by Rebekah Byrne
Discovering the joys of beading embroidery has been one of the most exciting things about preparing for our wedding. I never knew I could love a creative art this much!
I decided a couple of months ago I wanted to have a go at beading my own crystal bridal sash for my dress. All the designs I had rifled through on Etsy had left me wanting something more personal and meaningful.
So I found a teacher, who by chance I discovered had graduated as an art therapist from the same college as me last year! Too funny.
I told her I wanted to make something which incorporated many symbols that had meaning for Cat and I, some Romanian, some Celtic, some just meaningful to us both. She thought I was somewhat ambitious to be able to make it happen in such a short time, but I have been attending weekly group meetings with a darling circle of women mostly about 30 years older than I. Last week I got a gold star and some pats on the back for my latest panel. The beehive, complete with honeycomb and all!
This labour of love is a ritual in itself, but is also something that helps me focus on the ritual of our marriage and the promises we are making to each other. Cat and I have talked a lot about each symbol on the sash and so it doesn’t just have meaning for me but for him as well. Among them are images of Edelweiss, Bran castle from Cat’s hometown, a celtic triskele, musical manuscript, the Southern Cross and the Carpathian Lynx. The central panel is a heavily laden oak tree, symbolising the tree of life, growth, wisdom and the fruits of love.
…The rest will be revealed on the wedding day
