IrishShop Blog - IrishShop.com

Recent Posts

Tags

Summertime Irish Wedding Traditions

Irene Hislop
Irish Wedding Traditions
Irish Wedding Traditions
Irish Wedding Traditions with IrishShop. Now that we can see some light shining at the end of the pandemic tunnel, many couples are starting to focus on wedding planning. Public health authorities can advise about when it will be safe in various places, but that’s not the only concern. For those looking for some more light-hearted guidance about which summer months are best for a wedding, Irish folklore offers some advice in the form of a poem. Here’s what it says about summer weddings and Irish gifts for weddings.

See our Irish Wedding Gifts here 

Marry When June Roses Grow, Over Land and Sea You’ll Go

If you’re dreaming of a life of travel and adventure together, a June wedding can only boost the odds according to this Irish verse. The Irish have a history of traveling the world, as emigrants and as explorers.

They Who in July Do Wed, Must Labor Always for Their Bread

This isn’t the worst possibility. It suggests that work and bread will be available. And if you both love your careers, you could read it as saying you’ll always have work to do.

Whoever Wed in August Be, Many a Change Are Sure to See

Things won’t be boring for those who marry at the end of the summer, according to tradition. Embracing life’s changes together is at the heart of a marriage. We all grow and change over time, so it makes sense to acknowledge this when you wed.

See our Irish Wedding Rings here.

Lucky Irish Wedding Traditions

The route the bride takes to the wedding is very important in Irish tradition. Encountering a funeral procession is bad luck, but hearing a cuckoo call is very good luck. Magpies are another traditional Irish wedding omen, and it is important to count them. One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy, goes the rhyme. One of the most traditional Irish gifts for newlyweds is a small bell. Couples would keep this in the house and if they quarrel, they are supposed to ring it to remind themselves of the bells on their wedding day and the vows they took. Irish brides carry something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, but that’s not all for them. Traditionally, they also carried a lace handkerchief. This would be made into a baby bonnet for their children to wear at their baptisms. The Scottish tradition of the bride putting a penny in her left shoe was also popular in Ireland. It’s done to attract prosperity for the couple. The penny can be something borrowed, preferably from someone who is happily married and financially secure so their good luck rubs off on the bride. The fun thing about Irish wedding traditions is that every couple can take the ones they like and make them their own. A wedding is a chance to express yourselves. It can adhere tightly to a theme or mix and match – whichever the couple prefers. Irish gifts and wedding traditions can be part of making your wedding uniquely yours.

See our Irish Wedding Gifts here 

 
Back to blog