Almost a week ago, the love that was in the air at The Bulb blossomed in to a magical celebration. Our very own Bulbette Sarah married her long-time love Jonny on a glorious Melbourne summer day. As promised, there was a grand old house and a garden afternoon tea, pink champagne and parasols, croquet and Charleston dancers, French jazz and funky dance moves, snazzy outfits and one stunning bridal couple. Yes, Sarah and Jonny certainly showed that their love was hotter than a pepper sprout.
I walked away from the wedding day not only in a haze of happiness, but truly inspired by how Sarah and Jonny created a wedding that reflected and celebrated that they have always, and will always, make life decisions in their own time, and in their own way. Despite being together for almost 14 years, they waited until exactly the right time for them to tie the knot, a timeframe that wasn’t influenced by the norm or by those around them. The celebration itself was peppered with some of the traditional wedding hallmarks – such a wedding dance and a best-man speech – but the majority was a reflection of the couple’s favourite things in life, not what tradition usually defines a wedding to be.
Looking around on the day to see Sarah and Jonny’s personalities shining through at exactly the right time in their lives, it made me think about how we live in an age where life moves so fast that decisions can be made too quickly. Slowing down to make day-to-day decisions can be hard, and slowing down to make big, important decisions can be even harder. Life changes are often not given the time they need to be contemplated; to be mulled over with confidants or to be thrashed out with spreadsheets of pros and cons.
The sequence of life’s big decisions – study, jobs, homes, careers, marriage, child rearing, retirement and beyond – can easily be made at a particular juncture because they are influenced by what we feel we ‘should’ be doing at that juncture. It may be what people around us are doing. It may be what our foremothers or forefathers did before us. It may be what our professional or personal idols are doing. Of course, life decisions are sometimes taken out of our hands, or made for us, by circumstance or necessity. But when we have the luxury to decide, free of financial or other circumstantial pressures, how often do we actually remove ourselves from influences and ask ourselves what is truly right for us as an individual?
A few years ago I made a life decision about my career without, in retrospect, giving myself the time I needed to really think about all the options or possibilities on offer, or the other directions I could have taken. Thankfully, my decision has worked out, but I still feel that if I had slowed down perhaps I could have made a more adventurous decision that would have also worked out in the long-term, perhaps even better.
As Sarah and Jonny walked away in to the moonlight on their wedding night, I’ve taken a cue from their very individual and personal wedding to be even more true to my individuality and personality as I make decisions.
(Written by Laura)
Much good advice there Laura, but it is also easy to say that, in retrospect, I should have made a different decision. That is called gaining experience by making mistakes! Life takes many twists and turns that are out of our control and I guess we all have to try and make the best decisions we can at the time. Lovely photos of the “wedding of the year”.
Barb, you are right. Experience and learning from our mistakes is an important part of life’s journey. That’s what makes wisdom so inspiring.
Laura
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