Real Life Bride: The Ceremony

With a little less than two weeks to go till the BIG DAY, I must admit the nerves are starting to creep in. I thought I had everything so well organised and prepared that I would come home and just RELAX. Well that was an interesting plan… The little details are keeping me quite busy, but I am enjoying every day. The weather has been amazing, people have been amazing and this country is just amazing in general. I have also been completely spoilt by two kitchen teas and a super-duper bachelorettes with the coolest personal touches. So I’m having a rad time! I can’t believe the wedding is next weekend – every time that thought pops into my head, my heart makes a little jump and my stomach whirls with excitement. And nerves. But that’s what the rescue remedy is for, right? Now getting back to those formalities…

I believe a wedding ceremony should be something that you make your own. Although I appreciate some of the traditions that go with this formal part of a wedding, I think it’s important to do something that reflects the personalities and relationship of the wedding couple. Therefore Chris and I have chosen to use some of the traditional elements but to have a ceremony which isn’t based on a conventional template.

We’ve decided to write our own vows. This way we can really express what we think is important in a marriage. A long term relationship of this nature certainly has its ups and downs and the promise we’ll soon be making to each other encapsulates what we think will get us through those sticky parts and help us enjoy the good ones.

Although the ceremony is a pivotal part of the wedding, we don’t want people to get bored by a dragged out order of service. We’ve set a time limit on the formalities and have tried to keep things interesting and perhaps a little different. Instead of the wedding march I will be walking down the aisle to music we’ve chosen to be prepared for our wedding. The program has been kept short and sweet. It will also be extra personal because a close family friend will be performing the ceremony for us. These are the little personal touches which will make our ceremony meaningful and individual.

With only a few “sleeps” to go we are super excited for our big day and the fact that we’ll be spending it with so many people who are dear to us. Amongst all the preparation, anticipation and nerves, we are also trying to stay focused on what is really important and to keep perspective. After all the months of planning and hours spent on all the little details, we have to remember what it’s all about and why we’re doing this. And if all else fails, we’ll just have to keep calm and say “I do”!

Image credits – Row 1: welovepictures; Row 2: Cassandra Castaneda Photography/Rak Designs via Ruffled (left); welovepictures via Inspired by This (centre); welovepictures (right); Row 3: welovepictures via Miss Moss (left); Just Jack/Cari Eksteen via The Pretty Blog (top right); Absolute Collection/welovepictures via The Pretty Blog (bottom right)

That’s Liana’s last post for a while – wishing her and Chris an AMAZING wedding day from all of us here at SouthBound Bride! Be sure to send her some love in the comments!