Rowan & Vladimir's Handfasting

For us at the BGI, young Rowan holds a very special place in our hearts. She was there at the Big Green Gathering when the BGI made its first appearance and is quite the sweetest, gentlest soul you could imagine. So when she invited us to her handfasting, our first thought was ‘Yes! Congratulations! How exciting!' Our second thought was ‘I wonder if she will write us a series of articles?' She very kindly agreed to share her preparations with us so here is the first instalment...

Well, where do I begin?

Briefly my now fiancé and I met, fell in love and thought ‘Hey! Let's get hitched!' That's when the serious thinking began.

We are both very individual in our systems of beliefs and yet both very alike in what we think makes a wedding. Also we are both living the green life so we wanted a wedding that is kind to our beautiful planet and thanks Mother Earth for all her hard work. It had to let us be original to the last letter, be able to hold the ceremony anywhere we liked and have whoever we wanted to marry us without the need for a high priestess.

But what would fit all those criteria?

The answer was simple really: a ‘handfasting' was exactly what the hippie ordered.

Handfasting is a gateway ritual that joins two people into a relationship. It is an undertaking to each other, and pre-dates all other forms of marriage. There is no required format or content of the ceremony - you can design and create your own to suit your desires exactly.

'Handfasting' was the term used by the ancient Celts to describe their traditional trial-marriage ceremony, during which couples were literally bound together. The handfasting was a temporary agreement that expired after a year and a day. However, it could be made permanent after or at that time, if both spouses agreed. This form of marriage is favoured strongly, though not exclusively, within the pagan community, hence its attraction for us as it comes with such freedom - anyone can be married by handfasting.

The are two forms of handfasting: the first is purely a ‘spiritual binding' which is seen by the couple as their ‘marriage'. The other encompasses a legal civil ceremony in which the couple are married in the eyes of the law, not just those of the gods.

After deciding that we wanted a handfasting we then had to start planning. First, who did we want to marry us? Two of our dearest friends were our first choice and after a chat they decided they were thrilled and would be honoured to marry us... much to our relief!

So that was sorted, but now came the next question of where. We are both very outdoorsy people and reeled off a list of possible lovely sites and criteria. We wanted a tree circle, out of the way but not hard to find for friends, quiet, beautiful and that just had pure angelic energy coursing through it... not too hard really? Correct!

We went for a bike ride near Beachy Head and along a more secluded walkway Vlad spotted a clearing in some trees, we de-biked and went in to explore further.

‘Ohh this is it!!!' we both screamed.

Now all we have left to do is make the invitations, my gown, cloaks for Vlad and me, cloaks for Shell and Paul who are marrying us, the blessing box, the decorations, the gifts for bridesmaids... but that's all for another instalment!

Love and Light

Rowan and Vlad xxx

Handfasting photo (c) Greg and Sophie Mack 2009 

Bottom two photos (c) Rowan Odin 2009

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