After your first week in Ireland, you'll be tempted to sell your plane ticket home in favor of a job at a quaint bed and breakfast in County Wicklow. After your second week, your fantasy will include an Irish groom and two adorable children with lilting brogues and an affinity for step dancing. Alas, the real world will most likely summon you back to the United States all too soon, and you'll find yourself with a photo album filled with the greenest images you'll ever see.
For brides and grooms of Irish descent, the call of the Emerald Isle can be strong, and many choose to honor their unique heritage by incorporating Irish traditions into the wedding scheme. If you would like to bring an Irish flavor to your wedding day, get ready, because you have a wealth of ideas and elements to choose from. Here are just a few:
The Colors of Ireland
We know what you're thinking. Your options extend to green, green, and possibly green. Well, not quite. While green is certainly a color with strong Irish connotations, you might be interested to know that an Irish bride of the past would have shied away from that color on her special day. Green was thought to attract the attention of the fairy folk who might become fascinated by the bride and cause her mischief. Rather, the traditional color for weddings was blue, which symbolized purity. Further, in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, Ireland's national flag featured a golden harp set against a blue background. For still more inspiration, you might consider researching your family crest and incorporating its colors into your wedding palette.
Invitations
Your wedding invitations provide an early opportunity to let your guests know that your celebration will have a distinctly Irish feel. Stationers generally have a few Celtic designs available, many of which are taken from 'The Book of Kells,' an illuminated manuscript dating back to approximately 800 A.D., now on display at Trinity College in Dublin.
For an elegant touch, think about incorporating the Irish language (a version of Gaelic) into the invitation, perhaps by including a quote or line of poetry translated into both Irish and English.
Wearing The Past
There are a number of Irish jewelry designs that can be easily incorporated into your wedding style. One of the most classic is the Claddagh ring. Popular as an engagement or wedding ring, the Claddagh features two hands holding a crowned heart. According to tradition, an unattached woman should wear the crown pointing inward, while one whose heart is taken wears the crown pointing outward. Even if you prefer a more traditional wedding and engagement ring set, you might consider wearing a Claddagh pendant or earrings on your wedding day. Just remember, if you choose to wear a Claddagh ring, keep that crown pointing out!
Another traditional piece of Irish jewelry is the Tara Brooch, created during the Bronze Age. Legend has it, the high kings of Ireland wore this brooch design. If you are planning a winter wedding, consider a white cloak over your gown, fastened with a replica of the Tara Brooch.
The Ceremony
Depending upon the type of wedding you have planned, there are a number of ways to incorporate your Irish heritage into the ceremony. Irish brides often carry a porcelain horseshoe into the ceremony as a symbol of good luck. If the prospect of carrying a horseshoe seems too cumbersome, perhaps you can assign the task to your flower girl. After the ceremony, you should hang the horseshoe above your front door, with the ends facing up, to continue your good fortune.
If you have the option of selecting music, "The Irish Wedding Song" by Ian Betteridge and "She Moved Through The Fair," with words by Padraic Colum. Both are very popular with Irish brides, although you should keep in mind that the prospective bride in "She Moved Through The Fair" is, in fact, a ghost! You might also consider hiring a piper to play the Uilleann pipes (similar to bagpipes) as the wedding party leaves the ceremony location.
The Reception
In days gone by, an Irish couple would likely have married in the bride's parents' barn, and family pride would have compelled the clan to keep both food and drink plentiful. Few things inspired more ridicule than stinginess on a wedding day. To capture this merry atmosphere, consider selecting a rustic location for your reception, and incorporating traditional Irish fare into your menu. Some foods that fit well in an Irish wedding feast include:
- Irish Soda Bread
- Salmon
- Lamb
- Prawns (Shrimp)
- Colcannon (a mashed potato and cabbage mixture)
Traditionally, an Irish wedding cake is a three-layer, whiskey-laced fruitcake with almond paste spread on each layer. The top layer was preserved for consumption at the christening of the couple's first child. If the idea of a wedding fruitcake seems too extreme, consider serving it as the groom's cake. You should make arrangements with your baker early though. Depending on the recipe, an Irish wedding cake may need to sit for several months before it is ready to be eaten.
The Honeymoon
No wedding tradition is quite so steeped in Irish history as the honeymoon. The very word 'honeymoon' has its origins in the Irish 'mi na meala' or 'month of honey' which referred to the first lunar month after the wedding. Friends and family often presented the wedding couple with enough mead (honey wine) to last through this first month, along with special goblets to toast each other. Consider filling your wedding day toasting flutes with Bunratty Mead for a one-month anniversary toast. You can honor your ancestors and possibly start an anniversary tradition of your own. And of course, what better way to embrace your Irish heritage than to honeymoon in Ireland!
The history of Ireland is long, colorful, and full of traditions that influence everything from wedding date selection to the couple's route home after the ceremony. A bride seeking to add Irish flavor to her wedding can easily spend many enjoyable hours unearthing inspiration for her special day. Incidentally, an Irish bride of the distant past would have been advised to marry on a Wednesday in November, to bring good fortune to her marriage. While that's one tradition you may wish to leave in the past, there are many others to choose from as you plan the wedding of your dreams. With a little imagination and a lot of Irish humor, you'll be able to plan a celebration that is uniquely Irish and uniquely yours.
See More: Ceremony Ideas , Decor , Planning , Traditions