John called me the morning of the wedding."Slight change of plans…" he said. George and I would both go to April’s house and the meet him at the church. "No problem" I told him. He sounded stressed. "Anything I can do to help you?" I inquired. "Get me some liquor" was his half-joking response. Yup, pretty typical of a wedding day. Being nervous is a good thing in my book. And family tends to bring out stress better than anyone else. I knew John would be fine.

We arrived at the house where April was getting ready. We were a bit early, so we waited for April to return from the Salon. She brought with her two sisters and a good friend. Everyone looked fabulous and was incredibly excited. George and I started with the dress right away. And of course, we took a bunch of candids and a few formals before we left. Off to Watertown.

The ceremony was held at the Taxiarchae Greek Orthodox Church in Watertown. This was our first Greek Orthodox wedding, so we were both excited to photograph new traditions and learn about the traditions as well.

Most of the guests were in the church by the time we got there. This allowed April a quick chance to check out the reception hall before the ceremony. She was all smiles. It looked great!

As everyone was gathering at the back of the sanctuary, the flower girl stuck her head inside the door to the sanctuary and I snapped one of my favorite photos to date. You can see it below.

John was waiting for April at the front of the church. Her dad proudly walked her down the aisle to join John and begin the rest of their lives together.

Some of the unique features of the ceremony included a ring ceremony in which the Sponsor (or Koumbara) exchanges the rings back and forth between April and John’s hands three times, representing the Holy Trinity. Then April and John’s hands are joined by the priest and are kept joined until the end of the ceremony to represent the unity of the bride and groom.

Another unique part of the service was the "Crowning Ceremony." The priest holds two wreaths, held together by a ribbon, above the bride and groom and then places them on their heads. The Sponsor exchanges the crowns three times, again representing their unity. The crowns represent the fact that the bride and groom are the king and queen of their home.

Following these and a few other traditions, John and April requested to have their group formals taken in the sanctuary, after which just the two of them and George and I headed to Mt. Auburn Cemetery for a few of just the newlyweds. Before you pass judgment on the idea of taking pictures in a cemetery, you should visit Mt. Auburn Cemetery. It is world famous for its beauty and has a garden specifically used for wedding photography in which no tombstones are visible. Along the way, I asked George to snap a few shots of April and John driving the convertible Jaguar. He got some great shots!

We got back to the church and it was just a short time until the rest of the festivities began. April and John not only had a DJ, but they also had a Greek band to play traditional Greek music. It was a great blend and perfect for the guests they invited.

One neat part of the reception was the opportunity to have some stuffed grape leaves. I grew up next to a family who had a grape vine and always told me, "You can pick all the grapes you want, just don’t pick the leaves." It never made much sense to me and I never tried any of Mrs. Teebagy’s stuffed grape leaves as I was afraid of what she stuffed into them. My loss. The stuffed grape leaves that April and John had were delicious!! I would recommend them to anyone!

The reveling continued late into the night. April and John twirled together on the dance floor with their friends and family surrounding them. Another new beginning.  Congrats you guys!

 To see more photos from their wedding, click here.

 

April and two of her sisters:

 

 

 

 One of my favorites:

 

 

 

 I love catching this stuff!

 

 

 

 At Mt. Auburn Cemetary:

 

 

 

 I love this action shot.  She was saying, "Nah nah nah nah na, you can’t catch me!"

 

 

 

 I wish George and I could take all the credit for this one, but April did pick out the fabulous shoes!

 

 

 

 George getting creative in PhotoShop

 

 

 

 John challenged us to get both inscriptions in the same shot.  If it is possible and we have the time, we’ll take on any challenge given to us.