Wedding Gazette

Your Irresistibly Irish Wedding

By Jennifer Baumann

In an interview with Wedding Gazette, Kari White author of Unique Theme Weddings tells brides how they can plan the perfect Irish wedding.

Wedding Gazette (WG):

How did you get into the business of planning themed weddings?

Kari White (KW):

I spent ten years in the corporate world doing a lot of event planning based on themes. After a while, my girlfriends began to ask me to help them plan their weddings. And that is when it occurred to me that I could throw everything I knew about event planning into wedding planning.

WG:

Tell us a little bit about your wedding guide and website.

KW:

Both are called Unique Theme Weddings. After helping my girlfriends plan their weddings, I began to write my ideas down. I realized that a lot of girls like to keep control of the plans while many others don't have the money to hire a planner. Eventually I created the guide and the site, which is a fairly new launch that has really taken off. We have a newsletter as well as our theme guide. The guide, which is 125 pages long, can be downloaded and printed out. I keep working to add new themes.

WG:

Your themed weddings are extremely detailed, everything from choosing the venue, constructing the invitations and planning the menu to arranging for a themed prenuptial evening for bride and groom. How do you go about it?

KW:

I do a lot of research. I discovered, for example, that at a traditional Irish wedding it's considered good luck for someone to throw an old shoe over the bride's head and for a horseshoe to be utilized in the ceremony. In my theme guide, I suggested that the bride allow the flower girl to carry the horseshoe with the open side up, of course, so the luck doesn't run out. I also discovered that years ago the traditional color for the Irish bride to wear was blue. It symbolized purity.

WG:

Without giving away your hand, can you offer a few ideas here about how to throw an Irish wedding and why are they so popular?

KW:

Well, you know they say that everyone is at least a little bit Irish. The Irish are known for their sense of fun, their casual attitude, and their sense of tradition. They're irresistible. For a venue, I'd suggest an Irish pub or an old barn that could be transformed into a rustic, cottage-like setting. Actually either of these could be done in a home or a hall as well. And for color scheme, think green, but not just Kelly green. Think all shades of green, maybe even lime if the wedding is in spring or summer. The menu could be the traditional corned beef and cabbage, or not, but there would have to be plenty of Guinness Stout beer on hand.

WG:

What about favors?

KW:

In my guide, I suggest handing out miniature bottles of Baily's Irish Cream, a CD of Celtic music, or for fun, bars of Irish Spring soap.

KW:

These are all great ideas, Kari. Finally, can a bride create one of your themed weddings and keep to a budget and how can she learn more about her chosen theme?

WG:

It depends on the bride and how much she wants to spend. But every bride should keep in mind that it is a large guest list, the sit-down dinner, and open bar that drive up the cost of most weddings. My guide definitely includes more budget-conscious themes like the brunch or the cocktail wedding to name only two. And all my weddings offer such a variety of ways to create them and to make them more or less expensive. My guide also offers brides numerous sources that will further their knowledge on a particular theme.

For further information about Kari White's Irresistibly Irish wedding as well as other wedding themes visit Unique Theme Weddings.