Wales has plenty of customs worth carrying into a ceremony, and a celebrant-led day is a lovely place to do it. Whether you're marrying in Wales, elsewhere in the UK or abroad, a touch of Welsh heritage can make the day feel more like yours. You can choose a symbol, a phrase or a piece of music that says something about you, and none of it has to be formal or elaborate.
Here are some Welsh touches you can weave into your own, and some honest advice on what I can and can't offer.
Lovespoons: A Gift Carved With Love
Photo: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Welsh lovespoon is probably the best known. Museum Wales says young men traditionally made them from a single piece of wood as love tokens for their sweethearts, with its oldest dated spoon from 1667. Today they're frequently given to mark weddings, birthdays and anniversaries too.
The symbols on a spoon each carry a meaning. The museum lists hearts for love, chain links for loyalty and faithfulness, and keys or keyholes for security or, more romantically, the key to one's heart. A spoon can be part of your ceremony as a gift you exchange, or as something you hang at home afterwards.
A Few Words of Welsh
Some couples would like a little Welsh in their ceremony, and I'm glad to help, with one honest caveat. If couples want a bit of Welsh, I can try my best, but I'm learning it and I'm not fluent. I only know bits and bobs.
That means I'd rather you bring the words that matter to you. A short phrase a grandparent used to say, a word you use on each other at home or a line from a favourite song will always mean more than anything I pick. Some easy ones to start with:
Cariad: love, or darling.
Dw i'n dy garu di: I love you.
Llongyfarchiadau: congratulations.
If there's someone in the family who speaks Welsh fluently, I'd happily make space for them to say a few words, and I'll be glad to learn the pronunciation from you.
Songs, Poems and Readings
You can weave in Welsh music or poetry without it taking over. Maybe you'd like a Welsh song playing as you arrive, or a reading in Welsh followed by an English one so that everyone can follow. If there's a piece that means something to you both, tell me and we'll look at where it fits in the shape of the ceremony. My post on why the ceremony script is written from scratch explains how I put it together around your story.
An Old Custom From History
One tradition you'll read about is the bidding, or neithior. People's Collection Wales describes it as an invitation, often spoken by a bidder, to a wedding feast, at which guests were encouraged to lend the couple a present, often a small amount of cash, to be repaid at a similar event in the lender's family. It seems to have been restricted to south-west Wales, so it's more of a historical curiosity than something to plan around. But it's a nice reminder that weddings in Wales were always about community.
Keeping It Personal
Traditions work best when they're yours, not borrowed. A lovespoon is lovely if it speaks to you, but a phrase from your nan or a song you danced to in the kitchen is just as good. There's no checklist and no right amount. One touch, done well, is enough, and it often means more than five. When we chat, I'll ask which parts of your family story, your language or your landscape feel most like you, and we'll build from there.
Making It Yours, Wherever You Are
You don't need to be Welsh to enjoy a Welsh touch, and you don't need to be in Wales to have one. A lovespoon travels well, and a phrase or a song can go with you to a beach in another country or a garden at home. If you'd like to see how the whole thing works, my guide to what a celebrant actually does is a good place to start, and the Plan Your Experience page shows you where to take it next.
Choose one thing that feels like you, and let it be the bit people remember.