13 Romantic Irish Blessings for Every Occasion and Emotion

Irish weddings are filled with exciting and emotional traditions and rituals. Whether you’re giving a wedding toast or want to give the happy couple special blessings for their lives together, you can make your message romantic to ensure the couple will remember your words forever. So, what are some of the most romantic Irish blessings for the special couple? 

The best romantic Irish blessings for the special couple are iconic and popular, drawing on Irish culture. There are also romantic Irish blessings that inject a bit of humor into your words, as well as those that feature Gaelic wishes.  

In this article, I’ll explore these and other romantic Irish blessings for the special couple. I’ll also discuss the best way to add these to your wishes or wedding speech and show examples of different approaches you can take, whether humorous or serious. 

1. Irish Wedding Blessings With a Traditional Irish Prayer

Irish prayers are filled with emotion and will add a layer of romance to your wedding blessings for the special couple. One of the most iconic traditional prayers is ‘May the Road Rise Up.’

May the road rise to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon the fields.

May the light of friendship guide your paths together.

May the laughter of children grace the halls of your home.

May the joy of living for one another

trip a smile from your lips,

A twinkle from your eye.

And when eternity beckons,

at the end of a life heaped high with love,

May the good Lord embrace you

with the arms that have nurtured you

the whole length of your joy-filled days.

May the gracious God hold you both

in the palm of His hands. 

And today, may the Spirit of Love

find a dwelling place in your hearts.

What’s great about this prayer is that you can include parts of it instead of using it in its entirety. Although these wishes have been around for a long time and are usually expressed at weddings, just adding a few lines from it is all you need to make your wishes more sentimental.  

2. Irish Wedding Blessings With Rhyme 

Rhyming words are common in Irish wedding poems and blessings. An interesting take on the emphasis of rhyme in Irish weddings is that it originates from Irish superstitions. Including rhymes in your wedding blessings adds charm and romance to your words. 

Here’s an example of a rhyming wedding blessing: 

“May your troubles be less,

And your blessings be more.

And nothing but happiness,

Come through your door.”

Another example is the Druid’s Prayer: 

“We swear by peace and love to stand

Heart to heart and hand to hand.

Hark, O Spirit, and hear us now,

Confirming this our Sacred Vow.” 

This is a special prayer as it dates back to the first century B.C. and formed part of communities in: 

• Ireland 
• France 
• Britain 

3. Irish Wedding Blessings With Rainbow Symbolism 

Although many people love rainbows, they’re a special symbol in Ireland. They are referenced a lot in poems and wedding wishes because of how they symbolize heavenly blessings. Along with leprechauns, rainbows are associated with Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day. And in Celtic culture, rainbows symbolize having the perseverance to chase one’s dreams and accomplish them. 

With the above in mind, here’s an example of an Irish wedding wish with rainbows: 

“Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers—

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

For golden happy hours—

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!”

4. Irish Wedding Blessings With Luck 

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “Luck of the Irish,” which is thought to hail back to the 19th century when many famous miners were of Irish or Irish-American birth. 

Luck plays an important role in Irish weddings, and you’re likely to hear luck mentioned in Irish wedding toasts on a regular basis. Luck also connects well with other symbols in Irish cultures, such as shamrocks and leprechauns. 

Here’s an example of how you can add luck to your wedding blessings: 

“Lucky stars above you,

Sunshine on your way,

Many friends to love you,

Joy in work and play-

Laughter to outweigh each care,

In your heart a song-

And gladness waiting everywhere

All your whole life long!” 

To make your wedding wishes even more romantic and meaningful, write them on a horseshoe-inspired wedding card or give the bride a horseshoe as a gift. This is a traditional symbol of good luck. In Irish weddings, sometimes a horseshoe is fastened to flowers in the bride’s bouquet, which gets brought to her home to fill it with luck.  

5. Irish Wedding Blessings With Gaelic Words 

Gaelic is a language spoken by many people in Ireland, so it can be a nice touch to add some Gaelic sayings to your wedding speech or toast. Here are some common Irish Gaelic sayings and their English translations. 

• Maireannon croí éadrom i bhfad: A light heart lives long. 
• Go maire sibh bhur saol nua: May you enjoy your new life.
• Go n-eirí an t-ádh libh: Good luck to you both.
• Go n-éirí an bóthar leat!: May your journey be successful. 

Adding Gaelic words and sayings to your wedding wishes is a great way to make them more unique and special, whether they’re spoken or written on a card. 

6. Irish Wedding Blessings Containing Irish Writer Quotes 

If you lack inspiration for what to include in your wedding wishes to the special couple, you should turn to Irish writers for inspiration. There are beautiful, romantic quotes about marriage and love in literature that will make your wishes more sentimental and memorable, so they don’t get lost in all the other generic wishes. 

Here are some of the most romantic Irish writer quotes for weddings: 

• James Stephens: “What the heart knows today, the head will understand tomorrow.” 
• Samuel Lover: “Come live in my heart, and pay no rent.” 
• Oscar Wilde: “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.” 
• Maeve Binchy: “We’re nothing if we’re not loved. When you meet somebody who is more important to you than yourself, that has to be the most important thing in life.” 
• Cecilia Ahern: “A soul mate is someone who understands you like no other, loves you like no other, and will be there for you forever, no matter what. They say that nothing lasts forever, but I am a firm believer in the fact that for some, love lives on even after we’re gone.” 

7. Irish Wedding Blessings With Humor 

If you’d like to write a lighter, less serious message for the couple’s wedding, you should inject some humor into your words. Humor and opting for a lighter mood are important in Irish culture.

Here are some examples of humorous wedding wishes that you could include in your romantic words:

• Here’s to a long and happy life, a quick death, and an easy one. A cold beer and another one!” 
• “May those who love us love us. And those that don’t love us, may God turn their hearts. And if He doesn’t turn their hearts, may He turn their ankles so we’ll know them by their limping.” 

It’s always wise to add a little humor to your meaningful, emotional blessings, as focusing on humor alone could cause your wishes to lack sentiment. 

8. Irish Blessings With “Tying Knot” Imagery

In Irish culture, weddings usually contain a handfasting ritual. This is when the couple ties a knot around both of their hands during their wedding ceremony as a way to be connected to each other for eternity. 

Here’s an example of how to include imagery of tying the knot: 

“Now you are bound one to the other

With a tie not easy to break.

Take the time of binding

Before the final vows are made

To learn what you need to know –

To grow in wisdom and love.

That your marriage will be strong

That your love will last

In this life and beyond.”

9. Irish Blessings That Focus on the Future

If you want to make your wedding wishes more romantic, you should focus on wishing the couple prosperity for the future. Here’s an example of how to achieve this: 

“Through all of life’s stops and starts

May the promise of this wedding day

Be kept alive in both your hearts.

May the rhythms of daily life

Give new strength to your love and faith

May you triumph over foolish strife

And come home together sound and safe

May troubles give you in their turn

A challenge to begin again

May you with hope and joy, thus learn

Surely that love never ends.” 

Here’s another example: 

“May you be poor in misfortune,

rich in blessings,

slow to make enemies,

quick to make friends.

But rich or poor,

quick or slow,

may you know nothing but happiness

from this day forward.

Bless you and yours,

As well as the cottage you live in.

May the roof overhead be well thatched

And those inside be well matched.”

10. Irish Wedding Blessings That Include Christianity 

If the special couple is Christian or having a Christian wedding, you can make your wishes fit into this theme. You can focus on giving them well wishes for their lives together by mentioning Christ. Here’s an example to help you write your own:  

“By the power that Christ brought from heaven,

mayst thou love me.

As the sun follows its course,

mayst thou follow me.

As light to the eye,

as bread to the hungry,

as joy to the heart,

May thy presence be with me,

Oh one that I love,

’til death comes to part us asunder.”

11. Irish Wedding Blessings That Are Short and Sweet

Your wishes for the couple getting married don’t have to be long, especially if that’s not your style. You can keep your wishes short and sweet, but make sure that the wishes are still memorable. A popular Irish wedding blessing example is the following that you can use in written or spoken wishes: 

“With the first light of sun-

Bless you.

When the long day is done-

Bless you.

In your smiles and your tears-

Bless you.

Through each day of your years-

Bless you.” 

You could even give one-line wishes, which work well for people who don’t want to spend a lot of time giving a wedding toast. These can also be ideal for wedding wishes in cards or letters. Here are two examples of short wedding blessings: 

• “May you live as long as you want and never want as long as you live.” 
• “May good luck follow you everywhere, and your blessings be greater than the number of shamrocks that grow.”

12. Irish Wedding Blessings That Include St. Patrick

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is an important figure in Irish culture, so you can add his prayers and words to your wedding wishes, whether or not you’re writing Christian wishes. 

Here’s a beautiful example of a St. Patrick prayer. It’s been beloved through the centuries and is still meaningful today: 

“I arise today, through

The strength of heaven,

The light of the sun,

The radiance of the moon,

The splendor of fire,

The speed of lightning,

The swiftness of wind,

The depth of the sea,

The stability of the earth,

The firmness of rock.” 

13. Irish Wedding Blessings That Feature Encouragement 

If you’re stumped about what you should say in your wishes to the special couple, a good tip is to focus on providing words of encouragement for the couple’s future. Read the verses that follow so you can see an example of the ideas and rhyming nature of the writing. 

“May you always have walls for the winds,

A roof for the rain, tea beside the fire,

Laughter to cheer you, those you love near you,

And all your heart might desire.” 

Other examples of encouraging wedding wishes are: 

• “May the blessings of each day be the blessings you need most.”
• “These things, I warmly wish for you: someone to love, some work to do, a bit of o’ sun, a bit o’ cheer, and a guardian angel always near.” 
• “May the joys of today be those of tomorrow. The goblets of life hold no dregs of sorrow.” 

You could also add a religious element to the blessing: 

“May God give you:

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

And or every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.”

Final Thoughts 

If you’re attending an Irish wedding, you will want to give the special couple unique and heartwarming wishes for their future together. These can take various forms, such as: 

• Including humor in your wedding wishes to the couple.
• Choosing short and sweet wishes. 
• Using traditional Irish prayers. 
• Including the “tying knot” imagery that’s popular in Irish weddings. 
• Using encouragement for the future in your message.