Our family crest was created for our marriage—not as a claim to nobility or inherited rank, but as a visible expression of the faith, histories, and hopes we are bringing together in one household. We wanted something more enduring than a wedding monogram: an emblem that could begin with our marriage and, God willing, be carried forward through the life of our family.

Like all traditional heraldry, every part of the design has meaning.

The three golden stars recall Alec’s Tennessee heritage,  while also representing the light of Christ, truth, and divine guidance. Beneath them, the oak branch and acorns honor Saint Boniface and our shared German heritage. The oak has long symbolized strength, faithfulness, endurance, and deep roots. The acorns represent growth through small beginnings: gradual achievement, patience, and the hope of long-term stability.

The crown recalls the crowns placed upon the bride and groom in the Orthodox Mystery of Marriage. These are crowns of glory, but also crowns of martyrdom, reminding us that Christian marriage is a life of mutual self-offering. It also honors the saints crowned in glory, particularly the Holy Martyr Varus.

The pelican in her piety, feeding her young with her own blood, is an ancient Christian image of self-sacrificial love and of Christ giving Himself to us in the Eucharist. For us, it also calls to mind Saint Porphyrios, whose teaching in Wounded by Love has had a profound influence on our relationship and on the way we came to understand love in Christ.

The waves represent both the waters of baptism, through which we were united to Christ, and the waters upon which we first met. They join the spiritual beginning of our lives with the earthly beginning of our life together.

The colors also speak. Azure (blue) represents fidelity. Argent (silver or white), represents truth and purity. Together, blue and white recall Alec’s Scottish heritage. Or (gold), represents generosity, nobility of spirit, and the glory of God. The combination of blue and gold also echoes the arms associated with Saint Edward the Confessor, a distant ancestral connection.

Throughout the design, the number three appears repeatedly: three principal sections, three stars, three acorns, three points upon the crown, three waves, three chicks, and three drops of blood. Each repetition directs the crest back to the Holy Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—under whose protection we hope to establish our home.

It is an unusual thing to create in the modern world, but that is partly why we chose to make it. The crest is not merely decorative, nor is it intended as a claim about what our family already is. It is a reminder of what we pray our family may become: faithful, truthful, generous, deeply rooted, and willing to love sacrificially in Christ.