5 Tips for Surviving Irish Weddings

Marriage is a global ritual but wedding celebrations and customs are often unique with plenty of distinctive local traditions. And as you might expect Irish weddings have their own flavour with plenty of craic (“fun”). Read on to find out what makes Irish weddings unique, as well as our top 5 tips on how to survive them!

Irish Wedding Tip 1: Be dressed in your best

Though generally not formal affairs, most Irish wedding guests will be decked out in their best with gents wearing sharp suits and ladies in colorful gunas (dresses). But keep the infamous Irish weather in mind in your sartorial choices! Best come prepared for 4 seasons in one day. Sun cream and sunnies in a bag and an umbrella just in case!

Irish Wedding Tip 2: Dress for all seasons but hope for the best

Of course the Bride and Groom’s family will have been doing all in their power to get a “great day for it.” Candles will be lit, forecasts compulsively checked, and the Child of Prague statue will spend the night in the garden, all to ensure good weather. Ireland isn't the only country where the Child of Prague is revered. But we seem to be unique in enlisting him to ensure good wedding weather!

It being Ireland, there may be a spot of rain. But join the hopeful choruses of "Great day for it!", and "Weren't they blessed with the weather in the end?" if there's even a scrap of blue sky!

Irish Wedding Tip 3: Be prepared for an all day (and night) affair!

Although some details of an Irish wedding might change, you can count on it being long. They're marathons not sprints, starting as early as 12 or 1pm and running continuously to the wee hours of the following morning! This often catches wedding guests from overseas by surprise. Dancing until “late” on an Irish wedding invite means LATE. We advise ladies being prepared with a change of shoes!

And be sure to have your vocal chords in fine fettle and a party piece prepared for the inevitable sing song once the dancing stops around 2 or 3 am! And despite crawling into bed as late as 5 or 6 am, you'll need to be fit and ready the following day. Many an Irish couple are now opting for a two day celebration. You've been warned!

Irish Wedding Tip 4: Keep your energy up

All that celebrating takes quite a bit of energy. Luckily you can count on being treated to a several course feast at an Irish wedding. And guests can be quite ravenous by dinner given the early start. So don’t be shy, you will need those calories for all the dancing and singing!

The midnight snack

You will most likely be treated to another little bite during the dancing, a midnight snack, to make sure energy levels stay up. Some combination of tea, coffee, sandwiches, wedding cake, and cocktail sausages typically appears. Bread, butter, and packets of crisps have been known to elicit shrieks of delight. A crisp sandwich is a sight for sore eyes at 12 am!

Irish Wedding Tip 5: Be ready for the toast - And get your bets in!

Toasts and speeches are the order of the day at an Irish wedding before, during, or just after dinner. So make sure to have your glass charged and at the ready. But what sets Irish speeches and toasts apart is often their exceptional length!

So much so that it's now a common tradition for wedding guests to place bets on how long they will take! And it's generally longer than you would think! But be advised if you manage to guess right and win the pot at your table, it is also customary to buy a round of drinks for your table-mates at the cash bar with your winnings.

Are you planning an Irish Wedding?

If you are planning your own Irish themed wedding, you might incorporate some of these eccentricities or other Irish Wedding Traditions in your own day. Or add an Irish touch by incorporating Irish symbols in your ceremony or celebrations.