Frequently Asked Questions

What are wedding crowns?
Simply put, wedding crowns (also known in Greek as Stefana, Stepahana, or Stephania) are actual crowns that the bride and groom wear for a certain portion of the Orthodox Wedding ceremony. These crowns are steeped in tradition and meaning. There are many wonderful websites that outline the sacrament of marriage in the Orthodox Church and the significance of the wedding crowns. Here is a list of these sites, as they have explained everything much better than I ever could.
http://www.uocc.ca/marriage.html
http://oca.org/QAindex-sacramentmarriage.asp?SID=3
http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7105.asp
http://www.antiochian.org/1285?keywords=marriage


Why should I buy a crown from OrthodoxWeddingCrowns.com?
While there are a handful of other places on the internet that sell Wedding Crowns, almost all of them are import crowns. These crowns imported mainly from Greece are lovely and of a good quality, but you can't customize them. Additionally, many of the same designs are repeated over and over. This is an area where I can really spread my wings and showcase some of my artistic uniqueness, while also providing 1st-class service, customization, and heirloom quality pieces to brides and grooms everywhere.


Will you be giving anything back to the Church?
At the end of the year, 10% of my profit will be donated back to the Orthodox Church. Being a member of the Antiochian Archdiocese, I could just make a donation back to my church, but I feel it would be most fair if I split this donation amongst all of the Orthodox dioceses, but then comes the confusion of do I donate to both the Greek Orthodox Church of America and of Canada? So, donations will be decided based upon who orders from me. If you're a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of America and order a pair of my crowns, then I will donate to your diocese. Same goes for all other dioceses.


What if I want a custom crown design?
I am more than happy to work with you to create a completely custom crown. See the Ordering page for additional details.


What forms of payment do you accept?
I accept credit card payments via PayPal (please direct payments to ann@orthodoxweddingcrowns.com), as well as personal checks and money order/cashier's checks. Payment must be received in full before I will ship the crowns. All personal check payments will be held for a week before shipment, to ensure the check has cleared.


How far in advance should I order my crowns?
When ordering a custom crown, you should order at least 2 months before the wedding date. The crowns don't usually take this long to complete, but I do often have to order in specific and/or custom materials. Delays in shipping and the design process are always possible as well, so you should give yourself plenty of time.


Can you match my wedding colors?
Some couples want their crowns to match their wedding colors. I am happy to work with you to achieve just the look you're going for. To do so, I will need fabric samples to help match up exact colors. A nice and inexpensive way to incorporate your wedding colors into your crowns is to simply have the connecting ribbon match your color, rather than the standard white satin ribbon.


What materials do you use?
I love experimenting will all different types of materials, and you will find a wide variety in the crowns on this site. Anything from satin to brocade, lace to pearls, rhinestones, crystals, porcelain, and metals. If you would like to provide your own materials for the crowns, (maybe you have some heirloom lace you would like to incorporate into your crowns...) I would be happy to work with you on that. An additional bonus of providing your own materials is that it will probably reduce the cost of your crowns, while providing you with a true heirloom piece.


What size are your crowns?
The standard crown size is 7" in diameter. Some of the crowns I make in a slight oval shape, which fits the head better than a circle. Your crown should rest on the edge of your head, but not be so large that it will slide down across your forehead and into your eyes while you're walking around the table. I can make most designs into any size you want (want the bride's crown to be smaller than the groom's? I can do that too).

The absolute easiest way to order a custom crown size is to do the following: Take a piece of string, wrap it around your head, measuring from the very top of your forehead around to the top of the crown of your head (see illustration below). Measure this piece of string and email me the length. I'll figure out the rest from there.

Wrap string around top portion of head as shown here