Wedding traditions explained
At Ballyscullion Park we have seen many of the usual types of wedding traditions such as cutting the cake and the first dance. But what do they actually mean and why couples do them?
Cutting the cake is symbolic as it signifies the first thing the couple do together as married. It was then commonplace to keep the fruitcake tier of the cake to eat on the couple’s first anniversary or at the christening of their first child.
Confetti throwing has been dated back to the Roman times, although in those days they would throw rice at the newly married couple. Nowadays the much gentler option of paper or petal confetti is thrown and this ritual makes for the most fantastic photos. At Ballyscullion Park we welcome confetti but only in petal form as it is biodegradable and less messy. There are lots of gorgeous examples on Etsy.
Breaking tradition, setting new ones
We hosted a wedding in October of 2020 which had some lovely traditions that we hadn’t previously had at Ballyscullion Park. Firstly the couple drank from the same cup during the ceremony, this is called a Loving Cup Ceremony and it is a symbolic ritual for the couple to toast their new life together. The Loving Cup represents the cup of life, filled with the future possibilities of the happy couple.
The couple then performed a hand fasting ceremony which is where the expression “tieing the knot” comes from. This is an ancient Celtic tradition dating back to medieval times and is a really beautiful ritual to incorporate into your service. The tieing of the knot literally binds couples together in matrimony by tying knots of cloth around their hands. And so two become one.
Find out more...
Have a read of this brilliant Hitched article that tells you about more of the classic wedding traditions as well as some very bizarre rituals experienced at weddings around the world.
