The Day of Your Nightmares

Wedding Dreams and Their Meanings

I’ve posted a few times about my wedding nightmares. I’ll be quite happily enjoying a dream, fast asleep, when suddenly I’m getting married. But it’s all going wrong!

I’ve only had one dream about our wedding that I liked, but that’s probably because it only lasted a second.

picture from celebrateintimateweddings.com

My favourite dream about our wedding has me standing outside the church with everyone inside waiting for me. The bridesmaids had proceeded down the aisle but my dad was taking ages to get out the car. I was encouraging dad to get a wiggle on, took a deep breath, looked down the aisle and woke up!

That is the only nice dream I’ve had about our wedding.

I’ve dreamt that no one’s shown up because we didn’t send out invitations. I’ve dreamt that my mum (who’s retired) won’t come to the wedding because she’s at work. Before I bought my dress I dreamt I was wearing the wrong dress. I’ve dreamt that I was running late, that my nails weren’t done, that h2b saw me in my dress! Disaster!

picture from glam.co.uk/

I’ve dreamt that the flowers were all wrong and h2b turned up in his jeans! I’ve dreamt h2b didn’t turn up because he didn’t know where the venue was or what time to be there.

But, to be perfectly honest with you, it doesn’t bother me! I enjoy all my wedding dreams, even when things aren’t going according to plan. This is because I know that these dreams don’t mean anything!

What is a Dream?

Science has proved that all mammals dream, and I’m pretty sure that my hamster does not derive meaning from his dreams!

In 1976 the Activation synthesis theory  was developed by Hobson and McCarly, who asserted that the things we see and feel during our waking time is referenced when we’re asleep. These signals from our brains cause REM sleep which in itself causes dreams. (Ref Wikipedia.)

picture from weddingbycolor.com/jayecy

Another theory of dreams is that during REM sleep the communication between the hippocampus and the neocortex is reduced causing random memory retrieval. There is also the deleting long term memory theory.

Whatever the theory about how dreams are generated, most agree that the random images generated by the brain are interpreted into a narrative that becomes a dream.

So Does It Mean Anything?

Personally, when I dream about my wedding my conscious brain says, ‘But we haven’t sent invitations out yet, so how can we have guests,’ and suddenly no guests have turned up to our wedding.

I had the wrong dress dream when I was trying on wedding dresses, and I hadn’t picked a dress yet. My conscious brain told my dream that we haven’t chosen a dress yet, so of course it would be the wrong dress in my dream.

I really don’t think it means anything so if you’re having nightmares about your wedding, try to enjoy them.

I see every dream about our wedding as an extra wedding day! How often do you get to relive your wedding again and again?

And even if your wedding is a disaster in your dream, the most important element is still true: You’re marrying your h2b!