Irish Theme Wedding Ideas, Traditions & Song List

With Saint Patrick's sneaking up on us, an Irish theme wedding is a perfect way to make your wedding stick out and me memorable to all the guests attending.

An Irish Theme Wedding additionally celebrates your heritage and Irish culture, and is a great way to start your marriage.

There are many things you can incorporate into your special day. Irish traditions can be fused into your decor, ceremony, clothing, food and also reception activities.

First off, the look of the reception hall is everything. When you purchase decorations, it s easy to go with anything Saint Patrick’s day, but I would stay away from the over-the-top cartoony stuff. You can get away with some of it, perhaps at the reception, if you absolutely want to go with leprechans and pots of gold, but you really shouldn’t have them at the ceremony. Those type of decorations can make your wedding look cheap.

CELTIC WEDDING TRADITIONSThe traditional Irish Wedding Bell - A hand held Irish Wedding bell is sounded by the new husband immediately after the ceremony. This bell is not forgotten and left behind at the ceremony as a decoration, however. It accompanies the new couple to their home as a momento of their vows. In fact, whenevertheir is an argument, it is supposed to be rung to remind the couple of their wedding vows. For a modern Irish wedding. small bells could be distributed to your guests to ring after the ceremony, much like the throwing of rice.

Gun Fire – If you really want to start your married life out wth a bang, another Celtic tradition is for rifles to be fired to announce that the couple as man and wife.

The Lucky Horseshoe - The brides bouquet can hold a horseshoe inside it, as tradition. Just make sure to remove it before the flower toss. Some women also sew a small horseshoe into the hem of their wedding dress in Irish weddings.


CLOTHINGThe Harvest Knot – Many years ago, the men of Ireland gave their brides-to-be an accessory called harvest knots which were weavings of straw. Usually, a Harvest Knot is trimmed with flowers and worn in their hair or around your neck. You can put a harvest knot also in the flower bouquet along with the lucky horseshoe to symbolize Irish pride.

Adding Irish Lace - A great way add Irish to your wedding attire is to mix in some Irish lace. Authentic Irish Lace is always loaded with intricate patterns and great quality. You can add lace to the veil to really bring the Irish out.

FOODThe Dinner – The way that the wedding guests would feast in celebration, back in old Ireland was to have a potluck meal hosted at the bride’s family’s house. Traditional Irish dishes include coddle, stew soda, Irish bread, and of course everyone loves corn beef and cabbage.

The Wedding Cake - The Irish wedding cake is typically a heavy fruit cake with white icing. Tradition says that one of the bride’s sisters or bridesmaids is actually the one to cut and serve it. But they location of the actual cut is the strangest part of this cake cutting custom. Tradition actually has the bride seated while the groomsmen held the cake over her head while her sister or best friend cut it.


MUSICIrish Bag Pipes - Rock out at your ceremony or for your introduction into the reception hall with the belting melody of the Irish pipes. Although bagpipes have Celtic roots, they are often today played by the Scottish. However, with a little research, you can find a real Irish uillean piper play at your wedding.

Celtic music can be played wherever appropriate during the ceremony and reception, as there are many varieties. I particularly recommend Celtic harp music for the ceremony for the atmosphere it sets. There are many CDs on Amazon, if you are not having a live band or musician.

Reception Dancing - Learn and perform a real Irish jig to traditional Irish music at the reception. The actual steps of Irish folkdances are called ceilidh.

Here is a good playlist of must hear Irish songs for your wedding reception:
Andres Segovia – Henry Purcell
A 12 Year Old Irish Girl In All Of Us – Flogging Molly
A Walk in Irish Rain – Irish Descendants
Ave Maria (Schubert) – The Irish Tenors
Barrett’s Privateers – Irish Descendants
Black Velvet Band – Irish Rovers
Catch The Wind (Folk) – Irish Descendants
Come on Eileen Dexie’s – Midnight Runners
Danny Boy – The Irish Tenors
Dublin in the Rare Old Times - Three Irish Tenors
Farewell To Nova Scotia – Irish Rovers
Give Ireland Back To The Irish – Paul McCartney
Haste to The Wedding (Celtic) - The Corrs
I’ll Take You Home Again Kathleen – Three Irish Tenors
Irish Heartbeat – Van Morrison & The Chieftans
Irish Jig – Various Artists
Irish Medley – Dixie Chicks
Jump Around – House of Pain
Mother Machree – John Gary
Old Irish Blessing - Sprague Choir
Peg O My Heart - Jerry Vale
Riverdance Soundtrack - Irish Diddy
Shipping Off To Boston – Dropkick Murphies
The Biplane Evermore - Irish Rovers
The Irish Washerwoman – Celtic Bagpipes
Tim Finnegan’s Wake – Celtic Connection
Toora-Loora-Looral Three – Irish Tenors
Traditional Irish Folk Song – Dennis Leary
Unicorn - Irish Rovers
Waltzing Matilda – The Irish Rovers
Wasn’t that a party – Irish Rovers
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling – Bing Crosby
Wild Irish Rose – Country George Jones