We had the day off yesterday and with the kids being of school for the bank holiday decided to take a little day trip to Omagh to visit the Ulster American Folk Park.
By coincidence yesterday the folk park had a wedding theme. As someone involved in the wedding industry it was interesting to witness some long forgotten wedding traditions and to see the traditions that are still in place today.
Our first wedding was themed as a traditional Ulster Wedding complete with a "matchmaker" and an unhappy mother in law.
O'Reilly the local "matchmaker" and also the owner of the local pub.
The Groom, the best man, the matchmaker and the future father in law
A wedding guest
The sister of the Bride
The Groom and his Mum
The Bride and her father
The local Blacksmith greets the Bride
The Happy Couple
The Kiss
Wedding Rings made from Straw
The unhappy Mother in Law
One tradition I am pretty sure that most brides are glad history has forgot. Breaking an oatcake above the brides head was an old wedding custom. The crumbs falling down the brides head was a sign of good luck, happiness and beautiful children.
For the new mother in law this may have been the best part of the day
We then fast forwarded 100 years or so and headed for Pennsylvania and a traditional Ulster American Wedding.
Proud Father of the Bride
The Bride's sister on the look out for a prospective Groom of her own
White had not yet become a popular choice for the Bride
This is where the expression "pining" came from. The Groom would present the Bride with a gift of a pine heart on the day of the wedding
Cutting the cake, a wedding tradition that has stood the test of time
We had a great day out, so did the kids. The staff at The Ulster American Folk Park could not have been friendlier. You can check out there website here.