Music for your Orthodox Wedding Ceremony

Hello all!

Welcome to today’s blog on Music for Wedding Ceremonies in the Orthodox Church. Today we will be diving into everything that you need to know about planning your Orthodox Wedding including what music you can incorporate during your wedding ceremony, what type of music you are allowed to have, and when it can be played.

I often get asked to perform in Orthodox churches for wedding ceremonies, and sometimes this is permitted, but often not. Quick story for you all to give you a little bit of context on why I started writing this blog. Earlier this year, I was performing a classical hymn ‘Ave Maria’ by Franz Schubert in a Macedonian Orthodox Church in Sydney Australia, before the commencement of a wedding ceremony. This had been organised by the bride and groom who had spoken with their church and priest who allowed classical music and hymns to be played for specific moments of their wedding ceremony, including the guest’s arrival into the church. I posted a video of this performance online and received some mixed comments and responses. I don’t want to get into these comments today, but there is so much I want to break down around music in the Orthodox Church, as questions keep coming up online, in conversations, and also when people try to book me for violin performances for various Orthodox wedding ceremonies. I thought what better way to explore these topics, and music in the Orthodox Church, than getting back on my blog bandwagon and writing about it.

Before I begin, I want to let you know that even though I am from a Greek Orthodox background, I most certainly cannot claim to know everything about the Greek Orthodox Church, and especially the rules around music in all of the Orthodox churches. Each Church has their own rules and regulations, especially when it comes to what music can and cannot be played, and when. Please take this blog with a grain of salt and read this as a general guide only. It is always best to speak to your priest and your church about any questions that you may have in regards to your wedding ceremony and the music.

A brief background on The Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church is a beautiful setting to have your wedding ceremony in. Not only is it a stunning church setting, both outside and inside, with the elaborate church building and impressive iconography, but having your ceremony in the Church also has a strong spiritual significance where two people are united in one flesh in Christ through the sacred union of marriage in the Church. The holy sacrament of marriage in a Church, goes beyond just a legal or social contract, as God joins man and woman in a lifelong, spiritual, and physical bond, through his divine blessing. There is no more appropriate setting for this union to take place than inside the Holy Church. The Orthodox Church sees marriage as a living image of the relationship between Christ and His Church (Ephesians 5:22-33). Just as Christ sacrificially loves the Church, spouses are called to love and serve each other selflessly.

The Orthodox Church is made up of several self-governing churches, each tied to a specific country or cultural group. While they share the same fundamental beliefs and liturgical traditions, they are all administratively independent from one another. Some of the major Orthodox Churches include the:

• Antiochian Orthodox Church

• Armenian Orthodox Church

• Bulgarian Orthodox Church

• Coptic Orthodox Church

• Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church

• Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

• Greek Orthodox Church

• Indian Orthodox Church

• Macedonian Orthodox Church

• Polish Orthodox Church

• Romanian Orthodox Church

• Serbian Orthodox Church

• Syriac Orthodox Church

• Russian Orthodox Church

• Ukranian Orthodox Church

Weddings that take place in the Orthodox Churches have a strong spiritual significance and therefore it is important to follow the customs, rules and regulations that each Orthodox Church has set, especially when it comes down to what we can and cannot add to a wedding ceremony, including the music.

In general, most Eastern Orthodox Churches follow strict liturgical traditions and do not allow secular music to be played during the wedding ceremony, inside the church.

While most Orthodox Churches will not allow music to be played during the wedding ceremony, inside the church, some churches may however allow music to be played before or after the wedding ceremony outside the church, which we’ll get into later.

The music most Orthodox Churches do allow within their churches includes Byzantine chant, Orthodox hymns and psalms chanted or sung by a ‘psaltis’, chanter or cantor.

However, there are some differences depending on the jurisdiction, the priest, local customs and the Church location.

In my experience the following Orthodox Churches strictly prohibit any secular music:

• Coptic Orthodox Church

• Greek Orthodox Church

• Russian Orthodox Church

• Serbian Orthodox Church

• Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Whilst the following Orthodox Churches still predominantly incorporate Byzantine chant, Orthodox hymns and psalms into their wedding ceremony service, on occasions (again, depending on the church, priest, local traditions, and church location) these churches have allowed for some soft, hymns or classical instrumental pieces for some of the key points of the wedding ceremony. These churches include:

• Antiochian Orthodox Church

• Ukrainian Orthodox Church

• Macedonian Orthodox Church

• Romanian Orthodox Church

Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremonies

In Australia, we have a large Macedonian community. I have been fortunate enough to perform many times in the Macedonian Orthodox Church for various wedding ceremonies in a range of beautiful churches. The Macedonian Churches in Australia allow for live music performances in the church for wedding ceremonies. This can be such a beautiful addition to a wedding ceremony, adding the perfect accompaniment to the key points of the ceremony including the bridal entrance, signing of the register, congratulations and recessional. Live music adds a personalised touch to every wedding ceremony and allows for couples to enjoy a live performance of their favourite songs creating the perfect soundtrack for their wedding day.

I have also performed in some other Orthodox Churches in Sydney, however this has mainly been before the wedding ceremony, as guests arrive, outside the Church, or after the wedding ceremony, as guests congratulate the bride and groom, again outside the Church.

Today I am going to dive a little more into how Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremonies run and the music that can be incorporated into these wedding ceremonies.

Photo by Sadghav

How do wedding ceremonies run in the Macedonian Orthodox Church?

Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremonies can vary, depending on which church you are having your wedding at, and which priest you have conducting your wedding ceremony. It is always best to speak with your priest directly to get an understanding of how the wedding ceremony will run, and what they allow in regards to the music.

In my experience performing at Macedonian Orthodox wedding ceremonies, this is the typical structure of a how a wedding ceremony will run:

1. Guests arrival and gathering inside church

2. Groom & groomsmen arrival & waiting at front of church for the ceremony to commence

3. Bride, bridesmaids, bride’s family, page boys & flower girls arrive at church

4. Priest announces the commencement of the wedding ceremony

5. Bridesmaids, flower girls & page boys enter

6. Father of the bride walks bride down the aisle

7. Wedding Ceremony commences with Betrothal Ceremony & Sacrament of Marriage (Crowning Ceremony)

   • The Exchange of Rings – The priest blesses the rings and places them on the couple’s right hands. The koumbaros or koumbara exchanges the rings three times, symbolizing the Holy Trinity and the unity of the couple.

   • Lighting of the Candle – bride & groom, parents of the bride and groom, and koumbaros or koumbara hold the candles, symbolising the light of Christ guiding them in their new life together

   • The Crowning (Stefana Ceremony) – The priest places the wedding crowns (stefana) on the bride & groom’s heads, representing their union as king and queen of their home. The koumbaros or koumbara exchanges the crowns three times, symbolising the Holy Trinity and the union of the couple.

   • The Reading of Scripture – Biblical passages about love and marriage are read and spoken about to the couple & their invited wedding guests. Popular bible passages that are read at weddings include verses from:

     • 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

     • Genesis 2:18-24

     • Ephesians 5:21-33

     • John 2:1-11

   • Communion – The couple and their bridal party take Holy Communion from a shared cup during the wedding ceremony. The bride, groom or a member of the bridal party is asked to finish this communion.

   • Procession around the table – the priest, holding the Holy Gospel, leads the bride & groom, koumbaros or koumbara in a ceremonial walk around the altar in the Church three times. This represents their first steps together as husband and wife, guided by faith.

   • Final Blessing and Removal of the Crowns – the priest blesses the couple and removes the stefana, marking the completion of the sacrament and their union as husband and wife.

8. Signing of the Register

9. Opportunity to take photos with marriage certificate, bridal party, koumbaros or koumbara

10. The ceremony then flows straight into congratulations where the priest invites the families and friends of the bride and groom to come and congratulate the newlyweds at the front of the church

11. Recessional/Exit

12. Optional photos and congratulations outside the church with refreshments

Photo by George Spiropoulos

Where can I select to have music during my Macedonian Orthodox wedding ceremony?

Photo by Sadghav

There are many points where you can feature live music during your Macedonian Orthodox wedding ceremony. The key points of the service where live instrumental music accompanies well are the following:

• Bridesmaids/Flower girl/Page boy entrance

• Bridal Entrance

• Signing of the register

• Recessional/Exit

It is also a lovely touch to have music as your guests are first entering the church and getting seated before the wedding ceremony commences, as well as continuing background music while your guests congratulate you following the completion of your wedding ceremony. 

You are not able to organise any music for the time during the Betrothal Ceremony & Sacrament of Marriage Ceremony. During this time the priest will be speaking, conducting the sacrament of marriage and singing Byzantine chant and traditional church hymns. 

Song choices can vary for the above points of a wedding ceremony depending on what you might like to incorporate for your ceremony.

What songs can I select for a wedding ceremony in the Macedonian church?

Any instrumental songs suit well for a wedding ceremony in the Orthodox church. We would personally recommend leaning more towards hymns which create a beautiful reflective setting within the Holy church, especially before the wedding ceremony takes place, but you can also choose to have classical music or instrumental covers of contemporary, pop and love songs.

Guest Arrival Song Choices

Some popular classical pieces and hymns that are often chosen for music as guests arrive into the Macedonian Orthodox church before the commencement of a wedding ceremony include:

• Air on G String – Bach

• Amazing Grace – John Newton

• Be Thou My Vision – Traditional

• Great Is Thy Faithfulness – Thomas Chisholm

• Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty – Reginald Heber

• Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley

• How Great Thou Art – Carl Gustav Boberg

• It Is Well With My Soul

• Passacaglia – Handel Halvorsen

• Pavane - Faure

• River Flows In You – Yiruma

• The Prayer – Celine Dion, Andrea Bocelli

• The Swan – Saint Saens

Photo by Anello Weddings

Bridal Entrance Song Choices

Popular song choices for the Wedding Ceremony Bridal Entrance include:

Traditional/Classical

• Ave Maria – Franz Schubert

• Canon in D – Pachelbel

• Here Comes The Bride (Bridal March) - Wagner

Contemporary/Modern

• A Thousand Years – Christina Perri

• Can’t Help Falling in Love – Elvis

• Endless Love – Lionel Richie

• Perfect – Ed Sheeran

• Until I Found You – Stephen Sanchez

Follow this link to take a look at my playlist on Spotify for more ideas on Bridal Wedding Entrance songs.

Wedding Recessional Song Choices

Popular song choices for the Wedding Ceremony Recessional include:

Traditional/Classical

• Wedding March – Mendelssohn

Contemporary/Modern

• Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve

• Isn’t She Lovely – Stevie Wonder

• Viva La Vida – Coldplay

• This Will Be (An Everlasting Love) – Natalie Cole

Follow this link to take a look at my Spotify playlist for more ideas on wedding recessional songs.

Photo by Sadghav

Signing of the Register Song Choices

There are many options of songs you can include for the signing of the register. Songs can include classical songs as above, or instrumental violin renditions of contemporary pop and love songs. Popular song choices for the signing of the register include:

• Can You Feel The Love Tonight – Elton John

• From This Moment – Shania Twain

• Stand by Me – Ben E King

• Thinking Out Loud – Ed Sheeran

• What A Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong

• You Are The Reason – Callum Scott

Follow this link for more ideas on songs to use for the signing of your register.

What musicians can I have during my Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremony?

In our experience the music during a Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremony needs to be instrumental music only, i.e. no singers, or lyrics in songs are allowed. Musicians can include solo violin, violin and piano, a string duo, string trio or string quartet.

How many songs should I choose for my violinist to perform during my Macedonian Orthodox Wedding Ceremony?

Usually you will need to choose around 4-5 songs for the key points of your wedding ceremony in an Orthodox Church. You will need to choose key songs for the following points:

• Bridal Entrance (1-2 songs)

• Signing of the register (2 songs)

• Recessional/Exit (1 song)

If you still need some help on selecting songs and how to choose, take a look at our blog to help guide you on selecting your wedding ceremony songs, or check out our quick cheat sheet below to simplify the selecting process for you.

Now I can hear you all asking…

What if I’m getting married in a Greek, Coptic, Russian or other Orthodox Church? What music can and can’t I have there?

Pepi’s Gelato Truck, Photo by Peter Petinos

We unfortunately do not have all of the answers for you today, but do know that there are many options for music and instruments that you can incorporate before and after your wedding ceremony, outside your church, especially if music is not permitted inside your church for your wedding ceremony.

This can be a beautiful addition to your wedding adding a touch of elegance and creating a beautiful ambiance for the start and/or end of your wedding ceremony, as guests arrive at your church, or as they congratulate you following the church ceremony. 

Live music outside the church is a lovely way to encourage guests to hang around to congratulate the bride and groom, take photos, while enjoying some light refreshments, and nibbles. There have been some beautiful, creative ideas that I have seen following wedding ceremonies which have worked really well after a wedding ceremony, and paired really well with live music. Some creative ideas that brides and grooms have organised for their wedding ceremony include the addition of a:

• Gelato Truck

• Coffee Cart

• Grazing Station

• Refreshments station

• Live Mocktail/Cocktail Bar

If you have any questions about the above information, please get in touch with our team, we would be more than happy to assist you in planning the music for your Orthodox Wedding Ceremony or Reception.

Photo by George Spiropoulos

Get in touch with our team to find out more about our Classical and Electric Violin packages for wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions. We would love to put something incredible together for your upcoming wedding day! We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you for tuning into today’s blog. We hope it has been helpful and we wish you all the best in planning your Orthodox Wedding Ceremony.