Irish Wedding Traditions
St. Patrick’s Day – March 17th – is one of the luckiest days on which to be married. “Marry in May and Rue the Day” says one Irish proverb.
Before the wedding, the groom was invited for a traditional meal of stuffed goose at the bride’s house cooked a goose in his honor. After he’d accepted this invitation, he knew that “his goose was cooked!”
It is considered bad luck for a bride to put on her own veil – a happily married woman should do this for the bride. Many Irish brides, however, wear wreaths made with wildflowers such as lavender instead of veils. Braids symbolize good luck and fertility, so many Irish brides braid their hair and wear braided trim on clothes.
The bride should wear “something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, and an “Irish” penny for her shoe.” For luck, she often carried a real horseshoe, and a magic hanky, a handkerchief that could be turned into a christening bonnet for the first baby. In some families, the bride’s name was embroidered on the handkerchief, which was then passed through succeeding generations.
Since Irish men were known for getting cold feet on their wedding day, the guests would lock the church door once the bride and groom were inside to make sure that the groom through with the ceremony. After the ceremony, a man should always be the first to congratulate the bride — it’s bad luck if a woman gets there first.
The Wedding Party
The wedding party should always take the longest road home from the church, to encourage a long and prosperous life for the new couple. The wedding party was generally celebrated at the home of the bride. To make sure that the bride would not be spirited away by fairies, she never took both feet off the floor while dancing. Bells are a traditional gift because they are thought to keep away evil spirits, restore harmony if a couple is fighting, and also remind them of their wedding vows.
The top tier of the wedding cake should be an Irish whiskey cake which is saved for the christening of the couple’s first baby. Another custom is to 
save a bottle of champagne from the wedding party to use at the baby’s christening.
At the end of the wedding, everyone fills their glass with mead, and the couple toasts their guests: “Friends and relatives, so fond and dear, ’tis our greatest pleasure to have you here. When many years this day has passed, fondest memories will always last. So we drink a cup of Irish mead and ask God’s blessing in your hour of need.” The guests reply: “On this special day, our wish to you, the goodness of the old, the best of the new. God bless you both who drink this mead, may it always fill your every need.”
The Honeymoon
The word “honeymoon” comes from the Irish custom where the newlyweds would spend a full month away, drinking mead, a brew made with fermented honey. Tradition has it that this delicate yet potent drink gave the couple the best chance at a fertile beginning to their new marriage. If a baby was born nine months later, it was thanks to the mead!
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