Hand Fasting was common in Ireland & Scotland in pre-christian times.​​ Its an ancient Celtic ritual where we get the phrase "Tying the Knot" from. The tradition includes the concept of “soul love”; the old Gaelic term for this is “Anam Cara”. Anam meaning soul, Cara meaning friend – and hand fasting is an expression of such love. 

You can bring in ribbons, flags, colours, scarves, burlap, cord or ropes for this part of the ceremony. Atlantic Vows can source the binding material and personalize this for you by hand embroidering your wedding date and initials onto the ribbon.

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