Janetti Spaghetti

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Our Very Own Big Fat Greek Wedding!

January 9, 2023 By Janetti Spaghetti

I can’t believe it’s taken me over a month to pull this VIP (Very Important Post) together – I’ve been dying to share the highlights from our son’s wedding with you (including my mother of the groom outfit)!

parents and groom best
Proud parents with the groom. We scrub up all right, don’t you think?!

The Big Day was way back on the 3rd of December, but unfortunately, the husbear and I came down with Covid a couple of days later which really knocked us around.

Then there was the rush to get all our work done before the holiday season, then Christmas, and the summer holidays … which has finally allowed me enough downtime to sort through over 400 photos (and that’s just the ones that I took!), plus all the professional photos, and write this blog post.

happy groom
Looking very happy and handsome in his tux

As you can see from the photos, my dress was a very deep navy (almost black) with a pewter palm print from Sacha Drake, which I teamed with the pewter clutch and shoes I wore to Miss 26’s wedding in July 2021. This time, I chose to wear my hair up as summer can be very hot and humid – plus, it also showed off my pretty crystal necklace and drop earrings.

(By the way, you might like to read the story of the proposal to help bring you up to speed on Mr 28 and his missus … it’s okay, I’ll wait 😉 .)

Why a Big Fat Greek Wedding?!

While our family has a mixture of Italian, Maltese and English heritage, our new daughter-in-law is from a Greek background, so the wedding was held at the Greek Orthodox Church of St George in South Brisbane. As we chose to have our kids baptised into the Catholic faith when they were babies (mainly to keep the in-laws happy), this meant our son could marry in the Greek church without needing to convert.

Greek Orthodox wedding
Greek Orthodox Church South Brisbane

Have you ever been to a Greek Orthodox wedding before? If not, it’s a very different experience! (Though before you ask – there were no plates broken, nor money pinned to the bride’s dress!!!!)

For starters, the bride and groom don’t say a word throughout the whole service; there’s no vows or promises made (Mr 28 and his bride saved this for the reception).

There’s no music, not even as the bride comes down the aisle. Instead, the service is mostly sung by the priest and the deacon, without any instrumental accompaniment.

bride down the aisle
A very proud papa walking his gorgeous daughter down the aisle

The main part of the ceremony occurs when the bride and groom each have a floral crown (known as the stefana) placed on their heads, which is joined by white ribbon to symbolise the joining of the couple in marriage.

grooms parents watching ceremony
Watching the ceremony … and you can see a bit more of my hairdo
Dion & Mika being blessed
The priest blesses the bride and groom

While wearing the stefana, the bride and groom follow the priest around the altar three times (no mean feat when you are wearing a wedding gown with a large train, according to my new daughter-in-law, and further complicated by the candles burning nearby!).

circling altar
Love the smile on our son’s face in this pic!

All went smoothly until the very end of the ceremony, when the priest forgot to say, “You may now kiss the bride”. This was pretty funny because the EXACT SAME THING happened at our wedding, over 30 years ago (you can read about this and a couple of other wedding day disasters, here)! Mr 28 however made sure they didn’t miss out, and reminded the priest that perhaps he’d missed something?! (You can see the priest laughing in the pic below!).

the kiss
No way was our Mr 28 going to let history repeat itself!!!!
signing the register
A candid pic which captures a look of love and happiness between bride and groom at the signing of the register

After the ceremony, immediate family was invited to stay in the church for photos.

Camilleri family 2
Family photo – our daughter and her husband were in the bridal party
Bridal party
The bridal party

The rest of the guests waited outside until we all emerged, when they showered the bride and groom with rose petals, and were able to take their own happy snaps.

kiss with veil
Despite it being December, it was actually quite cool and windy (as you can see from the veil!)
mums
With the lovely Mother of the Bride

The Reception

Once the bridal party left for photos in various locations, we leisurely made our way to the reception venue – Blackbird Bar and Grill, on the Brisbane River and with a gorgeous view out to the Story Bridge. By that time the husbear and I were starving so we might have stopped at KFC for a snack on the way through 😉 … we later found out the bridal party also stopped off, for Maccas!

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Spectacular photo taken at Kangaroo Point looking over towards Brisbane City
bridal party selfie
Professional pics are all very well and good, but how good is this bridal party selfie?!

We enjoyed cocktail hour out on the terrace, before the bride and groom arrived and the reception kicked off in earnest. As the parents of the groom, we also made a “grand entrance” along with the parents of the bride, and all the members of the bridal party. We really got into the spirit of the moment and the husbear gave me a twirl as we made our way to our seats!

Janet & Loz twirling
It might be blurry but I just LOVE this pic of the husbear and I doing a little twirl!

Prior to the cake cutting, various family members gave short but heartfelt speeches. We heard from the bride’s mum, dad and sister (the maid of honour), as well as the husbear and myself (if you’re really lucky I might share my notes with you in an upcoming blog post!), and our daughter and her husband (the best man).

speech by brides parents
The bride’s mother was overcome with emotion during her speech!

Most importantly however, we heard from the bride and groom, seeing as they weren’t able to have their own vows at the actual ceremony.  I seem to remember there were a few references to our family’s favourite movie of all time (Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), and our son cleverly wove the titles of 51 Taylor Swift songs into his speech as his bride is a big fan!

cake
The wedding cake was actually made by one of the bridesmaids

Our daughter-in-law wore a beautiful wedding dress with impressive train, so you might wonder how she managed the bridal waltz … turns out the train was detachable.

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How stunning was the view from the reception venue … though it has to be said, it can’t compete with the beautiful bride and handsome groom

We had a feeling the first dance would be something very special, as our daughter-in-law is a very accomplished dancer, and our son started taking lessons during their courtship in a style called “Brazilian Zouk” – and we were right 😉 . (Check out the lyrics to “Holiday” by KSI … while it wasn’t a song I was terribly familiar with, the words are just perfect for a wedding!)

bridal waltz compressed
A very special dance for the bride and groom

Can I just say – the Greeks sure now how to party, and pretty much everybody was soon up on the dance floor for a bit of traditional Greek dancing along with plenty of great 80’s and more modern tunes!

greek dancing compressed
Joining hands for a bit of Greek dancing!

While it was a very different to our daughter’s wedding, it was just as special, meaningful and filled with love.

end of the night
Another great pic – this one of our Miss 26, as we were packing up at the end of the night!

Related posts:

saying I love youMeet the Spaghettinis A Marriage Proposal! ring with citrine in centre and diamondsThe Lost Inheritance picnic breakfast in Childers3 Things I Learned on the Weekend

Filed Under: My Family

About Janetti Spaghetti

My real name is Janet Camilleri, and I love to write. Janetti Spaghetti is my third or maybe fourth blog ... but who's counting?

You can also follow Janetti Spaghetti on Facebook and Instagram!

Comments

  1. Denise says

    January 11, 2023 at 10:56 am

    Absolutely lovely!

  2. Celia says

    January 11, 2023 at 12:59 pm

    Loved reading this Janet 🙂

  3. Tracy says

    January 13, 2023 at 7:48 am

    I LOVE the wedding party selfie!
    Great photos!

  4. Elaine Wood says

    January 14, 2023 at 8:44 pm

    So wonderful Janet, just so wonderful xx

  5. Janetti Spaghetti says

    January 23, 2023 at 9:25 pm

    Thanks Elaine, it was a gorgeous day.

  6. Janetti Spaghetti says

    January 23, 2023 at 9:25 pm

    It’s a classic isn’t it!!!!

  7. Janetti Spaghetti says

    January 23, 2023 at 9:26 pm

    Thanks Celia … and I loved sharing it!

  8. Janetti Spaghetti says

    January 23, 2023 at 9:26 pm

    Thanks Denise 🙂

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF JANETTI SPAGHETTI!

flourishing is my word for the year Perhaps we've already met - after all, I've been blogging for over ten years now. You may remember me from such blogs as Middle Aged Mama, Redland City Living or Footprints. I must be the master (mistress) of re-invention because here I am again! Here at Janetti Spaghetti, I'm blogging purely for the love of it - and I hope you enjoy reading, as much as I enjoy the writing. So grab a cuppa, get comfy, and come join me on the journey. Who knows where we will end up?!

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