The first time round, I never wanted to be a "bride." Sure, I was the bride, but I was also the "anti-bride." I refused to wear white, (I wore green), I refused to wear a veil or anything that even remotely looked bridal. We wrote our own vows, we got married in our backyard, and I catered the event myself. I refused to change my name. There was no dancing.
Oh..how time changes a person. After my first marriage ended and I met my new husband several years later, I did a complete 360-degree turn and decided that THIS TIME, I want to be "the bride!" I got up the courage, through my second wedding friends on The Knot, to actually wear a white bridal gown AND veil..and I felt beautiful. This time, I wanted a traditional white wedding, but only using the traditions I actually liked!
I planned a gorgeous ceremony that was largely written by both me and my husband, complete with a unity candle ceremony to include my son. We had a sumptious catered feast in a gorgeous banquet room overlooking the pacific ocean. We did whatever we wanted and nobody even tried to give us advice! We paid for the entire thing ourselves, so really chose what was meaningful for us.
On the day of the wedding, when the limo arrived to pick me up for the pre-wedding pictures we had arranged (we didn't want to keep our guests waiting too long after the ceremony), my husband was beaming in his tux and I was radiant in my white gown. I couldn't stop smiling. During the ceremony, we just locked eyes, hands and hearts, and while people were crying around us while we recited our vows, we were on another cloud, alone with just the voice of the marriage officiant. After the ceremony and a wonderful dinner..we danced and danced and danced. It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life.