Irish lace wedding traditions

Many Irish wedding traditions are rooted in nature, originated in folklore and/or steeped in superstition. They’ve been passed down from one generation to another and are still practiced by Irish couples around the world and are now often embraced by others who love nature, or who want to incorporate ancient traditions in their wedding ceremony. One tradition not really linked to nature or superstition is Irish lace. This is a wedding tradition that dates back to the potato blight of Ireland and an act of kindness that helped the poor of Ireland.

History of Irish lace

Irish lace is a special Irish wedding tradition rooted in an act of kindness that took place at a time when many in Ireland were dying because of the potato blight of the 1800s. At the time, many poor families lived in tiny thatched cottages on land called crofts and they were so poor they had little money for necessities. In 1829 a school in Limerick was started to teach lace making; but when the potato blight hit (1845-1851) thousands of families starved. Ursuline nuns who were acquainted with Venetian lace started teaching women the fine art of crocheting what later became known as Irish lace. This lace was sold to more affluent families and the money was used to help the poor. Families created their own designs and motifs and passed the pattern on from mother to daughter. The details were kept so secret that some Irish lace patterns disappeared over time when families died out or fled the country to live elsewhere. Today, including Irish lace in the wedding in some way has become a popular tradition all its own. 

Four ways to include Irish lace in your wedding

• Wedding Handkerchief: The bride carrying a handkerchief is a tradition in itself which some historians say dates back to 1000 B.C. Irish lace wedding handkerchiefs make a beautiful keepsake for the bride and are often given as gifts to the bridal party as well as the parents of the bride and groom. In some families, the  wedding handkerchief is handed down from mother to daughter.
• Irish Wedding Garter: Irish wedding garters decorated with lace, shamrocks, Claddaugh charms and other popular Irish themes are another way to include Irish lace in your wedding tradition.
  

  

  Irish Wedding Garter with Claddaugh Charm

  
  
• Irish Lace Wedding Dress: Irish lace is still a popular choice for modern wedding dresses, too. Irish inspired wedding dresses can be found in vintage styles as well as modern patterns like mermaid wedding dresses, as well as maxi or short length wedding dresses.
• Irish Lace Streamers on Bridal Bouquet: Traditionally Irish brides carry a bridal bouquet of wildflowers or wear a wildflower wreath instead of a veil. Adding Irish lace streamers to the bouquet is a traditionally beautiful trend.

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Traditional wedding dresses of Indian brides

The Indian wedding tradition I’m most familiar with is the Mehndi Ceremony that takes place before the wedding. If you’ve seen the ornate henna tattoos worn by Indian brides, this is the ceremony in which they are applied. It's a fun celebration that takes place the night before the wedding and is celebrated by the bride’s side of the family. A professional mehndi artist or relative applies henna in intricate designs on the hands and feet of the bride as well as other women in the family. These designs signify joy, beauty, spiritual awakening, and offering. 

 

 

Indian brides traditionally wear red

The following day the Vivaah (marriage) takes place with much grandeur, grace, color, and plenty of traditions. Yes, color is common for Indian brides who traditionally wear red. Red symbolizes purity and is thought to be the most positive color among Hindus. Traditionally, brides wear a red lehenga or sari, but the exact style of dress often depends on where they come from regionally.

 

Bridal sari

The sari is widely thought to be a symbol of grace in cultures of the Indian subcontinent, and in South India, it is the preferred bridal dress. A sari (also saree or shari) is traditional Indian clothing that’s unisex in nature. It a drape typically wrapped around the waist with one end draped over the shoulder and leaving the midriff bare. Today women wear it over an underskirt with a fitted upper garment generally called a blouse ravike in South India. The blouse has short sleeves and is usually cropped baring the midriff.

 

Bridal Lehenga Choli

The bridal lehenga is an ornate two-piece outfit worn by most Indian brides. The skirt-like bottom is paired with a traditional fitted cropped blouse choli that’s often embroidered or at least dressy, worn with a long scarf dupatta or long stole. The whole outfit is known as the Bridal lehenga choli.

Today modern Indian brides who want to stand out choose to forego the traditional red and wear colors like green, blue, gold, tangerine, and coral.

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Before the white wedding dress

Today, the color of the wedding dress is based on what the bride thinks will make her happy, but most of the time, when you think of a bride in western culture, the white wedding dress, bridal veil, and the whole package that goes with them. However, if you look at the history of wedding gown color the white wedding gown is a newer tradition. In fact, buying a dress specifically for the wedding is a relatively new practice. For most of history, brides typically wore their best dress to the ceremony even if it was black. In fact, black and dark colors were popular because stains and imperfections were less noticeable and the dress could be worn again.

A blue wedding dress symbolized the bride's virginity.

 

Color of wedding dress meanings

Weddings of the Middle Ages and immediately following were often more a matter of politics than love, and so the bride wore a dress that made her family look good. Brides from wealthy families often wore bold colors in fabrics like velvet and silk and layered in furs. But when it came to lower-class everyday folk, colors of dresses held symbolic meanings which nixed some colors and made others more popular. But even in ancient times the meaning of colors was often debated.

• Blue wedding dress: In 1870, blue dresses made a popular choice because they were the color of heaven and represented purity, virtue and a connection to the Virgin Mary. Brides who wore blue thought their husbands would be true to them, and this is the reason many modern brides carry something blue on their wedding day. A blue wedding dress is still popular today and thought to be the color of water representing calmness and peacefulness. In modern tradition, blue signifies stability, security and lifelong loyalty.
• Red wedding dress: In Medieval times, red was reserved for nobility and the wealthy, and in Victorian times it was avoided because it was the color of "scarlet women" and hussies. However, it is the traditional color in the Eastern cultures of China, India, Pakistan, and Vietnam, and today, red wedding dresses are growing in popularity in the West and thought to symbolize positives like passion and being in love (think Valentine’s day).
• Pink wedding dress: Pink was thought to be the best color to wear for May weddings because it complemented most complexions. However, some thought it to be an unlucky color which can be seen in sayings of the time like, “Marry in pink and your fortunes will sink!”
• Green wedding dress: You would think that since green is the color of hope and new growth that it would be a top choice for a wedding dress, but it was actually one of the few colors that were avoided in the Middle Ages because it was considered unlucky. Why? Because it was the fairies’ color and you certainly didn’t want to draw their attention during a time of transition.
• Yellow wedding dress: Bright yellow wedding dresses were trendy back in the eighteenth century, but before then it was considered an “unholy” shade to wear in church and was associated with heathen and non-Christians.

Red is the traditional color in the Eastern cultures.

History of white wedding dress

Many people think of the white wedding dress as a symbol of virginity, but that wasn’t the original meaning. That symbolism was connected to the blue wedding dress while the white dress actually was tied to wealth and royalty, except in France where white was the color worn when in mourning. Examples of brides wearing white can be traced back as early as 1406, the 1840 marriage of England’s Queen Victoria to her cousin Prince Albert.

During the Great Depression, when times were difficult most people didn’t have money to spend on a gown they would never wear again. For this reason, brides returned to the tradition of wearing their best dress which tended to be a darker color. But in the second half of the 20^th century, following an economic boon, white became the popular color choice for wedding dresses again.

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