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Louise Thomas
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One bride-to-be has chosen to forego traditional wedding standards to prioritize her wishes for the big day.
TikTok creator Anna Vatuone wasn’t afraid to break the rules with her bridal party. The 29-year-old writer took to her account, sharing the one major detail she decided on as her fall wedding approaches.
In a June 9 video, Vatuone revealed her nuptials would take place on the first day of this upcoming fall. Ahead of her special celebration, the wife-to-be decided – or rather, didn’t decide – who she wanted her maid of honor to be.
“When it came time to decide who my maid of honor was going to be, it seemed like an impossible question,” she admitted. “I decided to do something different.”
Usually, a bride will pick a close family member or best friend to be her maid of honor to plan festivities like her bachelorette party. Anything the bride needs, the maid of honor is meant to be there to help. The distinguished position is also a meaningful sentiment, resembling the bond between the bride and whoever she chooses.
For Vatuone, there wasn’t one person more deserving of it. Instead, she asked each of her five bridesmaids to “hold a unique title.” First, she asked her friend Rachel to be her “maid of loving kindness.” Then, the TikToker’s friend Becky was asked to be her “maid of joy,” while Kirsten assumed the “maid of passion” and Crystal was the “maid of courage.” Lastly, Vatuone was asked to be the “maid of generosity.”
“Each word represents a quality I admire in them and want to bring with me into my marriage,” the bride explained.
Vatuone asked her friends individually with letters to describe instances where she’d seen them exhibit these qualities.
As for their duties, Vatuone has requested that each woman share what their word means to them and how Vatuone can channel it. Their speeches are meant to be given the night before her wedding.
“When people ask me who my Maid of Honor is, this is what I tell them,” her video caption read.
With over 561,000 views on TikTok, Vatuone has garnered the support of many. Touched viewers commented on her post, complimenting her “wholesome” gesture.
Speaking to Good Morning America, the bride admitted her inspiration came from a Reddit post. “I really liked the idea of showing people that actually, there are different ways that we can do this and how can we give back? How can we give back to the people in our lives who have helped us get to where we are today?” she noted.
Though Vatuone has found her romantic love, her five friends will always be her forever partners.
“One of the things that I said in the video was like, they loved me first. And I think about it all the time,” she told GMA. “Because I think for so long, I really craved finding a romantic love and wanted to find a great partner and was looking for that and now that I’m engaged to this amazing guy, I keep thinking, I had an amazing love story with my friends already and they showed me how to love, they showed me how to be in partnership.”
The Independent has contacted Vatuone for a comment.
