What are benefits of a Greek marriage on a college campus? | The Odyssey Online
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6 Reasons Every College Should Have Greek Marriages

A different kind of marrying your best friend.

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6 Reasons Every College Should Have Greek Marriages
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A frat wedding is a special event where two fraternities/sororities come together to host a faux wedding for their chosen couple. To ensure a successful ceremony, each house should have an officiant, bridesmaids and groomsmen, and the couple should exchange vows. The celebration of the frat wedding is an excellent opportunity to make lasting memories and have an enjoyable event.

At Central Methodist University, we do this crazy thing called Greek marriages. Basically, the fraternity guys pick a sorority girl and asks her to be his Greek wife in front of all his brothers and her sisters. Often times, they get pretty creative about it, using a ring pop, beer cap, mini-donut or Lifesaver gummy as a ring. My Greek husband proposed with Bruno Mars’ “Marry You” playing in the background. It’s cheesy and a little ridiculous, but it’s fun! And more than that, it created some of the best friendships I have in college. I didn’t realize until later that Greek marriages aren’t a thing at most universities and colleges. But it should be, and here are six reasons why.

1. It feels good to be picked.

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Yes, we realize it is not “real.” It doesn’t mean love or anything (actually, it's kind of an unspoken rule you don't Greek marry someone you're into or dating), but it still gives you a giddy feeling to know that someone chose you out of every person on your campus to be Greek married to. That you’re someone they can stick with, no matter what.


2. It creates connections between fraternities and sororities.

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On a small campus, most of us know each other anyway, but when everyone brings in new people, you have a connection to get to know even more people or get to know other people better. I’m close to a lot of the guys in my Greek husband’s fraternity because they’re my family too.


3. You have someone who's always there.

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Because the person you Greek marry is already a good friend, you know you can depend on them. They’ll listen to your rants and keep all your secrets. They’ll go out with you for drinks or be your sober ride home. They’ll be your shoulder to cry on and the person to tell you the truth even when you might not want to hear it. They’ll do just about anything for you and you would return the favor in a heartbeat.


4. Their Greek family is your family.

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When you get Greek married, you create a little family. When my Greek husband took a son last fall, I got a son too. And he became another person I could count on for anything. Then there are brothers and sisters. Your family gets to be so massive, you can barely keep track of it all. You end up with family in multiple sororities and fraternities. It just makes the whole Greek system that much more connected and close.


5. Back-up date for Greek events.

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If you’re without a date to formal or a dinner, your Greek husband or wife is usually a great choice. They’re a close friend who you can have tons of fun with, minus any weirdness. And because the Greek marriage thing is so common on our campus, boyfriends and girlfriend rarely ever get mad about the two of you being close. It might seem odd, but most of the time it works.


6. Marriages are lasting.

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Like I said, we know the marriage is not real, the relationship is not real, but the friendship absolutely is. I’ve seen Greek marriages here survive through friends breaking up, people graduating or transferring, organizations arguing. That person will always be your Greek husband or wife. It might not mean love in the conventional sense, but I promise it's something special.


What is a frat wedding?

Essentially, a fraternity guy picks a sorority girl and asks her to be his Greek wife in front of all his brothers and her sisters. Often there's some creativity mixed in, like using a ring pop, beer cap, or mini-donut as a ring. It might also be over-the-top with music involved.

What are benefits of a Greek marriage on a college campus?

There are plenty to benefits to a Greek marriage. It's fun. It unites fraternities and sororities. The family grows over time. It gives you a perfect backup option for dates. And while the relationship is not real, the friendship definitely is, and it tends to grow over time as a tremendous bond.

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