I dated my husband for eight years before finally tying the knot. By the time we were officially engaged, we were already running a business together, and we had bought a home and three dogs.

So, people wondered if there was a point in getting married with the whole ceremony. They often used to say, “It’s just a piece of paper isn’t it? You’re practically married already, aren’t you?”

I thought so too, but I knew that in my heart of hearts, I wanted an occasion to signify that we were really doing this. There’s something very special and sacred about two people coming together and deciding to spend the rest of their lives with each other.

From the time I used to play with my Barbie dolls, I used to fantasise about what my wedding dress would look like.

However, without me seeing it was even coming (as marriage was not something we spoke about as entrepreneurs who were living our lives at a breakneck pace in TV production at the time), he popped the question in an unforgettable moment in time, in a hidden gem of a place, under a carpet of stars. It literally stole my breath away.

We were on a much needed holiday break in one of the most remote and tucked away resorts in North Ubud, in Bali. It was one of those moments in life you’ll always remember as if it were yesterday.

We were exploring the stunning grounds one night when we stumbled upon a candlelit path that meandered through the forest, which led to a rustic bamboo deck suspended over a flowing river.

It was so magical and completely unplanned how we had found this place that I remember saying to him, “It feels like we’re the only souls on Earth. What a breathtaking spot!”

It was almost as though the “Island of the Gods” was expecting us.

As I stood there marvelling at the sounds of nature on this amazing deck lit by a single candle flame, I had no real idea how nervous my partner was because he had been waiting for the right place and right moment all weekend to pop the question and there was no doubt in his mind, that this was it.

I didn’t see it coming and time seemed to have stood still for us when I said “yes!”

It was one of those unforgettable moments that made everything we had gone through as a couple across the years, worthwhile. It made us remember what we were all about.

The decision to actually get married meant we were putting ourselves first. It was time to put the work schedule aside and just be a couple.

We were already doing everything together so the lines between our working lives and our personal lives were hard to separate but a couple must know when to just exist as a pair.

I remember my sister saying to draw a chalk line on the ground if we needed a visual reminder to not speak about work, the moment we entered the bedroom.

There’s a time and place for all the different hats we wear in life. A dedicated mother who spends so much of her time with her kids, must also make time to be a wife which is why I think couples who set quality time aside to have “date nights” are a really healthy thing to keep the fire burning between them, because it’s easy to get immersed in just being parents.

Recently, I ran into a corporate professional who said she was too busy to get married. She’s been dating the same partner for about six years and they were both “making excuses” that their work schedules were too hectic. I told her she could be waiting forever for them to get less busy.

At the rate I was going, I could have missed the boat too, but I didn’t realise how symbolically important it was to actually get into that dress, and how exchanging those timeless vows made it all seem so “real”.

Not to mention, your oldest friends from childhood witnessing this beautiful moment, even though they might have known you since the time you were missing your two front teeth!

When two people make time to tie the knot, they are also making a conscious decision to celebrate their union and their love for each other.

It doesn’t necessarily need to be a big or grandiose wedding. In fact, I got married on a cliff with less than 60 guests in attendance but the act of coming together and all that it represents makes a couple slow down to appreciate one another.

I know it forced me to slow down, regroup and take stock of my own relationship.

Once I was in my wedding gown and completely disconnected from work, I was fully present when I was walking down that aisle, and there was nowhere else I wanted to be.

Jojo Struys is a TEDx speaker, author, TV host, and founder of OhanaJo, voted Malaysia’s No 1 Yoga & Sound Healing Space offering daily mindfulness sessions, meditation, yoga and sound. For enquiries or to register for a free trial online, please visit www.ohanajo.com