Weddings where couples honor their cultural heritage are some of my favorite because you get to peek into the backgrounds that brought two people together to create one new family! When I showed up at Caroline and Chris’s celebration this summer, I was intrigued by the ribbons Caroline included for me to photograph with her other wedding details! She explained they were having a Handfasting ceremony during their wedding, and I was excited to find out what that meant and what that looked like a few hours later!

Caroline later explained to me: “We both have Scottish roots and wanted to tap into our Celtic culture during our wedding ceremony. While incorporating traditional religious readings, vows and an exchange of rings was a top priority, we opted to also include a Handfasting portion.”

She continued to explain, “Handfasting is an ancient tradition that dates back at least 2,000 years. While there are many versions of Handfasting, we opted for a simple version: one ribbon with my family tartan, another with Chris’s family tartan, and one last ribbon that represents our new family together.

“Draped over our respective wrists with the new ribbon draped over our clasped hands, the ribbons were brought together and tied as we slid our hands out. We pulled the two groups of ribbon tails to create an infinity knot to symbolize the eternal bond of our souls.”

The following was read over them as Chris’s Dad performed the tying: “With each wrap of the ribbon, you deepen your commitment to each other, vowing to respect and support one another, to grow with each other, to offer each other compassion and understanding, and to take each new challenge and adventure as it comes, together. It is strong enough to hold you together during times of struggle yet flexible enough to allow for individuality and personal growth.” 

“We deeply cherish our families and heritage,” Caroline finishes, “And this seemed like the ideal way to honor and celebrate uniting our families and lives. As a special bonus, we will be bringing our knot with us on our future honeymoon to Scotland. Afterward, we will put the knot in a shadowbox with some photos from our favorite day.”

Speaking of which…Want to see some more of those photos from their favorite day? I’m so glad you asked!! 😉 Enjoy the beauty and joy of these two and their people from Memorial Day weekend, celebrating at the German Club Manor of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA!

Their bridal party… Oh my word, SO much fun!! They followed all my prompts to a T, but also truly didn’t need much instruction to give me GENUINE, joyful laughter!

Sidenote: I met Caroline initially over a decade ago when we were both at CNU! All her bridal crew were CNU alum, most of whom I also haven’t seen in 10 years!!! It was so fun to spend the day photographing these familiar faces — and genuinely, these folks have only gotten more beautiful over time!!!

Phewwweeee, Caroline… 1) You’re stunning, and 2) I love how you truly enjoyed this day and were so stress-free and joyful from start to finish!!!

Let’s not forget their pup, Pepper!!! They had a special moment with her before the ceremony!!

Thanks for bringing me into your Scottish and Celtic cultural background, Caroline & Chris!! I loved learning about the significance of Handfasting and how it symbolizes your two lives bound together into one!! I can’t believe TODAY you head out for your honeymoon in Scotland!! I hope it’s beyond fun and memorable. Thanks for letting me be part of such a fun day back in May out in Blacksburg, VA!! 🙂