Ancient handfasting rituals launching Valentine's Day at Ryedale Folk Museum
Ryedale Folk Museum is delighted to announce the launch of very special handfasting ceremonies in the museum’s atmospheric roundhouse this Midsummer. Six special couples will have the opportunity to ‘tie the knot’ in a Celtic-inspired building in the North York Moors, with bookings set to open on Valentine’s Day.
“We’re delighted to be able to offer couples this unique ceremony experience at the museum,” explains Museum Wedding Coordinator Kirsty Holtby. “Over recent years, we’ve seen a rise in unconventional ceremonies, from people who don't want to enter into a traditional marriage but do want to share their love publicly. This ancient ceremony, rich in meaning, together with our beautiful roundhouse setting, holds a very special appeal - particularly on the summer solstice, viewed as a magical time of year within the folk calendar."
Handfasting – an ancient folk custom in which couples’ hands are symbolically bound together to represent their commitment – is enjoying a major resurgence. Once a largely forgotten historic practice, handfasting has become one of the most commonly requested symbolic rituals offered by modern wedding celebrants. Media portrayals in the recent award-winning film Hamnet, as well as series like Outlander and Game of Thrones, are helping to bring the ritual back into public awareness.
“Handfasting offers something incredibly meaningful,” explains Kirsty. “It’s a ceremony rooted in history and rich in symbolism, but we’re finding that it's also acquiring new meaning for many couples today. It’s a ceremony that reflects their own values and personalities.”
Kirsty has been working with the museum since it launched a wedding venture in 2021, licensing nine very special buildings around its six-acre site. The ceremonies incorporate some extremely quirky historic spaces, such as a 1950’s village shop and even an undertaker’s premises, but it’s the museum's distinctive roundhouse that has proved to be one of the most popular spaces.
"It offers a truly beautiful setting for couples to share their love for each other in front of their nearest and dearest,” adds Kirsty.
From 9 am on Saturday 14 February, couples will be able to book their handfasting ceremony to take place throughout Midsummer’s Day, including one specially scheduled for the exact moment of the summer solstice, observed at 9.24 am. There’ll also be lots of special activities taking place at the museum throughout the weekend, to mark this time of the year associated in the folk calendar with love, fertility and renewal.
More details can be found on the website: www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/