Nova’s Ange Anderson on the new worrying MAFS wedding trend

Nova newsreader and celebrant Ange Anderson is seeing a new wedding trend emerge prompted by MAFS - and she’s concerned.

While I spend weekdays reading the news, on the weekends I’m a marriage celebrant who feels incredibly lucky to witness loved-up couples say “I do”. 
And Queensland is about to hit one of the biggest wedding seasons ever.

There were many couples who, if they didn’t break up during the Covid lockdowns, thought, “We survived living in our tiny apartment together, it’s time for a big party, let’s get married!”. They sent out invites for their wedding about a year ago and finally their big day is creeping up a little quicker than imagined. But in planning that big party, as a marriage celebrant I’ve noticed some are forgetting it’s not just an expensive celebration for the ’gram!

There’s no doubt Married At First Sight has glamorised weddings. The industry has never been more focused on the visual aesthetic of the day but what couples too often forget is that a wedding wouldn’t be a celebration without actually getting married, which is a huge commitment.

Ange Anderson is a newsreader and celebrant. (AAP Image/Richard Waugh)

Sure, it’s nice to have the designer dress or suit, stunning florals in the most on-trend, bold colour palette, a cocktail list to envy and a photo booth that will no doubt capture some inappropriate moments on film. But that’s all been done a million times before. Your wedding day deserves to be unique. Let’s focus on making it a feeling no one can forget.

The line that “in years to come all you’ll remember is the feeling” is so true. Creating a wedding that is “authentically you” as a couple will ensure you’ll look back with fond memories, not cringe.

That all starts with a heartfelt ceremony with the right balance of deep sentiment and light heartedness. To create that, killer vows are a must!

Vows should speak your innermost thoughts on the love you have for your fiance. No pressure.

Sure, writing them is easier said than done, and with the rise in popularity of Chat GTP it’d be easy to get AI to write them for you. But when I had a go at that, it spat out the most clichéd phrases like “I feel so lucky to be standing here today” and “I promise to be there for you in the good times and bad.” Redo!

In a world where we deservedly champion vulnerability, let your vows be the most thoughtful love letter you’ll ever write. You want your fiance to laugh and cry as you recount the journey you’ve been on together, how you feel in that moment as you vow to spend forever together and don’t forget the real reason for your vows: promises you have for your marriage. Yes, add taking the bins out please!

Ange Anderson discussing the new wedding trends she’s seeing as a celebrant.

For far too long society has been shying away from “being human”. Your vows are your chance to own that again! There is no benchmark for “perfect”. If you speak from your heart, you’ll achieve that. It’ll also give you and your fiance a sense of deep connection, which words from elsewhere could never replicate. Recently, I witnessed a groom tell his soon-to-be wife “I love the happy dance you do”. Sure enough, she couldn’t help herself and that happy dance had everyone laughing. Her smile was immeasurable.

Another bride told her soon-to-be husband she’ll let him get the dog he’s always wanted. The joy that filled his existence in that moment was contagious. For the record, Bruce the Boxer joined their family a few weeks after their honeymoon.

Then there was the bride who told her husband-to-be they were entering their marriage not as a twosome but a threesome! Of course, meaning she was pregnant for those with a dirty mind.

It’s the small moments as couples exchange vows that are remembered most at weddings.

Ange Anderson reads the news for Nova 106.9’s Ash, Luttsy and Susie O’Neill breakfast show weekdays