CARLYE and JON'S WEDDING

 July 27th, 2013 

  

Carlye and Jon's wedding was held on the beautiful grounds of her parents home in St. Catherines, PEI. It was a very picturesque venue for the event, with an outdoor garden nestled in the lush rolling green fields of rural PEI. The family carried out a major landscaping initiative in preparation for the event, constructed a very unique and rustic wedding alter along with a 'wedding' barn especially for this occasion. Fortunately, the weather 'cooperated' by not raining during the wedding ceremony and subsequent festivities.

Carlye and Jon's wedding ceremony, which started early in the evening, incorporated two traditions that we had not seen before - ringwarming and handfasting , one relatively new and the second, an ancient Scottish ritual.

During the ringwarming ceremony, the rings are passed around to all the individual wedding guests to receive their 'warming' as a sign of their love and support for the union. Each person is asked to hold them for a brief moment, voice a silent wish or prayer for the couple, for their marriage and their future together as well as warm them with their hope, wishes and love before then passing them on to the next person.

Handfasting is an ancient Celtic marriage ritual and it involves tying a piece of tartan around the joined hands of the bride and groom, as a symbolic way of representing their union as a married couple. The term originates from the Old Norse hand-festa (to join hands, to be betrothed). The original idea was that it was a kind of engagement - the couple would be betrothed for a year and a day before they then married. It also gave rise to the phrase 'to tie the knot'.

There were eight bridesmaids and groomsmen and Tessa Burke, John's niece, was the flower girl. She wore her princess dress for the occasion.

The wedding ceremony was followed by socialization, refreshments, food and dancing to music provided by the trio Ten Strings and a Goat Skin. Following the traditional father-bride and mother-groom dances, a few remarks were made by the parents and the newly married couple. The party carried on until the wee hours of the morning, with the pulled pork being consumed well after midnight.

Carlye and Jon departed on their Costra Rica honeymoon on July 30.

Many thanks to Nancy Riggs, Kristie Knoll Burke and Fran MacKnight for providing photos.

Double click to enlarge pictures.