Wedding Reception

St George Greek Orthodox Church

Ceremony

Banquets At St George

Appetizers & Cocktails

Reception, Dinner, & Dancing

Our Wedding

Demetri and I met in November of 2021 at Ball State University. We both majored in exercise science and had a lot of the same classes. Demetri and I started having study dates to close out our first sophomore semester.

How We Met

Demetri and I remained in touch and happened to have more classes together the following semester. This turned into more study dates, tailgates, and we became best friends.

Becoming Friends

The more our friendship grew, it became inevitable that we had deeper feelings for one another. As the end of the semester was nearing and summer break approaching, Demetri and I didn't want our relationship to end. On April 7, 2022, Demetri took me out on a dinner date to Red Lobster and asked me to officially be his girlfriend.

Officially Dating

Demetri met my family at our Easter celebration a couple weeks later. I met Demetri's family after our school semester ended in May. This was a huge milestone for our relationship as we both cherish our families deeply.

Meeting the Families

We went to Pensacola Beach, Florida with Demetri's family in July of 2022. We made so many amazing memories and it brought us even closer.

First Vacation Together

In July of 2023, Demetri and I took a trip with his family to their home in Greece to explore their beautiful village. This was my first time out of the country. It was an unforgettable experience.

Our Greece Trip

In March of 2024, Demetri tagged along on his first Prickel family vacation. We went to Red River Gorge and enjoyed a long weekend of hiking and relaxing.

Red River Gorge Trip

Demetri and I graduated together that May and got to celebrate with both of our families.

Graduation

We traveled to Clearwater Beach, Florida with Demetri's family in July of 2024. Our first morning, Demetri and I took a walk to the pier near our resort. Once we reached the end, Demetri got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. It was the best moment of my life. We spent the rest of the week celebrating and living in complete bliss.

Our Engagement

Our Story

Photos

Lydia Rauch

Demetri's Groomsmen

Elijah Rauch

Isaiah Rauch

Austin Prickel

Drew Prickel

Alex Karahalios

Yianni Kostouros

Matthew Moore

Owen Potucek

Caleb Zuver

Ryan Sierocki

Macy's Bridesmaids

Anastasia Koroulakis

Molly Weiler

Lauren Prickel

Anastasia Karahalios

Alexia Rauch

Andreana Moore

Abigail Westerfeld

Eliza Eisenmann

Allison Storms

Additional Key People

Rev. Father Theofanis Rauch

Rev. Father Demetri Kounavis

Rev. Father Constantine Aliferakis

Dionysios Koroulakis

Panagiotis Kostouros

Anastasios Tsiganos

Eric Ross

Kyle Kramer

Fanourios Rauch

Theodore Rauch

Hudson Shields

Eleni Koroulakis

Hazel Shields

Emma Jewell

Wedding Party

Q + A

hotel block will be reserved until May 20th

Hampton Inn & Suites Schererville

Comfort Inn

Holiday Inn Express & Suites Schererville

Staybridge Suites Schererville, an IHG Hotel

Best Western Crossroads Inn

Travel

Some of our favorite breakfast restaurants:- Omelette House Restaurant- AVGO Breakfast and Lunch- Honey Bee Pancake House- Sophia's Famous Pancakes Some of our favorite lunch/dinner restaurants:- Harry O's (Pappou Jimmy's family restaurant)- Tomato Bar- Longhorn Steakhouse- Lighthouse Restaurant

The Shrine of Christ's Passion

Up Your Alley

Sky Zone Schererville

Zig-E's Funland

Things to Do

Registry

Orthodox Wedding Overview

Background

The Orthodox sacrament of marriage is unique in many ways, but primarily in that the ceremony has remained almost entirely unchanged since its origination centuries ago. Another notable aspect of the Orthodox marriage is that the bride and groom do not exchange vows; instead, it is their presence before Christ through the priest and the congregation that signifies their wish to be joined and to accept the Lord into their new home. Finally, in the Orthodox tradition, the wedding ceremony is actually two services in one. The first, which is the briefer of the two, is the Service of Betrothal, during which the rings are exchanged. The second, the Service of Crowning, is longer and includes many prayers offered for the couple, the crowning of the bride and groom in marriage, sharing of the common cup, and the celebrational procession around the table. The wedding begins as the white candles are handed to the bride and groom. These candles symbolize their spiritual willingness to receive Christ.

The Service of Betrothal

During this first service, the priest offers petitions of prayer on behalf of Macy and Demetri. He then asks God’s blessings upon the rings and proceeds to bless the bride and groom with the rings. Performed three times in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the priest will start first from the groom to the bride, and then from the bride to the groom. The weaving motion between bride and groom represents their lives being entwined into one. The priest then places the wedding rings on the ring fingers of the right hands of both the bride and groom (the right hand holds special connotations in the Orthodox faith, which is why it is used during the wedding ceremony). Then the sponsor/koumbara (Lydia Rauch) exchanges the rings on the bride and groom three times further emphasizing the union of their lives. The service closes with a final prayer, which seals the placement of rings and emphasizes that the marriage was enacted by God Himself.

The Service of Crowning

The Joining of Hands

The Service of Crowning begins with the invocation of the Holy Trinity. After petitions are offered on behalf of the bride and groom, three prayers are read which ascribe to God the institution of marriage and the preservation of His people through the ages. During this prayer, the priest joins the right hands of the bride and groom to symbolize the union of the couple through the lord. Since God is the true Celebrant of every sacrament, the priest always expresses himself in the third person. He is simply God’s instrument in the service.

The Crowning

This is the focal point of the marriage ceremony. The crowns are signs of the glory and honor with which God crowns them during the sacrament. The wedding crowns (stefana) are joined by a ribbon which again symbolizes the unity of the couple and the presence of Christ who blesses and joins the couple. Christ establishes them as the King and Queen of their home, which they will rule with wisdom, justice and integrity. The priest takes the two crowns and blesses Macy and Demetri, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit and then places the crowns on them. The sponsor then steps behind Bride and Groom and interchanges the crowns three times as a witness to the sealing of the union.The crowns used in the Orthodox wedding ceremony also refer to the crowns of Martyrdom, since every true marriage involves immeasurable self-sacrifice on both sides.

Readings from the Scriptures

The crowns now uniting them in marriage, Macy and Demetri will listen to Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians about the mystery and holiness of Christian marriage and the duties and responsibilities of husband and wife to each other. The Gospel of Saint John (2:1-12) is then read wherein John describes the marriage at Cana of Galilee, the occasion where Christ performed His first miracle.

The Common Cup

Macy and Demetri now drink three times each from the “common cup”. This common cup is not only in remembrance of Christ’s first miracle performed at a wedding, but is also a common cup of life denoting the mutual sharing of joy and sorrow, the token of a life of harmony. The drinking of wine from the common cup serves to impress upon the couple that from that moment on they will share everything in life - joys, as well as sorrows, and that they are to “bear one another’s burdens.” Their joys will be doubled and their sorrows halved because they will be shared.

The Ceremonial Walk/Dance of Isaiah

&nbsp;The priest then leads 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, the other being the symbol of our redemption by Christ. Macy and Demetri 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. This is symbolized by walking around the table, at the center of 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. Their koumbara joins them, representing her support for the couple in their married life.During this ceremonial walk around the table three significant hymns are sung. The first speaks of the indescribable joy that Isaiah the Prophet experienced when he envisioned the coming of the Messiah upon the earth. The second reminds us of the martyrs of the Faith, who received their crowns of glory from God through the sacrifice of their lives. The third is an exaltation to the Holy Trinity.

The Blessing