Well, that's a terribly long conversation and many people have been arguing about this for centuries. Let's just say that the Orthodox Church traces her traditions back to the 1st century AD. It is a high church tradition and the first things you'll probably notice when you enter are the walls lined with icons, the smell of incense, and the strange robes the priest is wearing. The Orthodox Wedding Ceremony has two main parts: The Betrothal and the Sacrament of Marriage.

In ancient times the betrothal or engagement ceremony and the marriage ceremony took place at different times, but now they're performed together. This portion of the The bride and groom stand together at the entrance of the church and the priest exchanges their rings. He does this three times to represent the Trinity. The ring exchange represents our commitment to one another. It also shows that we now complement each other in our strengths and weaknesses.

After the betrothal ceremony the couple walks into the church with the priest.

Candles

The bride and groom hold candles during the wedding service. These reference the parable of the Ten Virgins waiting for the Bridegroom and symbolize the couple's spiritual willingness to receive the God's blessing through the sacrament of marriage. The priest also joins the hands of the couple as a symbol of their oneness.

Crowning

The crowns refer to the crowns of martyrdom and symbolize the couple's dying to self and living for the other. They also signify the formation of an outpost of the Kingdom of God within the couple's home with the bride and groom as King and Queen.

The Common Cup

The bride and groom drink a cup of wine together after the reading the Epistle and Gospel. This reminds them that from now on they will share everything in life; carrying each others burdens and rejoicing together. Every joy will be doubled and every sorrow will be halved.

The Dance of Isaiah

In their first act as husband and wife, the couple follows the priest around the marital altar. The altar holds the Gospel and the Cross: the Word of God and the symbol of our redemption by Christ. This symbolizes that the couple's life orbits around Christ.

If you watch the whole wedding service waiting to find out which version of the vows we'll use, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The Orthodox wedding service doesn't include vows because marriage is not seen as a contractual agreement between the couple. Rather the wedding service is the time when the bride and groom stand before God and he unites them into one mind and body.