Handmade, with love woven in
Welcome to Intertwined - Handfasting Cords! We're guessing you're here because you're getting married - congratulations! We hope you're enjoying the wedding planning. So, you're literally going to 'tie the knot' with a Handfasting Ceremony, and it's going to be amazing! We're getting excited just thinking about it!
Sure, you could use some scraps of tartan or ribbon...but, you and your fiancé are a stylish couple and you want to make this symbolic gesture extra special, right? We thought so!
Well, you've come to the right place - at Intertwined, every handfasting cord is handmade to order, each with love, care and positive vibes woven in. With our wide range of vibrantly coloured and luxuriously soft satin ribbon, our cords will provide a picture-perfect moment as you join hands during your Handfasting.
Read on to find out more about the Handfasting Ceremony, or go straight to our Shop and select your cords from our curated collection or have yours custom made to intertwine perfectly with your wedding’s unique colour scheme or theme. Your cords can be made with or without charms, and will make a stunning keepsake to remember your special day forever.
What is a Handfasting Ceremony?
The phrases ‘tying the knot’, and ‘giving one’s hand in marriage’ are synonymous with getting married, and with good reason! They originate from an ancient Celtic tradition going back as far as 7000 B.C., called the Handfasting Ceremony, where couples would give one hand to be bound with their future spouse’s, by braided cord or ribbon, marking their engagement.
This symbolic gesture has been incorporated into wedding ceremonies and practised by many different cultures all over the world, religious and non-religious, signifying the binding of two lives. It is a simple yet moving symbol of two people joining together in marriage.
Since handfasting cords can be personalised with different colours and charms, the Handfasting ceremony is a wonderful combination of tradition and modernism.
How does the Handfasting Ceremony work?
Handfasting ceremonies can be incorporated into Weddings, Affirmation of Vows and Vow Renewals. It works best before, during, or after vows are taken.
Your celebrant/officiant will wrap the cords around yours and your partner’s joined hands and say some meaningful words about what the symbolic gesture represents. Then you can incorporate your vows and exchange of rings if you wish. You and your partner will then tie the knot - a great picture moment!
The cords can be tied around a bouquet or laid on the top table for the remainder of the day. They make a wonderful keepsake to remember your wedding day by and can even be framed in a shadow box.
How many cords do we need?
The ceremony can be done with as few or as many cords as you like, though they are most commonly done with 2 cords, with the idea that one cord represents you and another represents your partner, and you are tying your lives together.
However, handfasting ceremonies can use 3 or even up to 6 cords - since multiple cords can be wrapped by close friends or family members, with each cord representing their love and support for you, it is a great way to involve them in your big day and works especially well for blended families.
Our standard cord length is 1.5m, which is a great fit across the various tying methods, though different lengths can be made on request by email.
How do we tie the knot?
There are a variety of ways to tie handfasting cords. Your celebrant/officiant probably has one or two go-to methods, but if you have a preference, make sure you discuss this with them so that they can prepare accordingly.
Here are a few of my personal favourites in which the celebrant/officiant does the trickier part of wrapping
the cords and you get to tie the knot yourselves:
The Infinity Knot
Any number of cords can be used for this method. You and your partner join one hand, leaving the other hand free. The cords are wrapped around them by your celebrant/officiant, then you slip your hands away and use your other hand to tie the knot in such a way that you are left with an infinity knot, as the name suggests. A lovely way to symbolise ever-lasting love between you and your partner. And a wee nod to the nautical!
The Kiss/Saltire
Works best with two cords. You and your partner face each other, with one pair of wrists resting on the other’s forearms. One cord is laid over your wrists, and the second cord is laid over your partner’s. You each take hold of the cord ends and pull away to tie the knot in such a way that the cords form a ‘kiss’ or ‘saltire’ shape. This looks really good in pictures and can be a wee nod to Scottish heritage.
The Loop
Any number of cords can be used for this method. You and your partner hold each other’s forearm, leaving one hand free. Each cord is wrapped across your joined hands in loops, then you each take a hold of the cord ends and slip your hands out of said loops, tying the knot. The ‘kiss’ or ‘saltire’ shape can be achieved by separating the ends of the cords, with the knot in the centre. The loops also look lovely in pictures.
Can we personalise our cords?
Absolutely! Have a look at our curated collection of handfasting cords – you can swap the charms for others or choose to have no charms at all.
You can also order custom made cords, picking from a wide range of colours and charms. You can select matching cords or choose to have a different style for each cord.
If you would like a particular charm that is not displayed, please email us, and we will try to source it for you. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@intertwinedhandfastingcords.com!
About Us
Intertwined Handfasting Cords was created by Tasha the Celebrant (Tasha Monaghan Leung), a Humanist Wedding Celebrant who works with Fuze Ceremonies. She conducts bespoke ceremonies in Scotland, bringing couples together in meaningful and personalised way.
The Handfasting Ceremony is among her favourite symbolic gestures, and she hand weaves all our cords with love and positive energy.
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You can also check out Tasha's accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Visit us and say hi! Don't forget to leave us a review if you love your Handfasting Cords :)
Let customers speak for us
A beautiful way to enhance the wedding ceremony.
Beautiful cord, fantastic choice with very fast delivery I would definitely recommend
Just received delivery of our amazing handfasting cords for our wedding in April. Tasha was so lovely and helpful throughout the ordering process. She even sent pictures of the colour combinations for our custom cords to make sure we were happy with them. Order to delivery was so quick and the cords are beautifully made. We are delighted with our cords and so excited to use them at the wedding.
Tasha, where do I even start! Tasha is amazing truly a super star, I realised after I recieved my (beautifully packaged) order that I had chosen the wrong colors! She immediately was so helpful and understanding! We got it all sorted and the final result is astounding my ceremony pictures are going to be perfect! I cant Wait to tag her company in them! 10/10 would recommend!
We needed a longer cord and it was easy to arrange, the response was positive and fast. Our cord just arrived and I’m so blown away by the thought and care you put into it. It looks stunning and the packaging is so beautiful and thoughtful. We absolutely love it, thanks so much!
Love my cords, beautifully made and presented. Just need to learn how to handfast now!
Thanks so much to Tasha for making my experience so stress free and easy. When I first ordered my cord she contacted me offering advice, she ordered in specific charms for me, she went above and beyond to make several different cords for me to choose from, sending me so many pics every time I came back to her. She never lost patience and understood the stress of planning the wedding during Covid. She made this part so easy. After she posted my cord, she tracked it all the way to Dublin where it got stuck due to some issues and was returned to sender. She contacted me immediately to say she would make a second one, reorder the charms, and post immediately. When I requested she post to a UK address of someone who would be coming to the wedding, she did so and she tracked it the whole way. In fact, I heard from her that it had arrived before I heard from the person it was posted to!! I finally got my cord yesterday when it was brought to Ireland and it was beautifully packaged with a little note from Tasha. I'm thrilled with it and I really appreciate everything Tasha has done.
I had ordered my cord but had problems with delivery due to Brexit, Tasha went above & beyond to sort it out for us and thankfully my cord arrived yesterday & we are over the moon with it, special mix of Irish & Columbia and it looks amazing, Thank you so much
Not only was the quality fantastic, the colours were perfect and the design just right.
These were the perfect accessory for our hand fasting part of the ceremony conducted by the wonderful Tasha.
We are thrilled to have these as a beautiful keepsake of our perfect day
I absolutely love our handfasting cords! I wanted a simple ivory set to match my wedding gown for our ceremony abroad in Scotland, and Tasha did an amazing job, not just with creating the cords but also conducting the handfasting ceremony! The quality is amazing, and I can't wait to display our cords in a frame as a forever keepsake! <3
My husband and I had decided to incorporate handfasting cords in our Scottish elopement and I am so glad we did. Tasha was quick and super helpful. The cords turned out great and the quality is beautiful. We cannot wait to display the cords with our wedding photos!
Oh my goodness! We just got our order, and I cannot express how happy we both are with how they turned out. Beautiful packaging and we loved how personal it was.
Thank you so much, we cannot wait to use them for our wedding in December
I was lucky enough to win a pair of cords in a twitter competition and I am blown away by the service I received. It took a long time for my partner to decide on colours but Intertwined were so patient! And when we finally decided our colours we were shown examples of the ribbons that would be used to make sure we were happy. The cords arrived today and we're beautifully packaged with tissue and dried flowers. It felt really special to open them! I can't wait to use them in my wedding!
Received my bespoke cords for hand fasting during a renewal of vows service for a couple who are celebrating their Ruby wedding anniversary. . They are beautiful. Gorgeous colours intertwined and decorated with delicate infinity charms .