Jennifer & Steve | Casa Feliz | Winter Park Wedding

OPA – a Greek Word that may be used as an ‘Exclamation’, or ‘Utterance’, or ‘Declaration’, or ‘Affirmation’ or a lovingly gentle way of telling you to ‘Stop’ … depending on the situational context. It is a word or pronouncement of celebration; the celebration of life itself. I have seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but I can honestly say that I knew nothing about the rich traditions that would fill this celebration. From the ornate and beautifully decorated church to the bilingual ceremony that culminated in crowns being placed on the heads of the bride and groom by the Maid of Honor, to the Brides uncle playing a traditional Greek song on his Bouzouki, yes, this was an experience that no movie could have done justice. Of course, this experience would have been nothing if the people involved weren’t some of the most amazing people that you could hope to meet. Jennifer, who showed that even if the rain was falling, could still throw the party of her life, and Steve, who was as quick with a smile and nice words as anyone you could ever meet.

These two made us feel welcome, and these two made us feel like we were family, and these two made our first Greek wedding… AWESOME.

Here’s to Jennifer and Steve, OPA!!!

XO ~Amalie and Jeff

How did you and Steve meet? Steve and I are actually from the same home town and went to the same high school. We both then went to UCF and didn’t meet until I was about to graduate. I was going to move back home and he was going to join the marines. Our friend set us up to meet (which is a hilarious story in itself) and shortly after that our plans changed .

How did Steve propose? He proposed in our home on a random Thursday night. He had got me flowers, dinner, wine, and he had made sweet banner 🙂

What were some personal touches you added to your wedding? I wanted it to be simple , classic, and a touch rustic with small details everywhere. Also, I want it to be fun and relaxed. Jennifer had monogramed scaves for each of her bridesmaids and wore a gorgeous veil for their ceremony that has been in my family since the 1940’s, love it.

What were some meaningful parts of your day? Exchanging of the crowns, this is a beautiful Greek Orthodox tradition. The wedding crowns (Stéfana) are the signs of glory and honor with which God crowns the Bride and Groom during the sacrament. The Bride and Groom are crowned as king and queen of their home, which they will rule with wisdom, justice, and integrity. The maid of honor, my sister Christina exchanges crowns worn on our heads to symbolize the unity.

Holy Trinity Greek orthodox church wedding Casa Feliz Winter Park wedding Casa Feliz Wedding Winter park
Orlando wedding photography 004 We had to come inside for our bridal party portraits because it was pouring outside but, that didn’t stop this awesome bridal party from having fun! Yay, and then the rain stopped, we had 8 minutes from the time it stopped raining until the sun went down so we hustled to get in some portraits of these two love birds. Orlando wedding photography 0018 Love this one below!Jennifer was smiling ALL day, love her.