Bespoke Handfasting Cords
Beautiful, personalised braids designed to enhance your wedding ceremony with distinctive artistry that reflects your love story, and makes your vows unique.
Tying the Knot: Celtic Handfasting Ceremonies
Handfasting is a beautiful and meaningful wedding tradition that comes from the Old Norse term ‘hand-festa,’ which means ‘to strike a bargain by joining hands.’ In this lovely ceremony, a couple’s hands are gently bound together with cords or ribbons, symbolising their union. Usually, they join their right hands to the right and left to the left, creating an infinity symbol, while they share heartfelt vows. As they wind the material around their hands, each loop represents a promise made to one another.This charming ritual is not just about the physical binding of hands; it's a wonderful visual representation of a deep spiritual connection. It signifies the joining of two lives, the intertwining of their destinies, and the merging of two families. In Celtic culture, the intricate knots and patterns symbolise the interconnection of life and eternity, much like the infinity symbol. The colours of the cord or ribbon are often chosen to reflect the qualities the couple hopes to nurture in their relationship, making it even more special.In today’s world, handfasting ceremonies can be personalised to tell the couple’s unique love story. This tradition often takes centre stage on their wedding day because of its powerful symbolism. Couples can choose cords in various colours that resonate with them or represent different aspects of their journey together—whether it’s about shared dreams, cultural beliefs, or simply hues they adore. The act of tying their hands together beautifully symbolises the promises they are making to each other, celebrating their love in a truly heartfelt way!
Choose Your Style of Cord
I have a selection of braided cords for you to choose the style that best suits your unique ceremony.
Each braid can be fully customisable in terms of cord colours.For further details of each design, click the images below. For colour symbolism and meaning, click here.
| 12-Strand Celtic Braid | 12-Strand Fishtail Braid | 8-Strand Celtic Braid | 6-Strand Blessing Braid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 2 or 3 colour cords | 1, 2 or 3 colour cords | 1, 2 or 3 colour cords | 1, 2 or 3 colour cords |
| - | - | Gold or Silver Ribbon | - |
| £60 | £55 | £40 | £20 |
All braids are carefully and lovingly made for your special day using 3mm four strand twisted cotton macrame cord, reaching approximately 2 meters in length. The final braids are secured at each end with a cotton cord of a colour of your choosing, and ending tassels of around 10cm in length with each cord knotted to prevent fraying.All prices include 48hr tracked postage within the UK. If you’re based outside the UK, please contact me first for a quote and an estimated shipping time.Please allow at least two weeks after final confirmation of the design and payment for me to craft and send your cord. If multiple cords have been ordered, this may take a little longer.
About
Hi! I'm Vicky, and I create unique handfasting cords from my home in South Wales. In the process of crafting cords for myself, my husband, and other family members for my own wedding, I realised how important it is to add a meaningful touch to the ceremony through beautiful colours, patterns, and texture. This inspired me to share that feeling with couples through my personalised braided cords and helping make their ceremonies even more memorable.
Get in Touch!
If you would like me to create handfasting cords for your ceremony, please contact me outlining the style and colours you would like, as well as when your special day is so that I can produce them in a reasonable time.For any queries, larger orders, or further modifications to the braid design/material, please also get in touch for a quote.
Gallery
Some of the work I've made for couples so far - hover over the images to find out what the cords represent!
Testimonials
Check back soon!
12-Strand Celtic Braid
This traditional Celtic pattern is braided into four sections comprising of customisable coloured inner and outer segments. The final braids are secured at each end with a cotton cord of a colour of your choosing, and ending tassels of around 8-10cm in length and each cord knotted to prevent fraying. The width of the final product is around 3 cm.Select from three different style braids: One, two, or three differently different coloured cords. For three-coloured cord braids, please choose one colour for the outer strand (white in picture), and up to two colours for the inner strands (blue & green in picture).
£60
12-Strand Fishtail Braid
An alternative to the celtic pattern, this fishtail braid is woven from four sections comprising of customisable coloured inner and outer segments. The final braids are secured at each end with a cotton cord of a colour of your choosing, and ending tassels of around 8-10cm in length and each cord knotted to prevent fraying. The width of the final product is around 3 cm.Select from three different style braids: One, two, or three differently different coloured cords. For three-coloured cord braids, please choose up to two colours for the outer strands (white & green in picture), and one colour for the inner strand (blue in picture).
£55
8-Strand Celtic Braid
A slight modification to the traditional Celtic pattern, this braided cord consists of two segments of 3 cords with customisable inner and outer sections, as well as a crossing section made using 3mm gold or silver ribbon. An alternative ‘retro stripe’ pattern is available for three colour handfasting cords.The final braids are secured at each end with a cotton cord of a colour of your choosing, and ending tassels of around 8-10cm in length and each cord knotted to prevent fraying. The width of the final product is around 2.5 cm.Select from four different style braid with either gold or silver crossing strands: One colour, two colours (full), two colours (bordered), or three differently different coloured cords.
For the two-coloured cord, please choose either full-colour strands (2nd from left) or bordered-colour (3rd from left). Select which colours you’d like as the inner (green in picture) and outer (white in picture) strands for bordered-colour
£40
6-Strand Blessing Braid
A more simplistic and narrower braid, these cords are ideal for adding a level of inclusivity to your ceremony. Alongside your handfasting cord, family and friends that wish to add their blessings to the couple can use these smaller braids to incorporate into the binding of hands – symbolically connecting their lives to the couple as well.These blessing cords are carefully braided from three segments of up to three colours. The final braids are secured at each end with a cotton cord of a colour of your choosing, and ending tassels of around 8-10cm in length and each cord knotted to prevent fraying. The width of the final product is around 1.5 cm.Select from three different styles of braid: one, two, or three differently coloured cords
£20
