are often prepared by family members. Koufetta is a key to any wedding celebration. The Timeless Mediterranean wedding favor is a bitter-sweet combination that symbolizes the hope that the difficult moments of the couple’s life will be balanced out with happiness, covered in sugar in hopes that couple has more good moments than bad. Guests are given odd numbers of these in bags - odd to show that they can't be divided up evenly, symbolizing that couple is indivisible.

When you are attending a Greek wedding, you want to give the couple a gift that reflects their culture and traditions. Kantyli.com has a fine assortment of Greek items that is befitting for any Greek couple. Commemorate the occasion with a gift that reflects the couple's love for each other and their love of their culture.


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