I’m getting married in April. What’s your immediate reaction to that? Let me help you. Common responses include:
“Oh my God! This is a big year/time/day for you!”
“Ooh… babies are next!”
“Are you on a wedding diet?”
“He’s finally done it!”
For the past few months, some variation of the above is all I hear (yes, even from virtual strangers.) And I’m so over it. It’s gotten to the point where I’m terrified to tell people I’m getting married. I went shopping for wedding shoes the other day, and the sales assistant asked if they were for a special occasion. “Yes, a wedding,” I said. Then I paused. “Oh… well, my wedding,” I mumbled (and the sales assistant thought this was hilarious).
Now, I want to get it out there that this is not an ‘anti-wedding’ piece. My partner is the bomb and I love him. I’ve personally not minded either way whether we get married, and he’s a little old-school and was into it, so why not? Why not have a big party and an excuse to buy a new dress?
So at the end of the day, I don’t have an issue with getting married. I love a good bit of froufrou skirting, a triangle of wedding cake, and seeing people cry in public.
My issue is with everyone’s reaction to it.
“Oh my God, this is a big year/time/day for you!”
If getting married is the most important thing to happen to me, I must lead a damn boring life. I mean, I recently lived abroad; made a big career switch; bought a house; welcomed a second beautiful niece into the world; and have travelled all over the world, but no worries: getting a ring on my finger should be considered a big coup. My partner is wonderful, but he’s my partner – not an extension of me.