From Emee: It's so very easy to blog about what's going on around town in the world of Portland weddings — however, I'm making more of an effort to go back and blog our own weddings that we have coordinated and planned in the past, under the tagline { Real Weddings }. Some will be little snippets, some will be full features — but my goal by the end of this year, is for our { Real Weddings } tag to be as helpful to Portland couples as possible, full of as many real venue and wedding ideas, and providing inspiration and information to all.
In honor of St. Patrick's day, today's little glimpse is one of our favorite weddings that we coordinated at Bridal Veil Lakes. This Columbia River Gorge wedding included a Celtic handfasting ceremony to reflect the groom's Irish heritage, AND Filipino traditions to reflect the bride's. TOO AWESOME.
Thank you to Scott McNamara for the photos.
Above: Dormae and Brian's Celtic-inspired handfasting.
Read more about Irish wedding traditions over at Green Wedding Shoes.
In the Filipino tradition, the ceremony often involves many extended family members called sponsors, and three important rites are used:
- An exchange of thirteen coins representing the promise of the couple to support and provide for one another and the family.
- A veil, historically symbolizing being clothed in the love of Christ, but in non-denominational weddings, more often interpreted as a symbol of the couple's home and safe haven in each other.
- A cord, wrapped around the couple's shoulders, to symbolize the strong bond between the married couple.
For Filipino weddings that take place in a church, there is also normally a candle lighting. You can read more about Filipino wedding traditions at MyBarong.com.
Above: the Filipino veil and cord ceremony.
Below: Officiant Lisa Kristen-Scott is seen here, presiding over the couple's exchange of coins.
Bridal Veil Lakes, as always, is a gorgeous venue.
We've coordinated tons of weddings there and always love it.
Are you incorporating any cultural traditions in your wedding ceremony? Do share with us in the comments!