When I was little I was not one of those girls who would plan their dream wedding or even ‘get married’ at school, it’s something I hadn’t ever given much thought. On the other hand I did have ‘wedding ceremonies’ for my plush toys and barbie dolls, however apart from that weddings hadn’t crossed my mind until more recently. I’ve been in a relationship for seven years now so naturally marriage is something that has been spoken about and yes I must admit that I have a Pinterest board full of dreamy images, and it is something that I would like. The majority of the weddings that I have attended the past few years have been very traditional and their reasoning behind this has been because ‘that’s what you’re meant to do’. Recently Slater and Gordon contacted me asking if I would like to write about what #TheModernMarriage means to me and I thought it would be interesting to write about as I am in a long-term relationship and would like to get married one day, however I’m not very traditional in my views.
The great thing about marriages these days is that you really can do whatever you like and you can break all of the traditional barriers. There are a few traditions that I will be keeping such as wearing a white dress and being walked down the isle by my dad, but only because I love white dresses and it would be lovely for my dad to walk down with me. However there are a few that I won’t be doing as they’re not for me, with the first being that ‘here comes the bride’ will definitely not be playing.
I won’t be getting married in a church, the reason being that we are both not religious enough. I know a few people who have got married in churches not because they are religious, but because it’s ‘what you do’ and I don’t quite understand this. If we were religious then it’s something that would definitely happen, but as we’re not I don’t see any reason to.
For a lot of people tying the knot is the change to show their love and commitment to their partner in front of family and friends, however I would see it as a celebration of our love. Marriage isn’t for everyone, I’m more than happy living together with Aaron although I would like to get married one day as it would be a lovely milestone but don’t feel any pressure to ‘make it official’ as I don’t feel that marriage makes it any more official than it is already. In the past marriage was more pressured upon people but I feel that the majority now are more relaxed about it now and don’t feel like they have to if they don’t want to.
Maya Embellished Midi Dress with Double Bow | Christian Louboutin Heels
It doesn’t matter as much as it used to if couples don’t want to tie the not anymore, and people choosing to re-marry if it wasn’t right the first time is a lot more accepted which I’m really happy about. There can be a lot of pressure around this topic and it’s lovely to see that there a lots of people doing what they want to do, not what they feel they should do.
Rebecca x
*In collaboration with Slater & Gordon
So while I haven’t been in as long of a relationship as you, my boyfriend and I are a bit older, know ourselves better and what we want in a relationship better than we did when we were younger so the subject of marriage has come up. I’m actually a lot like you about weddings; not very traditional, I never really planned a dream wedding either – in fact, I am more excited about planning my hen party than my actual wedding haha!
In any case, I adore this dress you’re wearing here! The bow back is so beautiful and unexpected!
My fiance and I have been talking a lot about how we want to get married – we both are from different backgrounds and religion luckily we are not religious at all. I didnt want a wedding at all the idea of all these people at my wedding people who arent as good friends anymore – to me the day should be about us – but we did decide to have an intimate ceremony in his dad’s garden which is a beautiful spot to say our vows with the closest friends and parents and thats it…
Great post!!!