Tying Hands with Ribbons: Spotlight on the Celtic Wedding Ritual of Handfasting ♡

2021.10.19 published

Do You Know About the "Handfasting Ceremony"?

To all the future brides, do you know about the "Handfasting Ceremony"?

The "Handfasting Ceremony" is one of the overseas wedding ceremonies that uses ribbons or cords.

Before exchanging rings during the ceremony, the bride and groom hold hands and the officiant ties them together with a ribbon. It's also okay to ask family and friends to help♡

While still bound by ribbons, they exchange rings and make their marriage vows, and the ribbons are untied for the first time when lifting the veil.

The Handfasting Ceremony has its origins in the wedding rituals of the Celtic people (people living in central and western Europe in ancient times).

It symbolizes "holding hands and making a promise = marriage"♡

Although the Handfasting Ceremony is not commonly seen in Japan, searching the Instagram hashtag #handfasting yields over 20,000 hits.

It's a popular ceremony overseas♡

Discovering a Bride Who Incorporated the "Handfasting Ceremony" into Her Reception♡

There was a senior bride who incorporated the Handfasting Ceremony into her reception!

This time, we will introduce the flow of the Handfasting Ceremony when conducted at a Japanese reception from momo's (@pipipi.wedding) wedding report♡

Flow of the Handfasting Ceremony ①

In overseas Handfasting, the ceremony typically starts with the officiant or a representative guest wrapping ribbons around the couple's hands...

However, momo’s idea for the Handfasting Ceremony is a bit different♡

First, guests who arrive at the wedding venue are handed escort cards tied with chiffon ribbons.

The escort cards, which have guests' names written on them, come with colorful chiffon ribbons tied around them.

Little do the guests know that these stylish cards will play an important role during the reception♡

(The ribbons were hand-torn from chiffon fabric purchased at Yuzawaya.)

Flow of the Handfasting Ceremony ②

During the outfit change of the bride and groom in the reception...

An announcement is made for the guests to "tie together one ribbon from the escort cards per table."

With the guests’ hands, the ribbons are intertwined by color, creating a long single ribbon.

Guests wonder, "What is going to happen next?" filled with excitement.

By doing something together as a group, a sense of unity is formed♡

Flow of the Handfasting Ceremony ③

Once the bride and groom re-enter in their new outfits, a surprise awaits as one member from each group is called by the MC.

The guest whose name is called brings the long ribbon that everyone at the table has tied and steps forward.

They tie the ribbon onto the hands of the bride and groom♡

Flow of the Handfasting Ceremony ④

Once all the ribbons from every table have been tied, the couple’s hands look like this♡

Each ribbon carries its own meaning. It's lovely, resembling the 12 roses from the dozen roses ceremony!

☑ Pink: Happiness

☑ Blue: Fidelity

☑ Purple: Sanctity

☑ White: Peace

☑ Beige (Orange): Kindness

☑ Gray: Balance

☑ Green: Health

The couple spent the rest of the event holding hands♡

A Ceremony to Imitate♡ Handfasting Performance*

We introduced the idea of a bride who incorporated the popular overseas ceremony, Handfasting, into her reception.

It's wonderful how she arranged the performance in a way that allows all the guests to participate.

Future brides considering a unique guest-participation performance at their reception may want to take inspiration from this♡