Weddings and Suchlike

Hello from sunny Cornwall, yes we’ve finally had some days of sunshine...yippee ....and I’m also feeling slightly better in health, hence my chatting here today.....so what’s been happening here at the Hovel.....

Well the highlight of the week and the most surprising was that my son and his girlfriend announced that they were getting married in December, the 31st to be exact!!!!! Talk about celebrating New Year’s Eve in style. I wish them all the luck.....and I will finally get his room for my crafts...hehe...seriously I do wish them all the happiness in the world , after all he is my only offspring....



Talking about weddings got me thinking about the different ways in which a marriage is performed. The traditional church wedding springs to mind along with the registry office ceremony. We also see different cultures around the world that have specific marriage ceremonies which reflect their traditions and beliefs. I for one got married in a lovely registry office next to a beautiful park in Nottinghamshire..... Regardless of where or how the marriage ceremony is performed, the common factor is that two people commit to each other ....



Another name seen for marriage is Handfasting, a term that is used for a Pagan marriage. The term Handfasting comes from the fact that sometime during the ceremony the couple will have their hands bound together to symbolize their union.....An ancient festival which has preserved many of the old handfasting customs is still practised today in rural Lithuania. The festival is known as The Binding of the Wreaths and is celebrated each year on July 20th. At sunset and when the moon is full, the young people of the community go to the woodlands to gather flowers and greenery to make wreaths and garlands. The wreaths are put aside for later and the garlands are hung between two trees, usually birch trees. The couples will then dance hand in hand under the garlands, where they will share a kiss which is intended to bind them to each other.....

The Fire Dance By Sarah Barham

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In the meantime the rest of the community have prepared a picnic feast, which will be taken to the young people in the forest. The wreaths prepared earlier are then place on the engaged couple’s head, from which more garlands are added. The garland strands are then tied together during more dancing, which symbolizes the union they are about to make. The couples usually marry this same day, either in the woods or a village hall, and the garlands from the wreath crowns are used to bind together the couple’s left hands during the marriage ceremony.......After the ceremony the couple will go together and toss their wreaths back into the forest in thanks for the deities blessings.....

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What a beautiful way to get married......July 20th is also commemorated as Moon Day in honour of Neil Armstrong landing on the Moon. What an appropriate name for a day when young people in love dance under a full moon....

Silver Magic Made By Pan Of Music And The Moon
By Sarah Barham

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In celebration of marriage I would like to share with you some wedding photographs I have of my family....

My mother Jean Elizabeth Mary Ballaam, who at 17 married her
first husband Joseph Walter Collins (1922-1963) on January 23 1943.
What a beautiful couple in wartime......
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My husband’s parents, Margaret Joan Laws (1923-2001) and
Walter Ward (1922-2004). Married on February 19 1955.
Look at the snow on the ground...
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A third cousin once removed of mine, John William Roebuck (1900-1983)
and his new bride Doris Barraclough (1901-1979)
after their marriage in 1923...
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William Wragg (1888-1872), a half second cousin once removed
of my husband, and his new wife Hetty Cooper (1890-1940)
Married in 1913
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Don’t you just love the clothes.....I wonder how many were wearing ‘Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue’......Until next time...lol...

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We come to love not by finding the perfect person,
but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.- Sam Keen
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When you meet someone who can cook and do housework—
don't hesitate a minute--marry him. - Unknown
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