[JeremyIV]

I was just thinking - would I be able to carry flowers

Certainly - however, as has been noted, your hands will become very busy - thus you will need someone to hold your flowers for you at times (a maid of honor is good for this)

for us the priest came to the door of the church and took us from there. He lead the way up to the church (chanting a hymn for the Theotokos

Customarily, although it is not specified in the service book, the bride comes first to the door of the Church, where the betrothal takes place, and a hymn to the Mother of God is sung. The groom then joins her and a different hymn (I have a variety of things we have used) is sung. This is the point where the wedding icons play an important part. The bridal party is led by the icon of the Virgin. When the bride stops at the door, the person (usually a bridesmaid, but could be anyone) carrying the icon takes it to the front and sets it on a stand and returns to the bridal party. The groom's party is led by the icon of Christ is which similarly set on a stand at the front. These are often given to the couple by their parents together. In "olden days" these icons were often family heirlooms passed from father to son and mother to daughter. In modern times, they are often newly painted. Both of my children married spouses whose families are not Orthodox and so we gave them the icons solely as our own gift.

Thanks, it does. I suspect we'd not go for the icons since they're not part of my faith, though.

Not an option. They have an important place in the ceremony. See above.

Fr David Moser