Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Traditionally in Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is considered the luckiest day of the year to be married so what better way to celebrate than with a beautiful Irish wedding shoot! :) Big thanks to the talented wedding artists in Ireland who made the journey to the South Coast of Ireland to turn their vision into a reality. Set in the wonderfully contrasting Irish landscape of the private Island of Inish Beg off the coast of Cork, this shoot incorporates many of Ireland’s charming wedding traditions while also taking inspiration from Ireland’s famed literary history – and of course not forgetting its iconic food and drinks culture.
Magic Hanky
This charming custom symbolizes fertility. Traditionally the bride incorporates it into her dress, carries it with the bouquet or carries it in her sleeve. Once the wedding is over, the bride uses the handkerchief to make a christening bonnet for her first-born child. For this shoot, they tied/wrapped the brides wildflower bouquet with an embroidered ‘magic’ hanky.
Blue Wedding Dress
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.
Handfasting
Handfasting is an ancient Ireland Celtic tradition, in which a man + woman came together at the start of their marriage relationship. Each partner holds the hands of the other, right hand to right hand, left hand to left, their wrists crossed. The ribbon is wound around the wrists over the top of one and under and around the other, creating the infinity symbol. The practice gave way to the expression “tying the knot”. So fun to learn what that phrase came from! :)
Wildflowers
Many Irish brides wore a wreath of wildflowers in their hair rather than an elaborate veil and carried bouquets of herbs and wildflowers to match.
Braided Hair
Irish brides often wore their hair in braids with ribbon and lace woven through the braids. Braided hair is an ancient Irish symbol of feminine power and luck.
Harp
From early times, Ireland is unique in having a musical instrument, the harp, as its national emblem. A harpist traditionally played during the wedding ceremony and at the wedding
banquet or celebrations.
Make-up bells
Giving a bell as a wedding gift is another Irish tradition. The chime of bells is said to keep evil spirits away and also remind the married couple of their wedding vows. A nice modern twist is to hand out tiny bells to your guests to ring as you ‘tie the knot’ or when you exit the church instead of throwing confetti.
Tomek Ciezki of Heavy Man Films captured the shoot in this lovely film. It will leave you dreaming of visiting Ireland soon! :)
Thanks so much to these Irish artists for sharing their talents + Irish traditions with us today!
photography: Shane O'Neil of Aspect Photography // venue name: Inish Beg Estate,, Baltimore, West Cork, Ireland // hair stylist: Audrey Cashman of Up Style Junkie // makeup artist: Kathryn O'Neill // groom attire: Geraghty's // paper goods: Farrell & Chase // models: Rebecca Howarth (Lockdown) and Eider Leite + Aisling Finnegan // concept: Fly Away Bride // production: Fly Away Bride // photographer's assistant: Simon Curran // cinematography: Tomek Ciezki of Heavy Man Films // art direction: Pearl of Pearl & Godiva // styling: Pearl of Pearl & Godiva // florist: Wild Floral Couture // cakes & desserts: The Cake Stand // doves: Dove Days // harp: Lindsay Moynagh // bride's attire: Dirty Fabulous // jewelry: Elsa & GoGo Boutique // cape: Elsa & GoGo Boutique // ribbons: A. Rubanesque // trimmings: A. Rubanesque
So magical! Everything is beautiful-the dresses, the cakes with all their cute little final touches!….And, I especially love the hair and ceremony site with harpist included!!!
So magical! Everything is beautiful-the dresses, the cakes with all their cute little final touches!….And, I especially love the hair and ceremony site with harpist included!!!
Love all the history and explanation behind the symbolism!!! Such a beautiful shoot! I always enjoy ur blog. It’s one of my favorites and this might be one of my favorite posts yet! Thank you!
Love all the history and explanation behind the symbolism!!! Such a beautiful shoot! I always enjoy ur blog. It’s one of my favorites and this might be one of my favorite posts yet! Thank you!
Love, Love, LOVE! Gorgeous, stunning, amazing. Every single bit of this shoot is absolutely crazy beautiful! The location is wow and everything about it absolutely perfect!
Love, Love, LOVE! Gorgeous, stunning, amazing. Every single bit of this shoot is absolutely crazy beautiful! The location is wow and everything about it absolutely perfect!
This is simply stunning styling! Tres Era Chic! {Bec} x
This is simply stunning styling! Tres Era Chic! {Bec} x
GORGEOUS photography! Everything about this is so lovely – I especially love the bright flowers, but all the details are fantastic. I also loved all the information/ history that made this shoot have so much backbone. Wonderful!
GORGEOUS photography! Everything about this is so lovely – I especially love the bright flowers, but all the details are fantastic. I also loved all the information/ history that made this shoot have so much backbone. Wonderful!
lovely pics, very nice bits of background info…
lovely pics, very nice bits of background info…
Amazing shoot!…Magic!…I love Ireland!
http://www.fotoestudio.es
Amazing shoot!…Magic!…I love Ireland!
http://www.fotoestudio.es
This really is so stunning! And it’s always lovely to hear the explanation behind so many traditions that are still used today. Thank you for the bit of spring that was very much needed!
This really is so stunning! And it’s always lovely to hear the explanation behind so many traditions that are still used today. Thank you for the bit of spring that was very much needed!
So Lovely! The soft color palette is so romantic.
So Lovely! The soft color palette is so romantic.
The combination of the colors in the bouquet are gorgeous! The different layers of the cake is very pretty!
The combination of the colors in the bouquet are gorgeous! The different layers of the cake is very pretty!
Thank you so much for the FAB feature of our shoot! It was so wonderful to work with so many talented Irish suppliers who made our vision come to life.
Pamela (Fly Away Bride)
Thank you so much for the FAB feature of our shoot! It was so wonderful to work with so many talented Irish suppliers who made our vision come to life.
Pamela (Fly Away Bride)
Such a beautiful wedding. I love the wedding cake. I got hungry looking at it! Love everything here.
Such a beautiful wedding. I love the wedding cake. I got hungry looking at it! Love everything here.
An Irish Wedding would be lovely! :)
An Irish Wedding would be lovely! :)
An Irish Wedding would be lovely!!! :)
An Irish Wedding would be lovely!!! :)
This is soo gorgeous! I love it.
This is soo gorgeous! I love it.
That cake topper is SO perfect! Any idea what kind of flowers those little bluebell looking ones are? GOSH I was born on the wrong continent.
That cake topper is SO perfect! Any idea what kind of flowers those little bluebell looking ones are? GOSH I was born on the wrong continent.
Hello lovely people –
a big *blush* thanks so much for all the lovely comments – @abby grace those little blue flowers are called ‘muscari’ or sometimes grape hyacinth’s – so pretty!
Pearl x ( shoot stylist )
Hello lovely people –
a big *blush* thanks so much for all the lovely comments – @abby grace those little blue flowers are called ‘muscari’ or sometimes grape hyacinth’s – so pretty!
Pearl x ( shoot stylist )
It’s kind of an extraordinary theme, but hey, it’s definitely lovely. Details are unique, plus the flowers are lovely. And the venue is oh so romantic!
Absolutely beautiful theme, love the flower combinations and the table toppers
That is the most beautiful bride. Just a stunning shoot in every way. Thanks for sharing.
The ethereal beauty of this shoot is amazing… it’s like a fairy story. I love this so much.
Madly love this post, I feel like I just learned so much. Learning about various wedding traditions is so much fun and very inspiring.
I am so, so inspired by this wedding! There are so many mythical details that I love here. Thanks for the loveliness!
Love the vintage theme, subtle but really unique, stunning pictures
Just beautiful! Those cakes are stunning and look delicious, and the whole shoot is gorgeous.
Such a beautiful wedding..I love the setting and the amazing flowers. Anyone with a hankering for more Irish wedding traditions should check out a really good light-hearted book on Irish wedding traditions called ‘Would you like to be buried with my people? Irish wedding traditions’ – apparently this used to be an olden day proposal!! (Here’s a link to it on Amazon…http://www.amazon.com/Would-You-Like-Buried-People/dp/1845885716/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1340144714&sr=8-2&keywords=would+you+like+to+be+buried+with+my+people
can you tell me if the theme tune is available to buy.
thank you
diane sampson
Breathtakingly beautiful!
Really don’t have any word to describe the beauty of this wedding. Everything is so amazing and awesome I wish I could present in this wedding but I enjoyed every shot taken.
This is absolutely perfection!
Beautiful photos. So dreamy!
LOVE LOVE LOVE her dress!
Wow those cakes look absolutely fab.
Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos and it was really interesting to learn more about Irish wedding traditions
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful post with us!!!
Personalised irish giftsare very exclusive,which shows the traditional way of their culture. It shows the beautiness of irish gifts.
What wildflowers are these? they are beautiful. I want them in my bouquet.