Introducing The Bride & Groom

Only three more sleeps until the much anticipated wedding in Feddens!  Here's a snap of the happy couple.  They are really excited for their big day, cant you tell...so are we!

This event is currently fully booked.  We are looking forward to welcoming all our guests in their Sunday best to the wedding breakfast.  Here's hoping it goes without a hitch, no pun intended :-)

Traditional Wedding Customs

We are very excited about our Traditional Irish Wedding Re-enactment event for Heritage week this year.  The scene will be set back in the 1950’s.  The save the date cards have been sent (not really they didn’t have them in the 50’s) and the priest has been booked.  The following are a few actual traditional customs and traditions from the era…

The Child of Prague

Many Irish wedding traditions which have been handed down through the generations survive in Ireland today. Probably the most popular being the placing of a ‘Child of Prague’ statue outdoors under a hedge to ensure a fine day for the wedding.

Bonfires

Bonfires were lit at the crossroads lining the route from the church to the wedding reception especially near the brides house and they still are today in rural Ireland.

The Dowry

Long ago in Ireland as in many other cultures around the world marriages were ‘arranged’ between families by a matchmaker usually for the betterment of all concerned as a dowry, fortune or spre was usually required of the bride. This could be money or a cow or household goods. This money was the property of the husband or his father and was often used to give a dowry to an unmarried sister.

The bride would bring the dowry with her as often the bride would be expected to move into her husband’s family home thereby automatically usurping the position of ‘woman of the house’ from her mother-in-law. This was signified by the handing over of the ‘fire tongs’ which donated the change in authority. Sometimes the mother in law would break a cake of bread over her head as a token that she would  henceforth be the mistress of the baking and other domestic chores. The mother-in-law who only received inheritance rights in the 1960s previously only been entitled to a space by the fire?

 No wonder there was such ill-feeling between many a new bride and her mother-in-law also bearing in mind that Irish Mammy’s of yesterday idolised their sons...Many still do of course, but in those days the ‘men of the house’ were a revered species who were waited on hand and foot by their sisters.....

Age Gaps

Huge age gaps were customary up until the late 1950’s when much older men (having saved themselves) got married to young girls in the their twenties which was a recipe for disaster considering they had often nothing in common. Furthermore there was no such thing as contraception so large families of 16 and more were quite common even though infant mortality was quite high. 

To book your seat for the wedding breakfast contact us on the details below and stay tuned to our blog for more details.  

Date: Sat 29th August
Time: 20:00 to 23:00
Location: Nell's Farmhouse
Cost: €20
Booking: Essential
Contact: 051-646102 / 086-2206007
Email: info@nellsfarmhouse.ie
www.nellsfarmhouse.ie

Traditional Irish Wedding Re-enactment - Heritage Week 22nd - 30th August 2015

It doesn't seem like twelve months ago since our traditional Irish Wake for Heritage Week last year.  We really enjoyed putting on the interactive evening and now we are excited about this years event.  The wheels are in motion already and it is set to be another great evening.  Us Irish love a good wedding and we decided in keeping with the theme of Heritage Week for 2015 which is "Discover the past. Build the future", we are going to hold a Traditional Irish Wedding Re-Enactment.  Like last year it will be an interactive event where we will be encouraging the wedding guests to get involved. 

The wedding is set in the era of the 1950's when the wedding breakfasts were traditionally held in the home of the bride.  The customs, traditions and fashions of the day will be portrayed.    Space is limited to 28 guests in total so booking is essential.  To get your name on the table plan for the occasion call or email on the details below.  You wont be disappointed.  

Heritage week is the largest cultural event in Ireland.  It is expected that 400,000 people will attend the events scheduled across the country.  For details on all the events taking place in Co. Waterford and in Ireland go to www.heritageweek.ie 

To book your place at our Irish Wedding Re-enactment contact Mary on 051-646102 or 086-2206007 or email Mary on info@nellsfarmhouse.ie and stay tuned to our blog for further updates.

Date: Sat 29th August
Time: 20:00 to 23:00
Location: Nell's Farmhouse
Cost: €20
Booking: Essential
Contact: 051-646102 / 086-2206007
Email: info@nellsfarmhouse.ie
www.nellsfarmhouse.ie