Irish Wedding Traditions Fit Easily Into Any Wedding

All cultures have their superstitions and traditions. A common superstition comes from the Irish and involves horseshoes. Seen as lucky, horseshoes are often incorporated by a bride and groom having an Irish wedding. To do this brides will carry a hanky with upturned horseshoes embroidered on them or the grooms will wear horseshoes cufflinks.

Perhaps your ancestry is Irish or maybe you just love the romantic culture of the Irish and Celtic ways. If so, you can easily infuse your wedding day with Irish traditions. The use of traditional music is one way to bring Read the rest of Who Else Wants A Wedding With Irish Traditions »

Although there are practical reasons for carrying a hanky (to dab away the tears of happiness) on your wedding day, there are also traditional reasons. A common wedding tradition goes like this something old, something new etc – the something old is often the wedding handkerchief that has been handed down through the generations. In Belgium, the bride is given a family hanky with her name embroidered on it for her wedding day. After the wedding the bride places the handkerchief in a frame and displays it until the next female family member gets married; thus passing it on to the new bride. In many Irish weddings a special wedding hanky is carried. After the ceremony the bride adds a few stitches to the handkerchief turning it into a Christening bonnet – when the child weds it can be convert back into a hanky.

The Claddagh (pronounced clah-dah) ring is a piece of jewelry fashioned into two hands clasping a heart and on some you'll see a crown on top of the heart. Although the story behind this wedding ring and its history is filled with conjecture, the underlying sentiment of how this ring came to be remains the same.

The most repeated account is that of Richard Joyce, a master goldsmith, who was seized by pirates near the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, near the Galway Bay. Richard was forced into slavery using his goldsmith skills. After several years, King Richard III secured Joyce’s release and returned him to Galway and with him Read the rest of Claddagh Irish Wedding Ring Tradition »