Things I Love About Irish Weddings

kkcatlou

As a counter balance to the other thread running today on things people don't get about Irish weddings, I thought it would be nice to lighten it up with things we all love about and are unique to Irish weddings.

Here's my tuppence worth:

1. The length of the day/ celebration. Unlike other countries, at an Irish wedding, you get a good 16 hours out of a wedding, and often if its a couple you're close enough to, a second day too. In most other countries, you need to go to a similar amount of effort for a celebration that starts at 4 and finishes at 11.

2. The singsong in the resident's bar!! Love it! Especially when it's spontaneous, or when a sing off starts between the bride's and groom's family!

3. The greeting everyone as you come out of the church/ ceremony venue. OK, this can be a bit painful and you have to wait ages to give your kiss and say "I love your dress", but it is an exciting part of the day, and for couples I think it must be a lovely way of seeing everyone who wishes to share their special day.

4. The speeches - OK a lot of debate about this over on the other thread, but short, touching, funny speeches get me all mushy and I think us Irish generally (not always) have a better gift of the gab and so pull this off quite well.

5. The shtyle - this could be a controversial one, as we all know there are too many who go OTT, and then there's the usual aunty brigade in their two pieces with matching fascinator, but I love having an excuse to dress up, to see all my friends dress up - it adds to the sense of occasion. In other countries, people turn up in anything!

6. The Irish generosity - both from the bride and groom and guests. A very controversial one, but it's a good part of our culture. In the US and the UK for example, bridal parties are expected to buy their own outfits, but give small presents. We might be OTT in our generosity but it's part of who we are.

7. The importance of family - Irish weddings are very much a family first affair usually, with friends and colleagues coming second. It's a great chance to catch up with all the family and bond and create new memories that will be talked about for ages.

Any others.... (or disagree with any?!)

Oh, and I'm sure we've all seen this from Republic of Telly...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzKfcaKCevk

kitchenchair

I have been to a few weddings in Canada and one thing I seriously miss from Irish weddings is the style. One guy was wearing combat shorts and flip-flops and a t-shirt.....I kid you not. One other guy was wearing a baseball cap!!!

Sligo1

I love that when you're a single girl or guy there's a good chance of you meeting someone.... When me and my mates were all a few years younger and single we loved going to weddings because you would always always always get chatting to a group of lads! Unless of course it was an older wedding. God those were the days....

pwurple

The irish mammies and daddies pride!

Love it!

Toots

I love seeing the slightly older relatives (who might be considered a bit boring) giving it loads on the dancefloor at about midnight, after being loosened up by a few glasses of champers. Then the next morning at the breakfast it's like it never happened

eviltwin

I love the cheesy music, a wedding is one of the few places you can get up and dance your arse off to Dancing Queen, Rock the Boat and all those other songs you don't get to hear anywhere else.

Preset No.3

The cocktail sausages, chicken goujons, wedges, and sambos in the middle of the night!

Sligo1

This thread is so much nicer than the other one. Kinda like a breath of fresh air

kkcatlou

Sligo1 wrote: »

This thread is so much nicer than the other one. Kinda like a breath of fresh air

Yeah, but people tend to like giving out more!!!

Have to agree with the posts about cheesy music and relatives dancing. I think the Irish wedding band is better than you'll get elsewhere!!

lazygal

Toots* wrote: »

I love seeing the slightly older relatives (who might be considered a bit boring) giving it loads on the dancefloor at about midnight, after being loosened up by a few glasses of champers. Then the next morning at the breakfast it's like it never happened

This! Loved seeing the oldies at ours up dancing to Sex is on Fire at our wedding, they showed us how it was done! Also love the randomers you never see again at a wedding.

kkcatlou

lazygal wrote: »

This! Loved seeing the oldies at ours up dancing to Sex is on Fire at our wedding, they showed us how it was done! Also love the randomers you never see again at a wedding.

Or the one degree of separation, where you meet someone from the "other" side that you know but didn't know also knew the bride/ groom! Shows how small Ireland is!

eviltwin

Getting everyone together, these days the only times I seem to be out with all my friends at the same time is at a wedding.

lazygal

kkcatlou wrote: »

Or the one degree of separation, where you meet someone from the "other" side that you know but didn't know also knew the bride/ groom! Shows how small Ireland is!

Yep, we seated two sets of friends at a table and turned out the other halves of my friends had all been in school together, they said it was like a reunion and we didn't even know.

amdublin

I love when the b&g look into each others eyes and say their vows. It reminds me of the emotion I felt when I said mine.






Sorry not unique to an Irish wedding though!

Ms2011

Seeing the bride for the first time, I've yet to see one who didn't absolutely glow:)

Valentine1

I love that its an all day and all night affair, I've been to some English and American Weddings where the whole thing was over and done at Midnight!:eek: some of us were only getting going!!!

Malari

I like going to the weddings of friends who you have loads of mutual friends with. It's like a big reunion, which is often impossible to organise unless there's a big event. It's nearly always a fun night.

Gatica

I'd heard that about American weddings. I think after 9-10pm is when all the craic is starting! I love the dancing. I like the day to be long.
In Spain it's even longer again, remember being up til 6/7am at a wedding in Spain and I wasn't even 18.

I also think it's great to see the aunts and uncles the kids (our generation growing up) thinks of as being a bit dry or no fun having a bit of a dance off til all hours of the morning. Gives a totally different perspective of the people you think you know.

In general though, I love the sense of occasion, having an excuse to dress up, wondering what the bride is going to wear (and have been pleasantly surprised a few times), chatting to friends and extended family you wouldn't normally see except at family events. Love weddings.

dori_dormer

I like how the weddings are all day (and night) long ( even though its exhausting sometimes to be ready and at the ceremony by 1!)and the consistent formality of them all! You always know what to wear.

I was at a wedding in San Francisco ( irish groom, US bride) church was at 1 and function room didnt open til 5! We were all dressed up and had nowhere to go. Was ridiculous! Also the bridesmaids wore flip flops!:eek: and it was over at midnight (boo).

Was at a Canadian one on New Years eve. All 6 groomsmen, 6 bridesmaid, both sets of parents and B&G, ALL gave 10 min speeches! Made me appreciate the irish ones! And the music stopped at exactly 12.30. (boo again)

Also at Israeli ones, the B&G take pictures together in the afternoon, then have the ceremony at 6 / sunset , Food is served before the ceremony ( as the brides are always late) during, and after too! Dance floor is open during dinner aswell. Ended up missing the main course due to dancing! was a bit manic! but again over around 1 o clock.

When I tell my foreign friends about day long irish weddings they are shocked - its usually ' but what do you do the whole time?' Answer - drink and socialise!

I suppose at lot of the time, you know what you are gonna get at an irish wedding, and if anyone strayed too far from the norm people wouldnt know what to do with themselves!

Neyite

I love the fact that only at an Irish Wedding can you see an Irish pensioner giving it wellie on the dancefloor to Iron Maiden.

Yes, looking at you, Mum :pac:

who_me

Love Irish weddings, always entertaining. And they're often not just 2 days either, but 3. First for the family (and maybe very close friends). Then the main event. Then the following day for the bride and groom (or bride & bride / groom & groom?) who can finally relax and let their hair down with their friends.

At a good friend's wedding, I offered to pay for the wine as my wedding gift (got a kick out of telling him that was my round for the night..). So the hotel seemed to be very keen to get all the wine out of the way so people would start buying drinks again (or else, just a bit of bedevilment on their part) by very liberally pouring the wine. As soon as you'd taken a sip they'd come over and top it up again. By the time the music started, the entire wedding was blotto. Everyone rushed out and gave it welly, there even was an old guy doing cartwheels across the middle of the dancefloor. Madness.

Lost a (very expensive) camera at the same wedding. Luckily it showed up the next day, someone even had been nice enough to take photos for me. Which consisted of a table of respectable people degenerating over the course of 6 or 7 hours.. from suit, to jacket off, to sleeves rolled up, to tie loosened, to tie wrapped around forehead, to face down on the table. No idea who they were.

I also love the fact that you'll always get (at least) flirting with someone at a wedding. As a single guy, I'd always be "yeah yeah, bride, groom, family.. Now more importantly, who's single???"

Showing my age here.. but I remember my sister's wedding in West Cork, 30 years ago. Right after the wedding they were to hop on a bus and head up to Cork, then Galway for their honeymoon (different times!!), but they missed the bus so someone chased after it in a car and pulled it over. No idea why it didn't occur to anyone to just drive the 30 minutes to Cork. Guess it was further away in those days. Apparently, the looks of those on the bus was priceless, seeing a bride and groom get on the bus after practically running it off the road.

I'm probably lucky in that I haven't had so many friends get married that it would start getting boring/routine. I still love them. I'm going to have to get married one of these days just for the sake of a day out.

Calmsurrender

Always cry when I see the bride be given away

homemadecider

Calmsurrender wrote: »

Always cry when I see the bride be given away

Given away? Like an unwanted sandwich?

Calmsurrender

Exactly like an unwanted sandwich.

What would you call it,... Ok I'll rephrase the bit where the bride reaches the top of the aisle and whoever is walking with her pushes off and she goes to the altar with the soon to be husband?

Is that better?

Toots

homemadecider wrote: »

Given away? Like an unwanted sandwich?

For god's sake, the common term for when the bride is walked to up the aisle by her father or whoever is 'giving away'. It's well known. This is a thread about positive things, not nit-picking about wedding related terminology.

seamus

Yeah I love the way there's no "knocking off" time. The wedding doesn't end until you go to bed, or you can't find anyone else to sit in the resident's bar with (even if they're not part of the wedding). Nobody says, "show's over" and disperses the party, people just leave when they're finished.

I think that's relatively recent though. I have photos from my parents' wedding of them heading off on their honeymoon in the car at 3pm. And that was the end of it (though I'm sure my Dad's mates reconvened down the pub).

LynnGrace

Ms2011 wrote: »

Seeing the bride for the first time, I've yet to see one who didn't absolutely glow:)

This. Also the ceremony itself, and the sheer happiness of the bride and groom.

almorris

I thought the other thread was just plain depressing. Like someone had a gun to their head and was forcing them to go. If you don't get it, stay home and watch... whatever.

GardenMadness

To be honest though, I don't think people really think. I know I didn't till my own. It's only then that you're really aware of how intensely personal it is, how much effort and hope goes into it.

I'd never slag anyone's wedding again.

cookiecakes

My favorite thing about Irish weddings is getting all the family together for a genuinely happy occasion! My mum's side of the family is huge and the only time usually everyone gets together is for funerals as some are abroad and don't often make it home. We invited all of them to the wedding and 59 out of the 60 came. It was wonderful to have us all back together!

December2012

The first dance.

Fionn

Valentine1 wrote: »

I love that its an all day and all night affair, I've been to some English and American Weddings where the whole thing was over and done at Midnight!:eek: some of us were only getting going!!!

i attended a wedding in the states and i'm sure it ended by 8pm :eek:

on the other hand I was at one in Singapore that lasted three days!!

I think the Irish ones have just about the right balance!

Thumby

kkcatlou wrote: »

Or the one degree of separation, where you meet someone from the "other" side that you know but didn't know also knew the bride/ groom! Shows how small Ireland is!

This!!!!! Love it. Went to my cousins wedding a few years back, was out having a smoke when out comes a guy that used to be in the same group of kids I hung around with when we were in our early teens. Hadn't seen him in about 15 years turned and said jaysus Andy its been years what the hell are you doing here? His reply I'm the groom!!!!! Ya think the suit would have given it away but no!! (I still blame it on the pregnancy brain I had at the time lol)

amdublin

Thumby wrote: »

This!!!!! Love it. Went to my cousins wedding a few years back, was out having a smoke when out comes a guy that used to be in the same group of kids I hung around with when we were in our early teens. Hadn't seen him in about 15 years turned and said jaysus Andy its been years what the hell are you doing here? His reply I'm the groom!!!!! Ya think the suit would have given it away but no!! (I still blame it on the pregnancy brain I had at the time lol)

Seriously?

You were attending your cousin's wedding and you didn't know the groom in advance Really????? Like really??
You saw the groom during the wedding ceremony and it took until you were having a smoke to recognise him

(Ps. What you want to do is your own business but eh, wait until the pc brigade pick up on you smoking while you were pregnant :cool:)

Thumby

amdublin wrote: »

Seriously?

You were attending your cousin's wedding and you didn't know the groom in advance Really????? Like really??
You saw the groom during the wedding ceremony and it took until you were having a smoke to recognise him

(Ps. What you want to do is your own business but eh, wait until the pc brigade pick up on you smoking while you were pregnant :cool:)

I hadn't seen my cousin in years as she had moved down country and apparently so had the groom lol. They had come back up to my home town (one town over from hers for the wedding as both his and her family were all still living in the two towns). I had my first hospital appointment that day so didn't make it to the ceremony. I did however get there just in time for dinner. Once I had found out i was preggers I was reducing and getting off them altogether but hadn't gotten to the gone completely stage by then. I did eventually though.

amdublin

Thumby wrote: »

Once I had found out i was preggers I was reducing and getting off them altogether but hadn't gotten to the gone completely stage by then. I did eventually though.

Fair play! Good for you

But seriously, at no time before the wedding a conversation did not occur in your family about who your cousin was marrying and the town he was originally from etc etc and no connection was made! I know this is one that me, my aunts and my nana would have talked to death lol.

Thumby

amdublin wrote: »

Fair play! Good for you

But seriously, at no time before the wedding a conversation did not occur in your family about who your cousin was marrying and the town he was originally from etc etc and no connection was made! I know this is one that me, my aunts and my nana would have talked to death lol.

My parents were using his first name anytime it was talked about whereas we all used to call him Andy which is his middle name. Even the teachers used to call him Andy.

Same with my other half. He goes by his nick name. I've known him all my life and actually couldn't remember his first name when we bumped into each other after years. Everyone has used his nickname since he was four lol

Thumby

One if my favourite things about Irish weddings is seeing the multiple generations of one family all together. There's always at least four generations at any if our family weddings. I don't why but I just love it.

Vol-au-vents! I love the Vol-au-vents!

Thumby

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Vol-au-vents! I love the Vol-au-vents!

Ooooo nom nom nom

Gatica

I love that you get to hang out with friends you only see at events and special occasions. I love having a reason to dress-up! Everyone looks like they've made an effort and photos of the day are usually colourful and everyone is smiling.

I love that every loves very different things about weddings Some people love the vol-au-vents and first dance, some don't (I don't)... I think the Bride and Groom look awkward and uncomfortable doing the dance most of the time. Although I loved our dance, I still would've not bothered with it if it wasn't "expected", just like the cake and a bunch of other things you just "have to do".

I do like the free sparking wine and canapes

LynnGrace

Thumby wrote: »

My parents were using his first name anytime it was talked about whereas we all used to call him Andy which is his middle name. Even the teachers used to call him Andy.

This reminds me of the Friends episode where Monica wasn't invited to her cousin's wedding. Turned out the groom was an ex boyfriend.

Thumby

LynnGrace wrote: »

This reminds me of the Friends episode where Monica wasn't invited to her cousin's wedding. Turned out the groom was an ex boyfriend.

Lol lyngrace. I seen that episode alright. We justhave such a big family some cconfusion is bound to occur. There's over fifty grandchildren (my generation) and over 30 great grandchildren (my kids generation) which is another thing I love about Irish weddings. It's one if the few times we all manage to get together because there are just so many off us we can all only do it every couple of years when there's a big do on. Wouldn't fit us in anywhere else lol.