Traditional Irish Wedding Attire
Traditional Irish weddings are all about the luck of the Irish and range from getting married on lucky days to tying old leather shoes to the back of the bridal car. Traditional Irish wedding attire plays a central role in creating this lucky atmosphere. While the Irish consider green a lucky color, the bride and groom must also attire themselves in a specific way. Additionally, everything from the wedding ring to the flowers must be a certain way to be part of the lucky attire.
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Bride's Attire
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Traditional Irish wedding attire for the bride is a combination of several things. According to World Wedding Traditions.com, the traditional Irish bride wore a blue wedding dress rather than white. This color was a symbol of purity in ancient times before white became the universal symbol for virginity. It is also a tradition for the bride to wear a green wedding cloak or sash. Traditional Irish wedding gowns use Irish lace, as well as embroidered Irish symbols such as the Celtic knot. The bride traditionally wears her hair in braids, as this means feminine power and luck, and mixes English lavender into the bridal bouquet because it means luck, love, loyalty and devotion. One final piece the bride includes in the traditional Irish wedding attire is a magic handkerchief. This symbolizes fertility and the bride incorporates it into the dress, carries it with the bouquet or carries it in her sleeve. Once the wedding is over, the bride makes the handkerchief into a christening bonnet for her first-born child.
Groom's Attire
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Kilts aren’t just for the Scottish. The groom in a traditional Irish wedding wears a kilt. In modern weddings, according to FavorIdeas.com, if the groom prefers not to wear a kilt, he can still add touches of traditional Irish wedding flare by wearing a green cummerbund, a green tie and cufflinks with traditional Irish symbols on them.
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Wedding Party Attire
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The wedding party attire in a traditional Irish wedding is very simple. The groomsmen wear kilts and the bridesmaids wear dresses adorned with Irish lace and Celtic symbols that match the style of the bride's dress. For example, if the bride wears a white dress with a green cloak or sash, the bridesmaids might wear a green dress.
Wedding Guest Attire
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Guests at a traditional Irish wedding have no specific wedding attire. If the guests themselves are Irish, the men may prefer to wear kilts and the women may prefer to wear dresses with Irish lace and Celtic symbols embroidered into them.
Additional Considerations
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According to FavorIdeas.com, both the bride and the groom should wear old shoes to get married in, as it is lucky to be starting out a new life in something comforting and familiar. According to World Wedding Traditions.com, the bride’s traditional wedding ring is a Claddagh ring and symbolizes faith, honor and love. An unmarried woman who is not engaged wears the ring on her right hand with the heart facing outward toward the end of her finger. When engaged, she wears it on her right hand with the heart facing her knuckles. During the wedding ceremony, she moves it to her left hand with the heart facing her knuckles to symbolize that she is married.
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References
- Photo Credit handkerchiefs image by Maria Brzostowska from Fotolia.com
