Community› Wedding Discussion Boards› Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
New Discussion

Hand fasting cords

SoontobeMrsNytesSoontobeMrsNytes member
First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
in Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
My FI is Irish/Scottish. It is important to him to include the hand fasting in our ceremony, in part because his parents and grandparents did. Where do I look for the cords? I'm a little lost with this...
Report Reply to Post

Re: Hand fasting cords

  • wabanziwabanzi member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    You can easily just make your own. You select fabric, ribbons, lace, tartan etc. that you like/has meaning and tie at the ends or braid.  Depending on the type of hand fasting ceremony, make sure the length is long enough (e.g., to wrap around both of your wrists & tie, or to lay over your hands). Our tradition is to bead the cord, here is a pic of ours:
    imageimage
    20130121-125529.jpg 
      Wedding Countdown Ticker
    Report Reply
  • blabla89blabla89 member
    First Anniversary First Comment 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    Are you getting married in a church? I attended an Episcopalian wedding where the minister took off her stole and wrapped it around the hands. I thought it was nice but then the couple didn't have a keepsake cord.
    Wedding Countdown Ticker



    Report Reply
  • firebabe6519firebabe6519 member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    You can save a few $ and just make one. Most fabric stores carry different types of cords u can select from.
    Report Reply
  • saacjwsaacjw member
    5 Love Its First Anniversary Name Dropper First Comment
    lalalaurita said:
    Are you getting married in a church? I attended an Episcopalian wedding where the minister took off her stole and wrapped it around the hands. I thought it was nice but then the couple didn't have a keepsake cord.
    Episcopalian here- what the priest does with the stole isn't quite the same as a handfasting. I'd venture to guess that the origin of the action is related, but a handfasting for a long time was used as a betrothal or legal marriage while waiting for a priest to be available for a church one (back when a lot of small towns shared a priest and he traveled). 

    OP- a fabric or craft store will have cords and you can also check Etsy for something a bit more elaborate if you want. One friend of mine got her cords from JoAnn fabric and another used ribbons, also from a fabric store. 
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
    Report Reply
  • cwgrl1cwgrl1 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I am Irish and also plan to include a hand fasting as part of my and my FI ceremony.  Traditionally, the two cords would be of a fabric that is significant to each of you, like one cord is your family's tartan and one is his.  However today you can use any fabric that is significant to either of you, or I've even seen some done with rainbow colors of ribbon and the officiant says what each color means.
    Report Reply
  • firebabe6519firebabe6519 member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    FI is Jewish/Irish (both cultures do a form of hand fasting). We were thinking about doing a sash type thing with our names or wedding date and some verse or saying that we liked. It makes for a fun keepsake after.
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards