Weddings are emotional affairs for all parties involved. From the mother of the bride, to the best friend of the groom, to the lifelong family friend serving as the officiant, there is never a shortage of marital excitement. While family members and friends may share in your excitement, anticipation, and happiness, there are certain feelings that only a bride feels and only a bride can relate to.
1. The moment he gets down on one knee.
Once you realize that you are in a relationship with the man of your dreams, the only person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you are left in a waiting game until he decides to pop the question. While you may have known that he was the one from the first date, typically it takes the male party in the relationship a little bit longer to catch on. Even if it took both of you some time before you came to this lovely realization, the average couple dates two and a half years before getting engaged. Two and a half years is a long time to build up anticipation for the moment when you make it official and pass over from boyfriend/girlfriend to fiancé/fiancee. Words cannot describe the feeling in your heart as the man you love drops down on one knee and asks, “Will you marry me?”
2. The moment you say yes.
The moment you actually respond to the proposal makes for yet another emotional thrill. While the proposal itself may have been an exciting surprise, your response carries even greater significance. After your man confesses his love and asks to make you his wife, the ball is in your court. Even if he is completely positive that you will respond in the affirmative, a proposal is a scarily vulnerable act for a man. If you truly are in love with the man asking for your hand in marriage, saying yes will be some of the most satisfying words to ever come out of your mouth.
3. The moment you say yes to the dress.
While your first time saying yes (to the marriage proposal of your soulmate) is the most important, your second time saying yes is no less exciting. You have probably dreamed of getting married ever since you were a little girl. But as a little girl, you probably did not dream about your future husband’s personality or about how he would pop the big question. You dreamed about the dress! While your style taste have most likely changed quite considerable since those youthful years, finding a wedding dress will fulfill years of dreaming, thinking, and planning.
4. The moment you have your bridal shower.
Whispers (or shouts) of Mrs. __ float around the room. You unwrap gifts for the home and life you are making with your soon-to-be husband. Your closest female friends and family members surround you. Cards, letters, and gestures reveal their love for you and excitement for your big day. Food, drink, and games make the occasion truly festive. Your bridal shower will be one of your last parties in which you make a solo appearance, and this reality awakes excited butterflies in your stomach.
5. The moment you rehearse the wedding.
Weeks, months, and years of planning force you to come to terms with the fact that you are getting married. But even if you have every detail of your big day memorized, there is no preparation you can make for the moment all your planning starts to come to fruition. Seeing your bridesmaids walk down the aisle in front of you and staring into the eyes of your future husband at the altar produce an emotional high of which sitting in front of a computer selecting wedding invitations is not capable.
6. The moment you go to bed the night before the wedding.
The act of laying in bed, staring into the darkness in silence, somehow has a way of putting your mind into overdrive even as your body starts to fade into slumber. If they have not already completely taken over your thoughts, feelings, and conversation, your last night as a single woman will have you thinking of nothing else but your wedding, your man, and the life the two of you have to look forward to together. That wedding date that you selected so long ago is now only hours away and your happy heart can hardly handle it.
7. The moment you walk down the aisle.
Walking down the aisle during your wedding rehearsal is already capable of setting your heart a flutter. The feeling you have as you make the same processional on your wedding day is only a million times more emotionally loaded. Dressed in white, on the arm of your spiffy looking father, this quintessential moment is so real, so raw, and so emotional. Whether it produces tears, smiles, or laughter, it is the happiest moment of your life to date.
8. The moment your man says his vows.
The vulnerability your man exhibits by asking for your hand in marriage is one thing. The pure love he reveals while reciting his wedding vows is another even more tear-jerking moment. He commits himself to you, and vows to stay by your side ’till death do you part. And the emotions can barely be contained if the two of you chose to write your own original vows. No matter how they are done, standing at the altar and staring into your soulmate’s eyes as he says his vows produces an emotional high that only a bride can understand.
9. The moment you kiss your husband.
“You may kiss the bride.” With those words, you finally get to embrace that man who looks so good in his wedding attire. With those words, your ceremony is officially complete. With those words, you feel like the happiest woman alive. With those words, there is no turning back, but that reality excites, rather than intimidates, you.
10. The moment you drive away.
You did it. You are married. You held a beautiful wedding. You hosted the party of the year. You are walking away with your man, so the whole day was a success. As you leave your wedding venue, preferably in a cool getaway car, you will come to realize that you are no longer the engaged girl. You are no longer the girl who is about to get married, the girl who spends every spare moment planning her wedding, the girl who anticipates her big day. As you head for your honeymoon, you have officially passed on to a new stage of life.
While the wedding season presents a plethora of emotion, it is only the start. Over time, your love for your now husband will only grow as the two of you live life together. Enjoy your wedding season and all the excitement that accompanies it. But even more importantly, prepare to be the wife of your soulmate.
