Customer Reviews

Pósadh and Bainis: Guide to the Traditional Irish Wedding

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Just think trying to have an Irish wedding for a daughter when my wife has never been to one! She is Polish and all of her relatives have big Polish weddings. I wanted an Irish wedding for Meghan as she was named after her Irish Grandmother. I did not want one of those greenie ones from the shops where all that is Irish is the color! We wanted a wedding like grandma used to talk about. Great food, dance, song and stories in the kitchen. I had heard about the old country weddings all my life but had never been to one. My wife agreed but didn't know where to begin. This book was the lucky charm! We had no trouble with the traditional cake and teatime. All easy to follow. We even did the wedding customs and had a special event prior to the wedding for wedding party. I had some cds but nothing for weddings. We were able to find all we needed right in the book and after a few trips to my online music suppier we were in business. My brother in law usually plays for polkas but we were able to convince him to play some of the tunes in the book. The music was right there. My cousin sang the Irish wedding song. Instead of traditional corned beef that my Americanized relatives served we prepared the spiced beef from the book- most of em spent half the afternoon writing out the recipe! Even the Polish relatives liked it. They were glad to know that some of the cds had polkas! My wife enjoyed pouring out the Irish tea and now is pestering me to go to Ireland..... The kids got off to a great start and I think all enjoyed getting back to the old vilage traditions. It was a good change from all the comercial weddings held in our town. The neighbors are still talking! A good way to start out on a new life- a return to traditions. Slante! Conrad whereever you are!

Mat

I have been researching Irish traditions for some time now- over 20 years, and I have never seen such a well researched and thorough collection of Irish Wedding traditions. I purchased the book just for the music,recipes,stories, games and folklore alone. The wedding you construct from the directions provided here will be the best Irish traditional wedding ever. I have even recommended it to my friends in Ireland- sometimes modern Irish weddings like those in the US can be frightfully plastic and dependant upon business trends. You know- just another one of those packaged deals....Beware of Irish wedding books that mention one commercial establishment after the other! The tradition can do quite well enough on its own and you need to find the "real tradition"- your Irish relatives will know it when they see it! This is a great gift for the bride to be and for any family Irish or other which wants to have a rip-roaring traditional wedding which will live in memory forever. All of the traditions are there- just follow them to a wonderful event.

Alice Riada Washington D.C.

In preparation for our wedding we must have read every Irish wedding book on the market. Most are designed for the 20th century bride and groom. This was exactly what we did not want. We wanted to go right to the traditions of our heritage. Most sources somehow somewhere served as guides to comercial outlets and stores. We were convinced that we could do our wedding as our ancestors did theirs from scratch, with their own hands- we found all we needed and more in this book. We could prepare the wedding dress, gather the ingredients for traditional foods and follow the traditional timetable of events all on our own. This for us was important. It was getting back to our heritage- our roots. This was also important for our guests- especially those who had come from Ireland in the old days. There is something about the quality of home made which can not be equaled. The real traditions. We found everything. We were particularly impressed with the music. Not just titles but actual lyrics and notation. All I had to do was give it to the band. We also found in the book ways to convert our 20th century American friends gathered together into a true Irish Festivity. The directions for preparing tea were great. Soon all were telling the stories provided in the book as if they had known them their whole lives. We even had a few strawboys- the costume directions are right there in the book. To show you how we appreciated this reference- it is now part of our wedding album and will be passed down in the family- that is if it doesnt get worn out along the way. The recipes, stories and lore are good for everyday use too! I highly recommend this book. We did a peasant wedding style but there are directions for ancient celtic weddings as well as fancy georgian lace ones. I am trying to talk my sister into going celtic! They already speak some gaelic and with this book they can throw a great festivity. All for now! Joyce Bucham

I have read several books which claim to be about Traditional Irish weddings. None is as complete as this one. My son's wedding was perfectly planned (according to several guests from Ireland as well as the older generation in attendance) and all we used was this one book. Where else can you learn how to dress up like a straw boy? We had a few of the local guys do it and it was spectacular. People could not believe what they were seeing- the illustrations in the book are perfect. We also wanted real music and not cds. We came up with a bluegrass fiddler and a banjo player. They did not know any of the songs until we gave them the book. In an hour or so we had a great selection of live music- the lyrics and the music are all there. Then came the food which was lovely. Compliments all around. The younger kids had a great time with the authentic games. The bride was even properly stolen away! I highly recommend this book for anyone planing an Irish Traditional wedding- start here and then go on to some of the more popular commercial style ones which seem to be nothing more than advertizing for shops. We found all the ingredients for our wedding in this book without having to go too much outside of the family circle- the way it should be in the tradition! Put the village to work! Jamie

This book was highly informative about Irish wedding customs, but I was looking for more of "hints" of what to do for a traditional wedding, not why these traditions are in place. It wasn't the type of book I was looking for in wedding planning.

Amazing how many books are coming out on Irish weddings. As a consultant specializing in Celtic celebrations, I have the dubious honor of buying or borrowing whatever books come out that focus on important events in the Celtic life. This one came to my attention while browsing the internet. It purports to be "the definitive resource", but it's simply a compilation of material that anyone can get if they visit their local library. These days, engaged couples are usually so busy, they need sound, practical advice that will save them time, aggravation, and possibly a few bucks into the bargain. The idea of trying to recreate a hands-on, hand-made "village/peasant style" celebration that other reviewers are raving about is totally out of touch with reality. From my own experience, what engaged couples want is something that will make the planning process easier, while also incoporating appropriate ethnic details. There's lots of fun stuff to read here, but "definitive", it is definitely not.