The Service of the Betrothal begins in the back of the Church and consists of several beautiful prayers during which the Priest asks God to grant the Betrothed perfect and peaceful love, salvation, oneness of mind, steadfastness of faith, fair children and fidelity. During the Betrothal, the couple's rings are blessed three times over the heads of the Bride and Groom in the name of the Holy Trinity. The exchange of rings symbolizes the unbreakable bond of Christian marriage, which goes on even beyond death.
The Service of the Crowning is the wedding proper and takes place in the front of the church. The service begins with Psalm 128, crowning the couple "into the Mystery of Christ's love for the Church." A prayer is read asking God to bless them as He blessed the marriages of so many of our biblical forefathers.
The bride and groom are handed candles, which they hold throughout the service. The candles are like the lamps of the five wise maidens of the Bible, who because they had enough oil in them, were able to receive the Bridegroom, Christ, when He came in the darkness of the night. The candles symbolize the spiritual willingness of the couple to receive Christ, who blesses them through this Mystery.
The crowns are sings of the glory and honor with which God crowns them during the Mystery. The groom and the bride are crowned as the king and queen of their own little kingdom, the home (domestic church), which they will rule with fear of God, wisdom, justice, and integrity. When the crowning takes place the priest, taking the crowns and holding them above the couple, says: "The servants of God, Daniel and Andrea, are crowned in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen." These crowns also symbolize the crowns of martyrdom since every true marriage involves immeasurable self-sacrifice on both sides.
St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians is read following the crowning. this reading focuses on the mystery and holiness of Christian marriage and the duties and responsibilities of the husband and wife to each other. The Priest then reads Saint John's Gospel on Christ's first miracle during the Marriage at Cana, where He transformed water into wine.
The couple is then given wine to drink in remembrance of Christ's first miracle. This is the "common cup" of life, which symbolizes mutual sharing of a life in harmony. Drinking from the common cup shows the couple that from this point forward they will share everything in life, including their joys and sorrows, and that they are to "bear one another's burdens." (The common cup is distinct from the Holy Eucharist)
During this part of the ceremony three prayers are read. These prayers ask God to grant the Bride and Groom a long and peaceful life, mutual love, happiness and health. The priest calls on God to join them into one mind and one flesh. Their hands are joined for the remainder of the service to symbolize "oneness."
The priest leads the bride and groom in a circle around the table on which are placed the Gospel and the Cross, the one containing the Word of God, and the other being the symbol of our redemption by our Savior Jesus Christ. the husband and wife are taking their first steps as a married couple, and the Church, in the person of the priest, leads them in the way they must walk. The way is symbolized by the circle at the center or which are the Gospel and the Cross of our Lord. This expresses the fact that the way of Christian living is a perfect orbit around the center of life, who is Jesus Christ our Lord. During this walk around the table a hymn is sung to the Holy Martyrs reminding the newly married couple of the sacrificial love they are to have for each other in marriage - a love that seeks not its own but is willing to sacrifice its all for the one loved.
