There are real tangible reasons to get married, and they are not because shopping for a wedding dress is fun (because f*ck me, it's not even fun). This is why:
Seeing your friends (including some of your most unsentimental friends) looking at you like this, when they don't look like they are walking on air. That's it. That is why you do it.
Photo of two of our dear ones at our Ketubah signing by One Love Photo
This is what I hope for, wish for, at our wedding. My betrothed and I talked of "running away" to get married. It's my second wedding after all, and I am often made to feel that perhaps I do not deserve another "real" wedding (thankfully, not by anyone that mattered to the planning process). The first was meager at best, and most people at it were very unhappy because they knew I was making a mistake (wish I'd known). So, there were no faces that looked like this at that affair. People are overjoyed this time! It is my betrothed's first chance to see those faces, beaming at us with love and joy and promise. I know this time we will see those faces, especially from our mothers. And THIS is why we chose to hold a wedding, instead of just getting married. Those beaming facing will be worth it.
November 6, 2009 7:06 am
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totally. yes yes yes.
November 6, 2009 8:09 am
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I loved this part too. All the love surrounding us was a very powerful feeling.
November 6, 2009 8:20 am
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YES! Or, 'this is why we didn't elope,' because believe me, it was an initial thought! But nobody could have prepared me for those faces of pure joy and love. I could have floated away for miles on the love that swelled from our friends and family that day…and I'm constantly getting distracted at work by scrolling through our pictures on flickr and reliving that feeling!
November 6, 2009 9:15 am
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I was blown away by all the love and squishiness that came from friends and family when we got engaged…I can't wait to share that with them all at our wedding…it's what hopefully will make my stressful (100 dresses later) dress search worth it.
yay!
November 6, 2009 9:42 am
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I have a moment like this from my own wedding — actually from the day after — but it is only an image in my head, not a photo. Still, it's one of my favorite memories from the day, and I cherish it.
(And I agree — shopping for a wedding dress was Not Fun for me. Body image issues + WIC-discomfort + hatred of poorly made clothes + a tight budget = worse than shopping for jeans, bathing suits, or bras. Ugh.)
November 6, 2009 12:01 pm
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Yesssssssssssss the photos that we have like this are mindblowing.
November 6, 2009 2:30 pm
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Amen!
We did a sort of standing room only, ceremony in the round, and it was just amazing to look around at everyone's faces and see how incredibly overcome with joy and various other emotions they were throughout the ceremony.
I noticed in our photos that ALL of our guests were caught crying at one point or another. Literally every single one of them! I've since been told by many of them that it was the sight of ME crying that got to them, because in my circle, I'M the unsentimental one. Too funny.
One of my absolute favorite moments of the entire day was immediately after we were pronounced husband and wife, my dad yelled "GROUP HUG!" and all of our guests piled in football huddle style. So awesome.
November 6, 2009 4:46 pm
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Aw, thank you. Good timing. I've been postponing sending in my deposit check for our venue, because I woke up the other morning feeling, "Really? do I really need this? Can't we just do a small thing?" A small wedding is just fine, but I keep coming back to the pleasure of sharing the day with our friends, and all of them together in one place. Thank you.
November 6, 2009 4:46 pm
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I love this, the idea that a wedding isn't just for you, it's for the community you've built around you.
I also love the group hug story above in the comments. Good stuff.
I was trauma-tized by shopping for a wedding dress in person, so so awful. Ended up buying one based on my measurments on ebay, and was soo much more fun.
November 6, 2009 5:32 pm
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Oh yeah, I soooo agree. The best memories are definitly seing our friends seing us in our wedding attire and beaming… (especially when walking down the aisle – almost cried from seing everybody looking at me smiling…)
November 15, 2009 8:10 am
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