Holy Matrimony
Marriage is the sacrament of love, emerging from God's love of human beings. It is a symbol of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Love is getting rid of selfishness and individualism towards unity, which does not dissolve people but rather affirms them.
Engagement ring in the right finger: the right hand is a symbol of strength. The circular ring symbolizes the eternal bond. The circle has no beginning and end, eternal. And so should be the marriage
Initially the priest censes around the table, the icons, the couple and the people. During the censing the choir sings: "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways". (Psalm 128: 1).
The declaration and the great litany: the crowning service (the wedding service) starts with the declaration: "Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and to the ages of ages." Blessing according to the biblical concept means that you make the kingdom the target. The goal of marriage is the life of holiness. Followed is the great litany in which we ask God to bless this wedding similar to the wedding of Cana.
Prayers: the priest then says three prayers to bless the crowns: the first prayer for glorification, the second asking God to bless the couple and save them, and the third asking God to send his right hand and unify the couple. It is by God that man and woman become one. During the third prayer the priest joins the couple's hands together as an expression of unity between them.
Crowning: the priest then picks up the crowns, makes the sign of the cross on them, crowns the groom and the bride, announcing three times: "The servant of God (name) is crowned unto the hand maiden of God (name) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen." Then he exchanges the crowns on the heads of the couple saying: "O Lord, our God, crown them in glory and in honour". The couple is rewarded with the crowns for their internal victory on their physically and spiritually desires, flaws and deficiencies. Crowning symbolizes their victory with purity before marriage, and on their carrying of the cross in their common life together.
The Common Cup – Wine Drinking: After more prayers, a common cup of sweet wine is blessed and shared by the couple as a sign of their common life together. They share joys and sorrows, successes and failures, hopes and fears together: "I shall partake in the Cup of Salvation, and I shall invoke the name of the Lord".
Dance of Isaiah: the priest leads the couple, with their sponsors, in a triple procession counter clockwise around the centre table in celebratory "dance". The couple process in a circular motion to signify the perfection and eternity that they are intending to live in their future common life. This dance indicates the first steps undertaken by the couple, accompanied by the priest, in the way of the Lord.
Each of the three turns is accompanied by one of the three hymns: the first blesses the Virgin Mother of God, the second asks the intercession of the martyr saints, and the third glorifies our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the end of the service, the crowns are removed. The priest prays that God will receive these crowns into His Kingdom. Then he prays to the Holy Trinity to bless and give the couple a long life, good generation, and success in life and faith.