Everyone’s Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, right? Whether you’ve got Celtic blood running through your veins or not, you may find that much of the symbolism and tradition connected to Irish weddings works for any wedding if you make it your own.

Below you will find a collection of Irish symbols and traditions that you might just want to incorporate into your wedding day.

Symbols

The Claddagh is an Irish design that is found on traditional Irish wedding rings. The design features two hands holding a heart with a crown atop it. The hands symbolize friendship; the crown, loyalty and lasting fidelity; and the heart, eternal love. No matter what your background, it’s hard to argue with the relevance of that symbolism on a day when you’re vowing your eternal love.

These pewter Claddagh cufflinks by Gifting Girls are a great way to incorporate this romantic symbol without being too in your face. Small and unobtrusive, these gorgeous cufflinks keep the idea of love, loyalty, and friendship in your wedding without screaming “I’m Irish!”

Another meaningful symbol is the Celtic knot, which has taken on the meaning of eternity because of its seemingly endless pattern. These heart-shaped Celtic knotwork cufflinks, also from Gifting Girls, are a sweet way to symbolize eternal love on your big day.

This necklace, handmade by Foamy Wader, is another great way to work the symbolism of true commitment into your wedding day. Small and simple, this pretty piece would be perfect for the bride who is looking for something that won’t compete too much with her wedding dress. It’s also a great bridesmaids gift idea, as a sort of “friends forever” sentiment.

Clovers are another big Irish symbol. So big, in fact, that the shamrock (a clover with three leaves) is a registered trademark for the Irish government. The shamrock is more or less synonymous with “Irish.”

I love this sterling silver shamrock bangle from All Wired Up Jewelry Designs. This totally unique skinny bangle (it’s just over 1mm in width) is soldered, then cold forged and textured on all three sides, which makes for lots of sparkle and shine. It can be customized to a heavier gauge wire, but I love the daintiness of the thin bangle. And how cute is the cut-out charm? I just love it!

Green

The color green is pretty much the unofficial color of anything Irish, probably because Ireland (which is affectionately referred to as “the Emerald Isle”) is full of lush, green rolling hills. You can pay homage to your Irish roots (or just liven up your day with this vibrant color) by sprinkling Kelly green throughout your color scheme.

I’m a big fan of eclu’s handmade clutches. Simple, modern and positively charming, they are the perfect accessory for your wedding—or any day! The design-your-own peony clutch is a great wedding option. You can choose the interior and exterior fabrics as well as the accessory and for $5 more you can add an inscription (great for bridesmaids gifts!). This allows you to decide how much your accessories match and pretty much lets you design the clutch yourself.

I also like the idea of an unexpected pop of color via your jewelry. Everyone expects a bride to wear pearls and crystals, but why not change things up? These gorgeous emerald studs can tie your look to the rest of your bridal party so nicely by picking up on the green of the boys’ ties or the ladies’ dresses.

There’s also an old Irish belief that the earrings you wear on your wedding day will forever bring you luck and happiness. Sounds like a good excuse to splurge on gorgeous pair of earrings that you can get a lot of use out of, no?

Traditions

There are some great wedding traditions in Irish culture. One that I’m particularly fond of is an ancient Celtic tradition that is thought to be the origin of the term “set in stone.” It’s pretty simple. While exchanging vows, the bride and groom hold an oathing stone. The belief is that the vows are then cast into the stone, making them eternal. Pretty sweet if you ask me!

Main Line Engraving makes a variety of custom oathing stones for you to choose from.  The stone shown here is a 9-10 inch river stone that features interlocking hearts and can be customized with your names and wedding date—a perfect keepsake that you can keep in your garden or display inside your home.

Another old Irish tradition that is thought to be the origin of a popular phrase is handfasting. During this ritual the couple holds hands (with wrists crossed) and a ribbon is wrapped around them in a figure eight, which represents infinity. This is probably where the term “tying the knot” started.

You don’t have to be Irish to appreciate the sentiment behind being “joined together” in a handfasting ceremony. This love knot handfasting ribbon set is a nice set to do it with. Not only does it have the silver love knot symbolism, but the colors of each of the thirteen ribbons also have a special meaning—from passion and balance to fertility and devotion. This particular set comes with directions for using the ribbons as well as suggested prayers and a list of all of the symbolic meanings of the ribbons.

As you can see, you don’t have to be Irish to appreciate many of these traditional Irish symbols and rituals. Like traditions from any culture, you can take them and adapt them to something that is meaningful to both you and your hubby-to-be.

Click the photos below for more Irish wedding products!

Claddagh unity candle set :: Irish sixpence ::Trinity knot cake topper

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Jennifer Garry is a writer and accessories designer living in Westchester, NY with her husband and daughter. When she's not up to her ears in kiddie crafts, you can find her swimming in a pool of beads. Her obsessions include tea, chocolate, sarcasm and her daughter's giggle--any of which can be used to coax her from her little jewelry-making fantasy world.

Anybody can have a run of the mill wedding, and that is true even when enough money is spent to put a down payment on a new home for the bride and groom. With a little imagination and creativity, the big day can instead be one that friends and family remember for a lifetime.

Unique wedding themes that echo the interests of the bride and groom make the event special and much more personal. If the couple met on a beach or watching their favorite baseball team, incorporating one of those themes could be adorable. Likewise, if they share a love for something like art or music, it can be very personal to incorporate that into the wedding and reception.

Certainly, Elvis Presley lovers know about the weddings in Las Vegas officiated by Elvis himself. It is easy to create the same type of wedding at home as well. You’ll need an Elvis impersonator, a classic old car from the 50’s, and then use more 50’s era and musical themes for the decorations, and the reception music.

Hobbies are great for creating memorable weddings. For art enthusiasts, why not create an artistic theme featuring a different painter for each table? Music lovers can base their wedding decorations around their favorite band, favorite song, or the genre (rock, country, etc.) that they love. Perhaps each table could be dedicated to a different song or artist within the genre you choose.

Garden Weddings

For couples that choose to have a garden wedding, the main theme is obviously the outdoors and a nice, natural setting of their choosing. Many interesting little touches can make it more special. Brides often agonize over décor, but simple is very charming.

Lining the aisle with white paper or a roll up rug, and then accenting it with flowers is pretty. If the wedding will be at dusk or later, lining it with twinkly white lights would also be great.

Floating flowers and candles in a couple of birdbaths near the tent opening is a pretty way to incorporate the theme.

Upside down, straw hats can be lined with plastic and filled with garden flowers to serve as centerpieces. Birdcages filled with ivy or flowers are also popular, and with a bird motif, favor nests filled with Jordan almonds are cute. Otherwise, packets of seeds or plantable seed cards are perfect.

An ivory gown, especially one with touches of lace, is perfect for a garden wedding. Bridesmaids will look stunning in pink, or in pastel colors.

Beach Weddings

Beach weddings are favored by many couples because they are romantic and earthy. What could be better than the sand and the surf on the big day?

One concern for any outdoor party, but especially beaches, is the weather. Beaches are typically open and can be windy, so be sure that anything that is used is fastened securely. Another concern for daytime beach weddings is the sun. Be sure that your guests dress appropriately and bring sunscreen, but also provide shade in the form of a canopy of some sort. Also, have a back-up plan in case of rain.

A bamboo and tulle structure may be all that you need for the wedding ceremony and some great photos, but make sure that your photographer is experienced with beach photos.

Make cute wedding shell candle favors by filling small conch or clamshell-type shells with melted wax and inserting a wick. You can leave these natural or add a little bling by sponging on gold or silver paint.

Gel candle favors can be made in small glass votive holders or champagne flutes, adding in scents and small beach goodies like shells, beach glass, and tiny starfish and seahorses.

Champagne flutes can also be made special by hot-gluing tiny shells around it and attaching a length of ribbon personalized with the names and wedding date to the stem.

For a beachy centerpiece, terra cotta pots painted ivory can be filled with sand and a cluster of ivory or white candles. If the candles won’t stay upright, use plaster in the bottom and then fill the rest of the way with sand.

After determining what the wedding will look like, ideas about what the décor should start to come. The idea is to be unique and creative in your theme so that your wedding will be personal and memorable.

Photo source: Bride and Groom with Cadillac, bobsrocket

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This guest post was written by Denise Gabbard, a writer and online marketing professional. She encourages young married couples to request lifetime stainless cookware for wedding gifts that will last as long as your marriage does.

There’s really only one way to guarantee that your guests will find favor with your favors and that, friends, is to treat them to edible wedding favors. I was at a lovely destination wedding recently (lovely, because it offered me the opportunity to exchange brutally cold weather for a few warm, sunny days by the sea), and, after the event was over, I noticed none of the favors remained on the tables. Not surprising.

As a wedding writer, it’s in my job description to pay attention to things like that, and when it comes to guests delighting in favors, I’ve determined that edible favors have the greatest success rate—some don’t even make it out of the reception hall and a few are even devoured before the main course arrives.

Though practical favors are often a big hit with guests, it’s clear the way to reach each guest’s heart is through the stomach. That said, let’s go beyond the usual favor boxes, cookies and candy to take a look at more imaginative edible favors!

You can “spread the love” with favor-sized, personalized jars of gourmet strawberry jam. Guests will be enjoying their morning toast while remembering your fabulous event. Also yummy on toast or in tea is the golden sweetness of gourmet clover honey in personalized jars that remind them you were “meant to bee.” But for pancakes and waffles, I’m thinking personalized bottles of luscious praline maple syrup. (And now, you’re thinking about it, too, right?)

Gourmet coffees and teas in personalized packets have a flavor and appeal all their own! According to the National Coffee Association, 80% of Americans drink coffee, and tea has so many physical benefits, it’s actually considered a health drink.

Most coffee and tea favors, like strawberry jam and honey, will find their way to the next day’s breakfast table, along with fond memories of your event. Some coffee wedding favors come with a small, stainless steel heart-shaped scoop and the meaningful phrase “The Perfect Blend” just above your names and wedding date on the label.

There are some artfully presented, delicious drink mixes on the market as well. The gift box that holds the drink mix can be personalized, too, and you can choose from lemonade, raspberry iced tea, margaritas and cosmopolitans.

Guests at your destination wedding, your beach wedding, spring or summer wedding or backyard barbecue rehearsal dinner would love to have something refreshing and thirst-quenching to take home and enjoy after celebrating with you!

If you really want to wow your guests with an edible favor, consider an exquisitely decorated, chocolate-covered brownie pop. Just looking at the photos of these beauties makes my mouth water!

In most cases you can choose from milk chocolate, dark chocolate or white chocolate-dipped brownies, and the available designs are works of art!

No guests are going to leave this favor on the table when they leave, and if someone does, you can be sure there will be a guest or two ready to snap it up and delight in having two fabulous favors to enjoy!

And I freely admit, I would be one of the delighted guests grabbing for one of those rare, unclaimed favors!

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Susan Hawkins is a writer for My Wedding Favors, Google’s number-one online site for unique wedding favors, bridal shower favors, edible wedding favors, wedding accessories, bridesmaid gifts table décor and a library of articles filled with helpful wedding planning ideas.

After the wedding, couples start their life together on their honeymoon. A folkloric tradition says that grooms used to kidnap brides from neighboring villages and go into hiding. After the bride's family gave up the search, the groom returned to his village with his prize.

Today, couples use honeymoons to hideaway in special, exotic places and spend time intimately bonding away from their friends and family.

Here are some of the hottest honeymoon destinations for newlyweds.

Walt Disney World

Honeymoons are about romance and creating memories. Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida is the perfect opportunity for Cinderella and her prince to spend a week in fairytale luxury.

The resort offers three packages combining the Disney World experience with a Bahamian cruise. These packages include passes to the different parks and stunning accommodations. Amenities offered include honeymoon photos at romantic locations or spa treatments. Couples can even bring the wedding to Disney World with a customized ceremony!

St. Regis Florence

No place is more romantic than the Old World city of Florence, Italy. Italian food, breathtaking art and the wonder of some of the world's best architecture make this a classic destination.

This hotel is in a former palace built in the 18th century. Overlooking the Arno River, the rooms have gorgeous views. They still appear fit for a king and queen, with rich frescoes adorning the graceful marble.

Couples can visit the resplendent Duomo cathedral, the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio, which is filled with all manner of shops.

Caneel Bay

Caneel Bay is situated in the Virgin Islands National Park, five thousand acres of amorous bliss. Seven beaches encircle the resort, which offer spas and a variety of entertainment. From tennis to sailing trips to scuba diving, this place has it all.

Some of the rooms have ocean views and patios that open onto the beach. The most extravagant accommodation is a private beach cottage. Couples can relax on the beach or take advantage of activities like kayaking and yoga classes.

Exquisite food and rum tasting make this an unforgettable experience.

Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise

For couples who prefer snow to sunshine, the Fairmont Chateau in Alberta, Canada is your spot.

The hotel is on the shoreline of Lake Louise, which is fed by a glacier. Winter sports like downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice-skating and dog sledding abound.

The hotel's Elysian location makes it popular even in the spring and summer, when outdoor activities like horseback riding and rafting attract lovebirds to this mountain oasis.

Bora Bora Lagoon Resort

The Bora Bora lagoon (pictured at left) offers the chance for new couples to experience the utmost privacy. From a bungalow roosting on stilts, you can gaze across the rapturous blue of the South Pacific.

Each morning, breakfast and fresh flowers are loaded onto a canoe and personally delivered to your room. You can escape the entertainment and crowds with a private barbecue on your own island. Your personal chef will prepare a Pacific feast while you relax and snorkel.

Photo sources: Disney World, image by Katie Rommel-Esham; Bora Bora Lagoon Resort photo courtesy of Bora Bora Lagoon Resort

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Heather Johnson writes for HoneymoonDestinations.org, the best honeymoon research and planning website. Discover some great honeymoon ideas today!