Handfastings
Handfasting is a common element in pagan wedding ceremonies, and is gaining popularity elsewhere. It’s a lovely ritual element to include in your ceremony, or to make the central rite of your wedding! There is a lot of room for creativity and symbolism in your handfasting.
Image courtesy of Sitio Events in Esko, MN; Photo by CrunchPhoto
Lore
The practice comes from old Scottish traditional weddings—either because an officiant wasn’t readily available or simply because big, lavish weddings were very expensive and most folk couldn’t afford them. So to signify their commitment, a couple would be handfasted: their hands ritually bound together by cloth.
Also, handfasting could signify a trial period: if after a year of living together the couple found themselves incompatible they could dissolve the union and go their separate ways.
Resources
Make your own cords
by Offbeat Bride
I used this guide to fashion cords for my own hanfasting! I threaded my grandmother’s ring—which otherwise wouldn’t have been included in our wedding—onto two beautiful lengths of lace and a braided ribbon. I loved the effect and the symbolism!
Handfasting vows
by Offbeat Bride
Ok, so this is a bit of an elaborate ceremony, but it includes a lovely version of some handfasting vows as well as a lot of pagan marriage theory. Check it out, be inspired!
Symbolism
by Offbeat Bride
I love the practice of using the handfasting ritual to include beloved humans in your wedding. This is a beautiful example of how to do that; it also offers ideas for choosing cords by color symbolism!
I’m sharing resources from Offbeat Bride as she’d already posted these lovely pieces and why reinvent the wheel? Linked with permission.
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