Greek Orthodox Wedding with No Music

Ask him for a reference and then talk to the musicians. Express your concerns and see if they can do something to your tastes.

That is odd. I'm getting married in my Greek Orthodox Church and they have an organist.

Are you able to hear what the choir will be able to do? I wouldn't go with the chanter because that would definitely be too somber but maybe the choir would be ok...

Choir can DEFINITELY be ok if you're able to pick some good selections. Some great ensemble songs for weddings include:

Goudimel - O combien

Victoria - O quam gloriosum

Finzi - My sprit sang all day

Durufle - Ubi caritas

Byrd - Haec Dies

Palestrina - Canite Tuba

Gibbons - O Clap your hands together

Rheinberger - Bleib bei uns

Tallis - If ye love me

Bach - Alleluia (Motet IV)

Thompson - Alleluia

Stanford - Beati quorum Via

No, these aren't going to be quite as punchy as a full organ blast exit / entrance, but many of these songs can be very upbeat and celebratory, not to mention incredibly beautiful, reflective, and emotional for a wedding. This list varies in difficulty, but most of them are pretty well known.

Lots of great hymns if you're looking for something religious. (i.e. Amazing Grace, lord of the dance, or something similar).

If you have any more information on the type of choral ensemble available to you, you can also let me know and I'll see what I can think of that would work for them. As you can maybe tell from this post I am a big fan of this genre and would love to be able to help you find something that fits the vibe you're going for.

Thank you so much for those suggestions! The church does have an organ, but the priest won't allow us to use it. He is from the "old country" and is just very strict on traditional wedding ceremonies. I think we would be using the church's home choir, so I will have to check with them to see what kind of music they are accustomed to singing at weddings. I would like the music to be religious, and the priest did actually say that we could have some Catholic hymns sung during the procession and recessional (my fiance is Catholic), so something like Ave Maria might be pretty, but not sure if it will be too somber for a wedding.

If i were you, I wouldn't do an organ or any music. Greek tradition actually goes like this:

The father of the bride and the bride walk together to the entrance of the church with the bride's guests following them. The groom is waiting in the church with the priest at the entrance with the groom's guests and the koumbaro. At the entrance is where the father of the bride gives the daughter away to the groom. The priest leads the couple to the altar and begins the chanting of the liturgy as they're walking, with the koumbaro and parents following and the guests following them.

What I would recommend is to utilize the beauty of the Orthodox Sacrament of marriage and have the priest begin chanting as the doors open up for your bridal party to begin the procession. This is actually what I'm requesting happen at my wedding since I personally don't like the organ at all. Here's a video to explain what I mean, the process starts at around 2:40

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgrjvBl3ut4

Hi @BFGW22017, thanks for your suggestion! I have heard of that style of entrance, although I have never attended an Orthodox wedding where it was done that way. We are opting for a more Western style entrance where my dad will walk me down the aisle to my FH who will be waiting at the altar with the priest. We are not, however, using an organ. We've hired a choir to sing a Capella during the procession and recessional and then the church chanters will chant the traditional Greek music during the ceremony (Dance of Isaiah). I'd love to see a video of your entrance/ceremony after your wedding!