In the December 19 issue of Brides magazine, Whitney C. Harris writes about wedding trends for 2017. Industry experts from around the country affirm the growing use of bright colors in wedding palettes. I concur!
As a wedding officiant, my focus is on the ceremony. In addition to the bridesmaids’ dresses, bouquets, tuxes and boutonnieres, and aisle décor, consider bringing color into the ceremony itself with a handfasting cord.
In a handfasting ritual, the couple literally ties the knot.
Many cultures include some kind of binding ritual as part of a wedding ceremony. The one I’m most familiar with is the Celtic handfasting. I’ve adapted the ritual for today’s couples. Do you have to be Celtic? Not at all! Whatever your heritage, you can use this beautiful ritual to celebrate the union of your hearts. Here are a few colorful examples.
Blending Families
Tammy and Shawn use one of my custom cords in their handfasting
When Tammy and Sean planned their Sedona wedding, they wanted a ritual that would celebrate not only their marriage but also the blending of their two families. Though I wasn’t able to perform the ceremony, Tammy confirmed that their officiant could do a handfasting ritual. With that in mind, I created a multicolored handfasting cord with a color to represent each of the four children as well as the bride and groom.
Blending Cultures
A Celtic handfasting cord for the groom, inspired by silk from the bride’s Hindu heritage.
When Rusty and Maya got married, she wanted to blend his Irish and her Hindu cultures. Maya liked the idea of a handfasting to pay homage to Rusty’s heritage. We talked about ways to incorporate her heritage. Inspiration came from a piece of red, black, green, and gold ceremonial silk from her first wedding. Rather than cut the silk, I created a cord that echoed the colors and straight-line design.
Inspired by a Vineyard
Handfasting cord in vineyard colors
Karla and Anthony held their ceremony in a vineyard. They chose moss green and Bordeaux red to echo the colors of a fertile harvest, and added pink rosebuds to symbolize the newness of married love. Three years later, I was delighted to perform a baby blessing for them. As part of the ritual, they tied another knot in their cord.
Inspired by Military Service
Custom cord combines wedding colors plus green for the Irishman and burgundy for the Colonel’s Army medical department
Patrick and Jim, the Irishman and the Colonel, came to Connecticut from Washington DC and Fort Hood, Texas, for their autumn wedding in the amphitheater at Harkness Memorial Park. With a wedding palette of purple and gray, they wanted a handfasting cord that also included green for Patrick’s heritage and burgundy, the color of the Army medical department.
Inspired by a Bouquet
Exuberant bride Leslie kisses her husband Chuck on the cheek!
Leslie, an Atlanta-area landscape artist, had been widowed for thirty years. Chuck, an engineer a high-stress job, had waited a lifetime to find true love. They met in a neighborhood yoga class. She had gone to meet people. He was there on the advice of his physician. For over a year, they did little more than say hello and smile. Then one day, the way rain finally falls in the dessert, love bloomed.
Fast forward. For family reasons, Leslie wanted to be married on a particular beach in Rhode Island. She wanted her bouquet filled with the joyful noise of bright colors. From those colors, she chose turquoise and coral for her handfasting cord.
Want More?
As you can see, with a handfasting cord you can literally tie the knot and bring a pop of bright color to your wedding ceremony.
Handfasting cords show a rainbow of colorful possibilities
To see more cords, stroll through the garden of handfasting cords on my Etsy shop!
I’m always inspired by the colors my couples choose. What are your wedding colors?
