O Lord, crown them with glory and honor!
You have set upon their heads crowns of precious stones; they asked life of You, and You gave it to them.
O Holy Martyrs, who fought the good fight and have received your crowns: Entreat the Lord that he will have mercy on our souls.
(Texts from the Service of Holy Matrimony)
The wedding service of the Orthodox Church realizes that marriage if it is to be fully Christian is a form of martyrdom. It requires each spouse to submit their will and desires to the other and for the good of the other. It is not about personal satisfaction, but about creating love in self-denial – forming a community modeling perfect love, like the Holy Trinity. Because each spouse must deny themselves and take up their cross to love as the Lord loves them, in the service of holy matrimony, the newly weds are reminded to be martyrs. So there are several references to the martyrs in the texts and symbolism of the service, including the use of crowns for the bride and groom. We catch the sense of the texts from the wedding ceremony listed above in this post in a comment about the Martyrs of Lyons.
Because of the sincerity of their [the martyrs’] love, this became the greatest of the battles against the Adversary. The Beast had to be throttled to be forced to disgorge alive those who had been devoured. They did not boast over the ones who had fallen. On the contrary, of their riches they gave to those in need and with motherly tenderness went and pleaded with the Father on their behalf.
They asked for life, and he gave it to them, and they shared it with their neighbor when they went forth to God in complete triumph. Having always loved peace and always commended peace, in peace they departed to God. They left no distress for their Mother no division or conflict in the family of the faith, but rather joy, peace, harmony, and love. (The Martyrs of Lyons, Early Christian Spirituality, p. 50, emphases not in original text)
Christian Martyrdom and Christian Marriage both are based in believers seeking life- eternal life! – from God. All those who serve the Lord whether in marriage, as clergy or in martyrdom ask God to bestow life on them, even as they deny themselves to follow Him.
(Psalms 21:3-14)
For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
He asked you for life; you gave it to him—
length of days forever and ever.
Fraternized 