Love of the Irish

When University of Minnesota classmates turned post-college sweethearts Tim and Sarah Dallum got engaged over a claddagh ring in Minneapolis in August 2005, neither counted poems from Keats, Bells of Ireland bouquets, or a clover-topped cake as likely wedding-day contenders.

But as their September 2, 2006, event approached, Tim and Sarah, both of Irish descent, felt their blood bubble green. Soon, these Irish elements emerged, along with an emerald-infused color scheme, shamrocked invitations, and a plan: “We wanted it to be present, but not overstated,” says Sarah of the Irish in their day. “Everyone kept throwing out these great little ideas, and it just evolved.”

The heirloom handkerchief Sarah carried with her during the ceremony met both of the couple’s requirements, as did Tim’s green-striped sneakers and the two-tone green sash that trailed behind Sarah’s dress during the outdoor ceremony at Afton Apple Orchard in Hastings, Minn. The Dallums’ white-gold wedding bands also fit the bill. Purchased after the wedding during the couple’s County Cork honeymoon, the rings were engraved in ogham, an ancient Gaelic script.

Family who’d long celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day with the bride and groom procured napkin tags and button boutonnieres of Irish persuasion, while some of the wedding’s 175 guests—many of whom hailed from Sarah’s native California and Tim’s hometown of Duluth—gave gifts of Irish significance, including a claddagh-shaped door knocker carried all the way from the island.

Returning home to Minneapolis from their nine-day driving tour of B&Bs and seafood joints along the Irish coast near Kinsale, Sarah and Tim remember their day in broad strokes of green-hued happiness. “It wasn’t about following a certain model or doing a certain thing,” says Sarah, citing their ceremony’s Internet-ordained officiate as an example. “It was very, very laid back.” Irish, indeed.

5 Ways to Incorporate Your Heritage

1. Use family heirlooms. During the ceremony, the Dallums used his father’s ring and her grandmother’s ring as stand-ins for the bands they would later buy on their honeymoon. “It fit perfectly,” says Sarah of her grandmother’s ring.

2. Draw from poetry and literature. Sarah’s cousin chose wedding-appropriate poems by Irish poet John Keats and read them at the ceremony after the couple exchanged vows. 

3. Ask for heritage gifts. The Dallums received an Irish bell meant to be rung during future arguments as a reminder of their love and commitment.

4. Honeymoon in your homeland. Tim and Sarah spent most of their time in County Cork, Ireland, the region from which Sarah’s Irish ancestors emigrated. “Our favorite B&B was the Kirrary B&B [in Dingle] run by Eileen Collins,” Sarah says. “Her house just feels like home.”

5. Buy a keepsake. The Dallums purchased their wedding rings in a quaint shop in Dingle, Ireland.