Even More Celtic Wedding Traditions!

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It looks like I haven't exhausted the list of Celtic wedding traditions on this blog, yet. Here are a few more by guest blogger Kim Wellington. Enjoy!

More Celtic Wedding Traditions

Celtic wedding traditions have a long and rich history as old as Ireland itself. Traditions for the ceremony and other wedding customs are steeped in symbolism and are meant to portend a long and happy marriage.

If you want to explore your Irish heritage in your wedding, or you just enjoy the culture and want to adapt some of its customs, here are some of the top Celtic wedding traditions that you could consider incorporating into your own celebration:

Locking the Door

Grooms are known for getting cold feet. To prevent the groom from letting his nerves get the best of him, friends and family would lock the door of the church to prevent him from running out. We're thinking that if you have to lock the door to keep the groom inside, the wedding might be facing bigger problems.

Irish Wedding Toast

There is a special toast that is shared at many traditional Irish weddings. It requires that all the guests gather around the married couple, and then the couple says "Friends and relatives, so fond and dear, 'tis our greatest pleasure to have you here. When many years this day has passed, fondest memories will always last. So we drink a cup of Irish mead and ask god's blessing in your hour of need."

The guests would then respond "On this special day, our wish to you, the goodness of the old, the best of the new. God bless you both who drink this mead; may it always fill your every need."

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The Month of Honey

The first month after the wedding is known as "the month of honey," and it is celebrated by drinking mead (or wine in the modern day). The couples are given enough of the honey drink to enjoy until the first new moon after their wedding, coining the term "honeymoon." The practice was meant to get the marriage off to a good start and to promote virility and fertility.

There are many more superstitions and traditions in Celtic weddings. These are some of the most often celebrated, and some of these have made their way into mainstream culture (or remnants of these traditions have). 

Did you include any of these Celtic traditions into your wedding ceremony? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Kim Willington is a freelance researcher for Helpdesksoftware.org, where she has recently been researching ticketing software. In her spare time, she enjoys antiquing and taking long walks with her retriever, Spencer.

Did you include any of these Celtic traditions for your wedding? What traditions did you use? Share your  thoughts in the comments below!

You'll find my own personal favorite wedding traditions, along with Celtic toasts, poems, and lore in the book that accompanies my CD "Haste to the Wedding" (but this book only accompanies the physical CD--the info isn't contained in downloads). Buy this CD at my website, on amazon.com, and CDBaby.com.

Just in Time for St. Patrick's Day--Irish Wedding Superstitions

From "The Traditional Irish Wedding", an excellent book all about Irish Weddings by Bridget Haggerty, here are a few superstitions that portend good luck for the marriage:

• A fine day means good luck, especially if the sun shone on the bride
• A man should always be the first to wish joy to the bride, never a woman
• To hear a cuckoo or to see three magpies on the wedding morning was lucky
• The wedding party should always take the longest road home from the church
• It was said to be lucky if you married during a "growing moon and a flowing tide"
• When leaving the church, someone must throw an old shoe over the bride's head so she will have good luck
• If the bride's mother-in-law breaks a piece of wedding cake on the bride's head as she enters the house after the ceremony, they will be friends for life.

And as for selecting the day of the week for the wedding:

Monday for health,

Tuesday for wealth,

Wednesday the best day of all,

Thursday for losses,

Friday for crosses and

Saturday no day at all.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Interesting Irish Wedding Traditions

The first several months of the year, many brides are making plans for their upcoming weddings in the summer months. If you are planning an Irish wedding, here are a few traditions you might like to include, courtesy of my friend, Reverend David Beronio. You’ll find more traditions at his website.

In the early 1900's, an Irish couple would walk to church together on their Wedding Day. If the people of their parish approved their union they would throw rice, pots, pans, brushes and other household items at the couple as they approached their church. Today, "hen parties" (Bridal Showers) have replaced this practice. 

Some Irish people wear a "claddagh" ring for a wedding ring. A master goldsmith, Richard Joyce, created this ring 400 years ago in a fishing village called Claddagh, which  overlooks Galway Bay. The claddagh symbolizes love, loyalty, and friendship. On the right hand, with the heart facing inward, it means the wearer's heart is unoccupied. Facing outwards reveals love is being considered. When worn on the left hand facing outward, it signifies that the wearer is seriously committed or married. 

At some Irish wedding receptions, the Groom is lifted in a chair ("jaunting car") to celebrate that he is a married man. For good luck, the newlyweds are given a horseshoe to display in their home in the upward position. A traditional Irish wedding cake is a fruitcake covered with icing. Traditional Irish toasts, in addition to remarks from the Best Man, are very popular.

Irish Marriage Blessing

May God be with you and bless you;

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings,

May you know nothing but happiness.

From this day forward.

Have your own Irish wedding traditions to add? You are welcome to comment....Next time: Scottish wedding traditions.