Today was wedding vow renewal day. We took a ferry from Rossaveal out to Inishmor, the largest of the three Aran Islands where we were picked up by Dara Molloy, the celtic priest performing our ceremony. We were welcomed into his home with some tea and delicious cookies baked by one of his teenage daughters. After changing into the steampunk outfits we picked for our ceremony, we walked a short distance down the hill as we could hear traditional Irish music being played by the two local musicians we hired, Paddy and Laughlin (a father-in-law/son-in-law).

The first site was an ancient holy well, where the ceremony included Joe walking around Michelle (as the earth around the sun), the blessing of Michelle, and Joe reading words to the song he wrote “Soul Mates”. The second site was an ancient standing stone where Joe was blessed, and another song was played by the musicians. On our way to the third site, the altar at the church ruins, we encountered a large group of Japanese tourists who all took turns congratulating us and taking our picture. Inside the church, we had a special witness as a horse from the adjacent field watched the entire thing with his head through the window of the church. Here there was a reading by Dara about “Anam Cara”, Irish for “Soul Mate” and we exchanged matching rings inscribed with “Mo Anam Cara” – “My Soul Mate” followed by a moving song sung and played on the guitar by Laughlin. At the fourth site, an ancient sun dial, we made remembrances for those not with us, touched fingers through the hole in the stone (ancient Irish tradition for sealing a deal), passed a scarf through the hole three times (Irish tradition for making a wish), and were blessed as a couple by Dara. Although it was a misty day, it made the setting feel mystical. Although our friends and family weren’t with us, the warmth given to us by Dara, his family and the musicians (not to mention our new Japanese friends and the horse) made for a perfect day among new friends. The ceremony sites are described in more detail on Dara’s website.

The gallery above includes 10 pictures taken by Dara’s wife Tess who happens to be the local photographer. We’ll include more later, along with video (taken by Dara’s 17-year-old son Tuan). The words to Joe’s song “Soul Mates” can be found here.