Whether you're obsessed with planning your dream wedding or you've never taken a second to think about putting a ring on it, you may still find yourself dreaming about getting married. But if visions of veils, suits, rings, tacky bridesmaid dresses, open bars and rehearsal dinners dance in your head as you fall asleep, what is your subconscious trying to tell you? While the most obvious wedding dream meaning may indicate that you are thinking about getting married, it's not necessarily that simple.
If someone is engaged or planning a wedding, it's not surprising to dream about getting married. But night-wedding fantasies are also common among those of us who can barely commit to a hair color, let alone a contractually bound life partner. This is because the dream of getting married symbolizes more than a simple desire to fall in love and settle down. Weddings are life events rich in symbolism and hold significance in the subconscious of many people - whether they want to get married or not. The meaning of wedding dreams can reflect everything from anxiety about recent life changes to excitement about the future.
Bustle spoke with dream analyst and author of Dream On It , Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, to review the most common types of dreams about marriage and get some tips on how to interpret your own dreams.
Dreams About a Wedding (If You Are Actually Planning a Wedding)
This is perfect for all the brides and grooms-to-be who are recently engaged or are busy planning their wedding. Since most of your waking hours are spent attending the wedding, it makes sense that these thoughts might also creep into your dreams. However, they may still have some meaning beyond the obvious—so Lowenberg says you shouldn't dismiss them as meaningless.
"Bride's Dreams attempts to help you cope with the different stresses you experience when planning your big day and help you address any questions you need to address before starting your new life," Lowenberg says. When you dream about wedding planning or an upcoming ceremony, often the meaning is related to the real-life wedding planning process or reflects something we fear.
"It's very common to [dream about] being late for a wedding simply because you have so many deadlines to deal with," Lowenberg says. "But dreaming about something wrong with your dress usually means you are dissatisfied with yourself." Analyze whether the fear presented in the dream is literal, or whether it might symbolize something deeper—like a fear of commitment or having self-esteem or trust issues.
Marriage dreams when single
When you dream about a wedding, it does not necessarily mean that you want to get married immediately. This dream may feel a little out of place if you're not even remotely close to reality. However, this dream may have more to do with themes that marriage symbolizes in our culture - such as commitment. "Marriage is two people committing to each other until death do them part, so dreaming about getting married when you're not planning a wedding means you're embarking on some other type of commitment in real life," Lowenberg says. "Whatever that commitment or obligation is, your subconscious will present it to you in the form of marriage so that you can better understand your role in it."
This commitment can be something obvious, like taking a new job or signing a lease, or it can be something more abstract, like adding a new habit to your daily routine or developing a deeper friendship with someone. According to Lowenberg, these dreams ask whether we are ready to fulfill these commitments over the long term.
Dream about being proposed to
Dreams about being engaged or being proposed to, like dreams about getting married, often symbolize commitment. But according to Lowenberg, they indicate that you're at a different stage in the commitment process. While a wedding dream indicates that you are committed to something, a proposal dream may mean that you are still deciding whether to get involved.
"Typically, being proposed to [in a dream] is a sign that you're thinking about something," Lowenberg says. "Has someone suggested or presented an idea to you? Are you considering 'getting involved' in some activity or situation?" These dreams can help us consciously weigh the pros and cons of taking on new responsibilities or commitments, and help us overcome the fear of potentially taking on something new. Fear, anxiety and stress.
Dreaming about marrying someone you are not interested in
Of all the weird marriage-related dreams you might have, one of the most embarrassing is about marrying someone who isn't your partner or who you're simply not interested in. This often happens because the person is important in some way to our lives. other ways, or just pop into our memories - but that doesn't necessarily mean you have a crush on them.
Instead, the lover in your dream may be a personal symbol of the values they represent in your life. "Ask yourself what stands out to you about them — maybe they're always volunteering or doing charity work," Lowenberg says. "It's likely that this is what they represent to you, in which case your subconscious will come up with more charitable ideas in your own life."
Dream about marrying a random stranger
What if you have no idea who this person is at the night altar? Like, complete strangers. It was an uneasy feeling.
Lowenberg said strangers often represent parts of yourself that you are not yet familiar with. "Marrying a stranger may mean you're combining or integrating unfamiliar elements into your personality," she says, such as becoming more confident and confident. Lowenberg says that if something like this happened in your dream, you might wholeheartedly want to get married, and if that's the case, it could mean that your subconscious is happy with this new part of your personality. . But on the other hand, "if you're unhappy, then you may have gone too far in the aggression department, or you're not willing to accept the behavior," she explains.
Dreaming about marrying someone other than your current partner
It's one thing to dream about marrying someone randomly, but if you're already in a committed relationship with someone, it might feel more uncomfortable to dream about marrying someone else. However, you shouldn't think that dreaming about being married to someone else means there's something wrong with your relationship. More often than not, your dream spouse actually symbolizes the qualities you want to ascribe to yourself.
"If you already know you're unhappy in your marriage, then yes, [a dream of marrying someone else] can symbolize that," Lowenberg says. "But if [in a dream] you are marrying someone you know or know (like a celebrity), then apply this little trick: When you think of this person, what are the first three things that come to mind? At least here One of the three things you need to hold on to is “till death do you part. ” In other words, use your dream girl as a mirror to your subconscious desires.
What if you dreamed of marrying your ex? "Marrying your ex rather than your current partner may indicate unresolved issues within you," Lowenberg says. "[These may] need to be taken care of before you walk down the aisle." Use these dreams to guide you on what personal issues you should address before jumping into a new relationship or diving deeper into a current one.
Dreaming about someone else’s wedding
Sometimes marriage ends up being the subject of a dream - like your dream about teeth falling out - even if you're not the one getting married. "Whenever you are an observer rather than a participant in a wedding dream, it has to do with some situation in your real life in which you did not play an active role," Loewenberg said. "Most of the time it's about an issue that has nothing to do with you but is relevant to you and on your mind, like a friend or family member."
Try analyzing your own dream by examining who is getting married, what role you played in the wedding, and how you felt throughout the dream. "Your subconscious may be telling you that you're not taking an active enough role in certain areas and that in order to achieve a particular goal, you need to commit to it," Lowenberg says.
Dreaming that I don’t want to get married
Whether or not you're completely committed to marriage in real life, dream you may have other ideas. Or maybe you're already married, but you're dreaming about not wanting to get married, which seems a little scary. "When figuring out your dreams, it's usually a good idea to start with the obvious," Lowenberg says. "Are you unhappy in your marriage? If so, your subconscious is urging you to take some action because you clearly can't calm down right now."
If you are content in your marriage, this dream may represent other commitments that you are not satisfied with. "Your dream may show you this commitment or obligation in the form of a wedding, making you realize that you're going to be in this for a long time, so you need to figure out if it's worth it," Lowenberg points out. value."
If you dream about being afraid of marriage and you're not actually married in the real world, it could mean you're not ready for that kind of commitment right now, Lowenberg says. "Dreams often give us a trial run so we can figure out whether something will work for us before trying it in real life," she explains.
Dreaming that you hate your engagement ring
One wedding-related dream that can be very confusing is that of someone who loves proposing but is completely turned off by a ring. One moment you're excited and your dream partner gets down on one knee, and the next they pull out an ugly rock that you'll never be found dead wearing. If you don't like the engagement ring in your dream, it could mean something deeper than jewelry.
"The ring is just one part of the wedding journey, so it likely symbolizes an element of your relationship that you're unhappy with," Lowenberg says. "Besides getting married, is there anything you don't like about your fiancé's 'proposal'? Does he or she have any ideas or plans that you're not happy with? If so, this dream suggests that you address the issue." If you're practical The same goes for being without a fiancé: Your subconscious may be pointing out that someone close to you has recently made plans that you don't agree with.
Sometimes dreams are simple and don't require a lot of decoding, but other times, they're just weird. And often, they're not quite what they seem. Just like any other type of dream, your wedding dream is likely more symbolic than anything else - a message brewing deep in your subconscious. It's up to you how to listen.
expert:
Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, dream analyst and author of Dream On It
