Body positivity influencer Danni says she is ‘not going to apologise’ for loving herself or showing off her wedding – where she spoke vows to her reflection in a mirror
Meet the woman who is so confident and unapologetically happy with who she is, that she spent thousands on a wedding to marry herself.
Body image coach and body positivity influencer Danni, who lives in Los Angeles, US, had a traditional wedding ceremony in many ways – inviting her family and friends, held a bouquet, and read out vows – but, when she got to the end of the aisle she looked into a large mirror, ready to make a marriage commitment to her reflection.
Danni insists she “dreamed” of marrying herself since being a little girl; she never understood the idea of a man walking you down the aisle and told YouTube’s Love Don’t Judge that weddings were all about the bride. The Florida-born woman, who spent $4,000 [£3,159] on her wedding to herself, insists she is not a narcissist but is “just confident” – despite what people think.
Danni said before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she wanted to marry herself for the wedding and a marriage – but after the difficult period she found it had a deeper meaning – self love. She went on a “journey of self love” and made decisions to improve her wellbeing – from quitting drinking to seeking therapy.
Danni explained: “I spent a lot of quality time with myself, taking myself on dates. Just really finding out what I like.” She came up with the idea to marry herself before Covid but didn’t have her ceremony until 2022. She added: “My wedding was all about releasing the things that stopped me from loving myself. I am not hurting anybody.”
“When I got to the alter it was super emotional,” she said. The bride, who was walked down the aisle by her nephew, had a a mirror placed at the end of the aisle which she looked into as she said her vows, then shared a kiss with her reflection. Her supportive family and friends celebrated with her.
However, her unusual ceremony has been met with a lot of critcism after she openly shared it online and spoke out on TV. One commenter said: “This is the dumbest, most narcissistic c*** I’ve ever seen!” Danni said: “The most hurtful comment I experienced online was people saying that I had to marry myself because no one would want me.
“What messages are we sending people of size that they are unlovable, that they are unworthy? That’s not true, I can get married to a man tomorrow!” But Danni chooses to focus on herself, and the inspiration she can give to others.”
Danni, who describes herself as a “fly girl”, has admitted that being in a romantic relationship with someone is very different to being in a self-love relationship with yourself. “I have dated in the past but none of those people lived up to those expectations,” she admitted.
She hopes to also have a romantic marriage someday and has been going on dates. For now, her main goal is to inspire others to love themselves.
“I love myself and I am not going to apologise for it,” she added. “I will continue to inspire women and show little girls that loving themselves is the most beautiful thing they can do.”
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