In 2017 an Italian woman, Laura Mesi invited 70 guests to witness her marry herself in a beautiful traditional ceremony. She had an officiant, gown, 3-tiered cake and enjoyed the first dance by herself. Mesi was the first woman in Italy to have such a ceremony, but she certainly wasn't the first woman in the world to do so. When asked by Vogue U.S why she chose to marry herself Mesi explained that she's not a narcissist, celibate or a-sexual she simply wanted to celebrate self-love in an incredibly symbolic way - 

"To marry myself was to say I accept myself; all of me, even the parts that don’t look pretty, such as jealousy or occasional depressions."

Yes, the term 'self love' has been flogged on social media by wellness brands, and in 2022 is cheugy at best. But at the root of the term is something that our small-business fundamentally believes is imperative to living a happy and productive life. So, we wanted to reinvigorate our understanding of self-love by asking the Stellar family what it means to them.

Here are some of the responses we recieved:

Steve 29 
"I understand it as accepting negative feelings about yourself as simply thoughts and not allowing them to have any further meaning than that."

Dani 33
"I fully accept what I love, who I love and genuinely enjoy my own company. I practice self love in the things I do that are just for me, such as baths, facials and watching objectively terrible TV shows. It may seem superficial but these activities genuinely make me happy."

Sheena 38
"I have a benchmark of how I believe people should treat me and it's reflective of what I believe I deserve. It has never wavered for me, even if I don't get the respect I deserve I still believe that I do deserve it."

Magda 70
"To me self love is to be happy with all you are warts and all. It also means you love the things in you you cannot change and change the things that would make you better."

Jamie 35
"Being blissfully alone to indulge in whatever your body feels it needs without consequence."

As you can see, the idea of 'self-love' (a term presumably made mainstream by marketing geniuses) has developed into a very personal and subjective meaning for individuals, which is beautiful to see. Objectively self love is defined as caring deeply about your own happiness and well-being, supporting physical and psychological growth in yourself and choosing not to sacrifice your own needs to please others.
 
So, when you think about 'self-love' in the various ways the term and it's importance are understood on an individual level, it doesn't seem so strange to dedicate your life to it. In fact, Laura Mesi is quite sensible in making a promise to love herself in the same way society accepts she would a romantic partner.

Stellar's brand ethos is grounded in facilitating personal growth and happiness, via our beautiful products for relaxation and mental health. So before you go rushing the isle, celebrate your love and dedication to yourself with a simple gift for some blissful solo time.

September 10, 2022 — Isobel Gration