Handfasting in Nature – Our Personal Ritual at Bospark MERU
In October, Willem and I were arranging our registered partnership. Because we wanted to give it a romantic and personal touch, we decided to create our own handfasting ritual in nature.
For those who are not familiar with handfasting: it is an old ceremonial tradition that is especially well known in Scotland and is often associated with Celtic and medieval customs. During the ritual, the hands of two people are symbolically bound together with a ribbon, cord, or cloth. The expression tying the knot is often linked to this tradition.
What I love most about it is its simplicity. You can shape a handfasting in a very personal way and hold it in a place that feels right to you. You can speak to each other and share your intentions before joining your hands. In essence, all you need is a ribbon and the intention to truly meet each other in that moment (see also this video).
We would have loved to go to Scotland for our ceremony, but arranging that at the last minute was difficult for us. So instead, we had a special handfasting ribbon made in Scotland by Ceotha, a Scottish maker of handfasting ribbons, and chose one of our favourite places as our location: a castle hotel in Limburg, close to a few places near national park De Meinweg that means a lot to us.
Leaving room to go with the flow
Willem and I are not really into strict planning, so we consciously chose to leave as much freedom around the ceremony as possible. We stayed at the hotel for two nights, and for us the handfasting did not have to take place on the same day as our town hall appointment. We wanted to move with the weather, the atmosphere and our feeling in the moment. That also meant we could not book a master of ceremonies or a photographer, so we brought our own camera and tripod instead.
It was autumn, rain had been forecast, and we preferred to be outside in a quiet place. That meant we had to be able to improvise and really trust our intuition when it came to choosing the right moment and the right location.
Bospark MERU in Vlodrop
We had two places in mind: the star deck at the hotel or Bospark MERU in Vlodrop, the Maharishi park and part of the “Geluksroute” walking route. We have loved coming there for years because of the peace, the ponds with their gazebos, and the fairytale-like atmosphere that hangs there in every season.
In the end, Bospark MERU turned out to be the right place for us. The autumn colours were beautiful, and the peace and birdsong gave the ceremony exactly the atmosphere that suited us. The large gazebo over the water, which we had originally had in mind, turned out to be less suitable after all. From time to time, walkers passed by, and there you were fully in view. The smaller gazebo, hidden behind a large rhododendron, gave us exactly the shelter and intimacy we were looking for, so that we could completely be ourselves.
The fact that we took our own photos and videos turned out to be perfect. We spent a few hours there, and the colours of the leaves matched our clothes and the ribbon beautifully.
A personal ritual
For us, handfasting was not meant to be a grand or elaborate event, but rather a small and personal moment. No formal setting, no large group of people around us, just a conscious ceremony in a place that had already meant something to us for a long time.
That may also be what appeals to me so much about handfasting: it can be simple and still full of meaning. A ribbon, a few words, a place in nature, and the intention to truly pause and honour your connection with each other.
Because so many people found the photos and the ribbon from this day so beautiful, I wanted to share this story. Also as inspiration for others who love nature, symbolism, and rituals that you can shape in your own way.
In the next post, I will also share a special experience involving a woodpecker around this handfasting, and the sentence that has taken on a life of its own for us ever since: if it fits, it fits. If it doesn’t, it quits.
