Special Celtic Wedding Story

Holding Hands at WeddingSometimes having the Celtic wedding of your dreams is just that-a dream. You may not have a fiancé who agrees with wanting to have a Celtic ceremony, or perhaps you don’t have the money and resources to make it happen. Some couples are lucky enough to make their Celtic dream wedding happen, so whether you are living vicariously through them or wanting to get inspiration for your own Celtic wedding, read on to enjoy this couple’s story of their Celtic wedding.

Richie & Michelle’s Emerald Isle Gala

Although this couple met in Scottsdale, Arizona, after they got engaged they busily set out to plan their dream wedding in Ireland. After all, Michelle is Irish and wanted to celebrate in the most traditional way possible surrounded by her family and friends.

A few days before the wedding, Michelle and Richie had a mutual hen/stag party at Dublin’s famous bar, the Temple bar. The wedding ceremony was held in a church that Michelle and her family had attended during Michelle’s childhood, and they picked a priest who would help them in performing a traditional Celtic handfasting ceremony.

The couple exchanged handcrafted Celtic wedding rings during the ceremony, and the couple had asked their wedding party to dress in shades of green. After purchasing her wedding gown, Michelle had a tailor sew a small horseshoe pendant inside of her dress for good luck, as Irish tradition dictates. An Irish fiddler played the bride’s march as she walked down the aisle.

The wedding ceremony was a big, fancy celebration, held under tents and lights in Phoenix Park, one of Europe’s largest enclosed urban parks. While the couple did have a mix of contemporary music playing, they also made sure that their DJ mixed in a lot of more traditional Irish sounds as well.

As a surprise to his new bride, Richie and his groomsmen got up in front of the guests and serenaded Michelle with the “Irish Wedding Song.” The couple served a traditional Irish dinner (including corned beef and cabbage, colcannon and baked stuffed herring) and had a beautiful Irish wedding cake for dessert. The tables were decorated with tiny shamrocks, and the members of the wedding party received beautiful Celtic cross pendants as thank you gifts for their support and help.