Irish Wedding Planning, Wedding Traditions in Ireland

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Irish Wedding Traditions

The Claddagh ring, a heart held by two hands with a crown is the Irish bride's wedding ring . The hands reflect faith, the crown honor and the heart love. If the hands are worn pointing out the woman is single, but if the hands are facing out, the woman is wed.

Old Irish tradition call for the bride and groom to walk together to the church and exchange their wedding vows. Interestingly, as they walk down the street to the chapel, onlookers not only throw rice to bless the marriage, but larger items as well, such as pots and pans.

The traditional Irish bride might wear a blue wedding dress on her wedding day, believing blue to be a lucky color. English lavender decorates her wedding flowers. It is traditional for the bride to braid her hair, as this is considered a sacred way to keep feminine power and luck.

And of course, St. Patrick's Day is considered one of the luckiest wedding anniversary dates in Ireland.

The honeymoon, mi na meala (the month of honey) in Gaelic. It was an Irish custom for the newlyweds to spend a month together drinking honeyed wine, secluded, in case their families tried to separate them. Especially if they had eloped

The Claddagh wedding tradition originates from the tale about a man in ancient Galway .He was soon to become wed and was taken prisoner by roving sailors and forced into labor in a foreign land. During that time he taught himself the art of jewelry-making Upon his return to his homeland he found his maiden had never married, and in his happiness, he fashioned the now famous Claddagh wedding band. The rings depicts a heart, held by two hands with a crown over it.Many "lassies" now wear the Claddagh ring, but only those that are wed wear it with the hands facing in. There are many dances at an Iris wedding, but one of the more notable is the "janting char" where the groom is carried in a chair to present him to the guests.

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