The union of a couple in marriage is a reason for celebration all over Greece. In the island of Crete, where traditions and local customs are kept with great respect even today, weddings are a unique experience for everyone involved.
According to tradition, wedding ceremonies are always performed on a Sunday. On the Saturday before, relatives and friends carry the bride’s dowry to the groom’s house and then the two families hold two separate celebrations that begin early Saturday and end late on Sunday morning.
On Sunday, the day of the wedding, the groom along with his family would go to the bride’s house to get her, and the pair with the two families would proceed to the church. The ceremony was followed by a feast, after which the couple stayed in a relative or friend’s house, in separate rooms.
On Monday, they continued the revelry and feasting, while all the relatives and friends were going to the couple’s new home, to unpack and decorate the dowry. Feast followed again and after the end, the couple stayed alone for the first time.
The end of the wedding celebrations was on the next Sunday with the anti- marriage (antigamo) feast. The couple invited family and friends over to admire the dowry and of course to eat and drink.
What a way to start a new life!
Hotels in Crete, AKS Minoa Palace – AKS Anabelle Beach Resort
