Learn the Steps to Staging a Celtic Wedding 

While most people today get married either in courthouses or modest churches, there can be no denying the fact that the Celts have one of the richest and most amazing practices when it comes to marriage. Even today, people are still so amazed and drawn by its majesty and grandeur that they aim to conduct their wedding in such style. If you are planning on staging a Celtic wedding then perhaps you should make sure to go along with the following steps. 

The first thing you need to make sure of is that you are indeed using a Celtic ring for the proposal. If you want to be successful staging a Celtic wedding then you will need to start off right by proposing with the proper type of ring. 

Second of all, you need to locate the proper venue for the event. You will want to look mainly for stone buildings, such as castles or old churches and make sure that you decorate them with flowers which originate from Ireland, such as the hydrangeas and the ivy. 

Third of all, you need to take into consideration the food you will be eating. Naturally, to keep up with the spirit you will want to have real Irish dishes served, not to mention using large gold or silver plates for the food and goblets for the drinks. 

The fourth aspect of staging a Celtic wedding that you will have to take care of involves dressing like a Celt. For the bride, dresses with corsets, wide sleeves and hemlines along with tied belts and flower headdresses are in order. The groom can wear the traditional Kilt if he feels inclined to do so. 

A very important part of making sure that you are indeed staging a Celtic wedding is to implement some of the more ancient Celtic traditions into the mix, such as handfasting which is basically when the bride and the groom join their left and right hands together in order to make the infinity sign, or the number 8, depending on which you prefer. 

One of the most important parts of any ceremony is the wedding cake, and if you want to stay in the Celtic spirit then, as you probably guessed it already, you will have to get some type of Irish wedding cake. One of the most popular dishes for this is the Irish wedding fruitcake, which basically contains raisins, cherries and almonds along with a bit of brandy. To add even more to the Celtic ambiance, you will of course need Celtic music to be playing during the ceremony, or at least during the reception. You should look into hiring a piper or a minstrel band to give it an authentic feeling. 

Finally, last but not least, you will want to make sure that your guests will be able to take home some souvenirs to remember this special event forever… Celtic souvenirs that is. There are various little Celtic items for you to choose from, ranging from lucky horseshoes and Celtic coasters all the way to pendant crosses.

About the Author: Steven Forsyth has studied Celtic Mythology and Irish Folklore, he has worked in the Jewelry industry for over 7 years with Celtic Rings Ltd in Dublin, Ireland.

The Tools of the Celtic Empire

The Celts are remembered as warriors during the Bronze and Iron Age. Other than great warriors they were masters of metal work for different uses, such as farming and mining. They built many of the “common” tools known such as an anvil or an axe, but they gave them personal designs.

The Celts developed incredible metal working skills. With bronze and iron, they made superior tools and weapons. There are two kinds of Celtic sword, “long” and “short”. The most common is the "long" sword, which usually has a handle or hilt made from organic material, such as wood, bone, or horn. The swords also usually had an iron plate in front of the guard. The “short” sword was simpler with just copper alloy all throughout. For armor they made regular leather shields but with metal coverings and chain-linked suits.

One of their most significant developments was the spoked wheel, metal wheel rims and iron horseshoes. The metal rims gave their chariots and carts greater speed and smoother movement while having less likeliness of breakage in both distant travel and military encounters. The horseshoes gave the horse’s hooves greater protection from injury, therefor allowing the animal greater endurance and speed.

For farming they developed a mechanized harvester; a wooden cart with spoked wheels that had blades mounted on the sides. An ox then pushed the cart, allowing the blades to cut the crops which were then pushed up a ramp and dumped into the cart.

In mining for salt that was used for trade, the miners wore helmets are made of hardened leather. The leather was soaked in water to make it more pliable. It was then shaped and rubbed with salt. After it dried, the helmet was painted with a shellac or lacquer. Four or five coats of the lacquer would further harden the leather. This technique was used in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to make helmets for firefighters.

The Celts were excellent craftsmen that incorporated their famous abstract designs to most everyday tools, weapons, jewelry and pottery. Their distinguishable designs can be seen on anything they created.

About the Author

I'm Jose Pierre and I like learning about all aspects of culture, both ancient and modern. I enjoy learning how they communicated, expressed themselves, and their technology.