A wedding
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| I don't look too happy here but the emotion was running very high at this point |
At some point I made the comment
"that I would never wear a wedding dress for its intended purpose"
Well that may still be the case but late last year I was lucky enough to get as close to the 'real thing' as I am ever likely to get.
I had planned a few days away with my friend Jen, we were lucky enough to be able to stay at a cottage in Northamptonshire, one of the things we planned to do was a 'Bridal Day' as we were alone in the cottage and we would have space to move about in, as opposed to trying to do the same thing in a hotel room. Anyway we planned the day as best we could, even having a 'wedding cake' and some bubbly for later. It was so exciting, something I had dreamed about for almost all my life was about to come true.
The day dawned and after breakfast we set everything up before I did my makeup and prepared myself for the day. Finally I put on the wedding dress, a beautiful strapless corset backed dress, as always with dresses like this, they are a bit difficult to get on, but I managed it. Then with jewellery, wig, hairband and veil I was ready...... I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt fabulous and had butterflies in my stomach which was odd as this was not the 'real' thing.
I descended the stairs, my friend wanted to get a photo of me on the stairs which was very difficult in the tiny cottage, a full length photo was impossible, but I halted my descent so photos could be taken. Eventually after walking around the little cottage for a while we ended up in the sitting room for a mock ceremony. Even though this was only 'pretend' it seemed very real to me, my my friend put a ring on my finger that she had bought as a present for the day, emotion overtook me and I was in floods of tears. How can this be? it was a mock ceremony, with only a couple of us there, no friends and family, no big venue, but it somehow felt very real to me, and I now understand why so many brides (and their mothers) cry at weddings.
The day continued with cutting the cake and celebrating with a glass of bubbly. It was a fabulous day, a very different day to what I had imagined, I thought it would be all about wearing the dress, to some extent it was and I really enjoyed the experience, but I never expected the emotion to play such a big part. After a lifetime my dream had come true, well about as true as it is ever likely to be, but something special also happened, the feminine side of me grew by a huge amount. Getting 'married' in a beautiful dress is just about the most feminine thing anyone can do, it felt very real to me and was so emotional, heaven knows what I would be like if I ever get married for real!
Glad to hear you had such a good experience and here's to kind & accepting friends. 💜
ReplyDeleteAs to the emotional impact of it, who can say? Perhaps a mix of what-might-have-been and/or feeling validated for who you are. Then again, maybe it's better to just enjoy the memory and how it's helped you.
Thank you Lynn, I agree, I shall just enjoy the fabulous memory.......
ReplyDeleteAwww. It's a good thing you didn't go for the full Essex Meringue frock on those stairs. Mind you, the thought of sitting down amid a sea of petticoats is quite distracting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment Susie, I quite agree, getting down the stairs was hard enough in the dress I was wearing. Although you can't see it in the photos it has quite a long train which adds to the fun!
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