My mum is fond of the saying 'no one will ever love you, if you don't love yourself'; now one woman has taken that one step further by marrying herself in a beautiful beach ceremony in Australia. Fair enough.
Conscious coach Linda Doktar, 34, broke up with her partner early last year but rather than dive head-first into a tub of Ben & Jerry's while hastily setting up a Tinder profile, Linda 'embarked upon a journey of healing and reaffirmation' during which she married herself on Valentine's Day. Romantic.
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She decided to hold the intimate ceremony as a way to confirm the emotional journey she had been on, apparently.
Linda, from the Gold Coast, first heard of the concept of self-marriage from her pal Ej, a relationship coach.
"Ej had just began to hold these ceremonies for others, and I thought this was a beautiful concept to symbolise my journey into loving and honouring myself on a deeper level," said Linda.
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"I thought this was a beautiful concept to symbolise my journey into loving and honouring myself on a deeper level.
"Ej asked me to write my vows and commitments for my special day. She also asked me to choose a dress and a song that would mean a lot to me.
"There was a red satin walkway, lined with rose petals and flowers, it was beautiful.
"As the ceremony progressed, I read my vows and commitments out loud to myself, while looking into a hand-held mirror.
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"I didn't have any guests, it was just Ej and her two assistants for the photos.
"I decided to wear a long white summer dress with pastel colours and instead of a ring I wore a necklace that symbolised my commitment to myself.
"When I look back at my ceremony I smile because it reminds me of a turning point in my life when I decided to connect to deeper levels of self-love and self-connection.
"It put me on a path to a better relationship with myself."
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The small ceremony took place on a beach in the Gold Coast, with Linda opting not to invite people so that she could focus on herself - well, that is sort of the point. Linda says she parted with a few hundred dollars for the ceremony, which isn't legally binding.
Despite what you may think, the 'marriage' doesn't mean that Linda won't consider relationships with others, just that she has made a promise to love herself for the rest of her life.
"The only person I will have to live with for twenty-four hours a day for the rest of my life is myself," added Linda.
"I believe that the most important relationship I will ever have is with myself. I know and understand that the quality of the relationship we have with ourselves determines the quality of experiences we have with others.
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"Our external world is a complete reflection of our internal world.
"Some people have judged me, and I have been laughed at, but I've mostly been received with love and an open mind.
"Many people thought it was a beautiful concept.
"When I look back at my ceremony I smile because it reminds me of a turning point in my life when I decided to connect on a deeper level.
"I am a conscious woman who knows who she is and knows what my self-marriage ceremony meant for me personally.
"After being disconnected from myself for so many years, I now plan to continue on my journey of self-love. This has significantly improved the state of my internal happiness and the relationship and connections I now experience outside of myself."
If you want to find out more about Linda or her self-marriage ceremony, check out her Instagram here.
Featured Image Credit: Media Drum WorldTopics: Interesting, Weird, Australia