Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

Obligations of Non-Orthodox participants in a Marriage Ceremony

Question:

My son is marrying his bride-to-be in a Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and he is a Methodist. 

I have several questions.What, if any, responsibilities do my husband and I have during the ceremony?
Is the music selected by the priest?
Should the priest and choir be paid, how much is appropriate and who pays the priest and choir?
Does the church provide some type of program for the ceremony or is it the bride/groom's to provide such a program and what should this program include?
Is there any printed information you could send me, or is everything I might need to know about the ceremony on your website?

Answer:

Marusia Wenger awwt@sympatico.ca

First of all the bride and groom must know that they need an embroidered cloth to stand on during the wedding ceremony.  Usually the Ukrainian parents know about this.  Also some churches provide the candles which the bride and groom will hold, but often it is the bride and groom that bring their own.  Icons are blessed during the ceremony and are presented to the bride and groom.  The priest will usually tell the couple where to buy these icons if the church does not have them for sale.

The parents of the groom do not have anything to do during the ceremony.
There is no instrumental music in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.  The Choir sings during the marriage ceremony.  However, the bride and groom must ask the priest to ask the choir to sing, otherwise only a cantor sings.

Regarding payment to the priest and choir, usually the Ukrainian parents pay, and if both sets are Ukrainian, they divide the cost between them.
However, both sets of parents can decide if they want to share these costs.

The church does not provide a program of the ceremony, the bride and groom usually print this out and provide it to the guests when they enter for the ceremony. Click here to download a sample in MS WORD format.

In the traditional Ukrainian Orthodox ceremony, the father or parents of the bride give the bride away just as they enter the church.  Then after brief ceremony at the back of the church, the priest leads the couple to the small altar (tetrapod).  However, recently at the request of the bride, it has become the custom for the father or both the father and mother to lead the bride down the aisle.

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