I have been keeping you updated with all the weddings I attended this year, and here is one more, and it might not even be the last once for this year, since I just received a “save a date” for a December wedding.

This wedding was a traditional Ukrainian wedding as you have already learned about his culture, in my previous posts.

There was a beautiful Greeting Table display, with the Greeting Bread, the Korovai, Holy Icon, and wine.

Close up view of the Greeting Bread with a glass container filled with salt.

The Korovai was beautifully decorated with numerous love birds, periwinkle, native flowers and wheat stalks.

Very elegantly displayed wedding cake, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, the Bride’s  “throw away bouquet”, and a special knife set for the bride and groom to use during the cake cutting ceremony.

Close up view of the Wedding Cake.

Everyone was  entertained by a  great Ukrainian Band “Hrim” (meaning -Thunder), which energized the whole crowd, young and not so young….drawing everyone to the dance floor.  They also played the traditional Kolomyka music, so all the talented dancers had a chance to join in and to show off their special steps.

The Bride and Groom incorporated all the Ukrainian wedding traditions into their event, with an additional flair for the finally.

The Bride has been a long time member of a Ukrainian American Youth Organization, thus incorporated a traditional “Farewell, Good Night” song and dance to close the wedding reception celebration.  The Bride and Groom were seated in the middle of the dance floor, held lit candles, all the guests held hands and formed a large circle around them, and they all sang a special “Good Night” song.  It was a very beautiful way to end the wedding celebration, and to say good night to everyone.

Another very special and sentimental part of this wedding was the decision the Bride and Groom made about wedding favors for their family and friends.

In lieu of favors, they made a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,

in loving memory of the Bride’s brother, who fought a courageous battle with that disease, for as long as he could.

The Bride and Groom shared their decision in a form of a very elegantly prepared thank you card placed by each guest’s place setting.

This was a very loving decision on their part, to include the memory of their brother in their celebration, as well as making everyone feel very special, by taking part in the contribution to a very worthy cause.