Life

9 Feminist Wedding Quotes For The Big Day

by Chelsey Grasso

A marriage is a beautiful thing, but a marriage where a woman is valued as an equal to her partner is something much more noteworthy. You should never stop being a feminist, especially on your wedding day. These feminist wedding quotes are perfect for holding your own on a day where tradition too often trumps the concept of equally valued partners (take a second to think about the idea behind a bouquet toss... it's kind of ridiculous).

The fact of the matter is, women don't need to depend on other to live a life worth living, and while demonstrating your love and support for your spouse on the big day is a lovely thing, it's just as lovely to acknowledge your own value as a woman.

Take a look through these famous feminist words, and pick out your favorite to incorporate into a reception speech or ceremony detail on your special day. I'm not saying you have to go overboard with the self-love (though really, you never can have enough of that), but take a moment to remind everyone that marriage is a two-way street, no matter whether you're playing husband or wife. Simply put, it's vital to demonstrate your girl power, all day, every day — especially on this one.

1. "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle." — Gloria Steinem

2. "I hate men who are afraid of women's strength." — Anaïs Nin

3. "You have to learn to love yourself before you can love me or accept my loving." — Audre Lorde

4. "Equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for. It's a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who's confronted with it. We need equality, kinda now." — Joss Whedon

5. "If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency." — Bell Hooks

6. "Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person … Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest people infinite distance exists, a marvelous living side-by-side can grow up for them, if they succeed in loving the expanse between them, which gives them the possibility of seeing each other as a whole before an immense sky.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

7. "Here's to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them." — Anonymous

8. "It's not responsibility to be beautiful. I'm not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me." — Warsan Shire

9. "So different, this manAnd this woman:A stream flowingIn a field"— William Carlos William

Images: Unsplash; Pixabay