Yesterday Dom and I spent a lovely evening with one of our closest friends and, as is admittedly easy to do when sitting in a room featuring two giant canvas pictures from the day, the subject eventually turned to our wedding day. Now this particular friend had been a key part of the day and in fact had been responsible for making many of our awesome decorations for us and as we talked and as the tea flowed it was fantastic reliving some of the memories, looking at the pictures and just remembering how happy we and all of our family and friends were both on the day and the week surrounding it.
Having married abroad with a small group of friends and family present we were lucky enough to be able to almost spread the wedding over the course of the week. We had barbecues/parties at our apartment before and after the wedding as well as meals together throughout the holiday and all of these days not just the wedding day had such amazing memories for us. It’s so rare that we get the chance to spend time with all of those closest to us all together at the same time, and that, for me, is what the wedding was about just as much as the day itself…
Organising a wedding can be hard work, it can be stressful, time-consuming and it can be a huge strain on your finances for potentially a prolonged period of time. Sometimes they can cause arguments and upset in the run-up to the day and at times seem more effort that they’re worth. More and more people these days choose not to get married as they already live together and share everything and so what difference is a piece of paper going to make? After all it’s a crazy expense for just one day!
And that’s where I believe they’re wrong.
A wedding isn’t about just one day, it’s about a memory of pure happiness that you both share even on the darkest of days. It’s about an evening with friends reminiscing about a day that was happy not just for you but for them too. Weddings don’t always have to be huge events, they don’t always have to blow the budget, they’re about celebrating and creating memories that will last a lifetime with those that you really love. Yes it can be a lot of money and there may be other things that money is important for that might make life easier (and we would never suggest spending beyond your means), but sometimes life isn’t about just paying the bills and getting by, sometimes it’s about taking the time to really celebrate something that’s truly important. Sometimes it’s about being purely happy even if only for one day, sometimes it’s about creating memories that you will never forget.
That piece of paper may not change anything on the face of it, you love and care for each other just as much whether you’re married or not, but in creating those incredible memories, in being together at the centre of a whirlwind of excitement and declaring to the world that you want to spend the rest of your lives together that bond is further cemented. And with each year that passes, through hard times and good, your wedding day is one that you and your loved ones will always remember – an occasion you shared for eternity, not just one day.
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Photo by Ed Peers
‘taking the time to really celebrate something that’s truly important’ – well said. Weddings of my close friends and family have been some of my fondest memories over the last decade or so.