My Collaring

May 31, 2008 was the happiest day of my life. It was the day that Daddy officially Collared me. Prior to that i was wearing a training collar that He had given me when we first got together. When He presented me with my training collar i was very pleased, but it was a very low key event, just the two of us. My official Collaring was a much more elaborate affair.

Of course i don't wear my Formal Collar at all times, that would be inappropriate for many occassions including work, church, and other non-lifestyle functions. For those occassions i have a silver chain with a medallion that has a wolf on one side and a Celtic Cross on the other that He bought me early on in our relationship. We consider this a collar most of the time. When we go to a party or other lifestyle event i always wear my formal collar, and sometimes when we are going out somewhere where no one knows us, i will wear my formal collar. i just like the way it looks.....and feels.

Daddy has also given me another mark of ownership that i can never take off. i have a tattoo on my upper left thigh. It is only visible when i am wearing shorts, a very short skirt, or nothing. i love this tattoo, although it hurt alot when it was done. The point of all this is, it doesn't matter what the item is, it marks His ownership of me. Very few people know that these are marks of ownership, but we do, that is what's important.

But back to my Collaring. Every couple brings there own personality to their Collaring Ceremony. Ours was no different. Daddy basically left most of the planning up to me, which was fine, that was actually what i wanted. We decided that we did not want an officiant. Daddy decided that He would speak at the ceremony. We also decided that we wanted other people involved in our ceremony. Some of those people would be in the actual ceremony, and others would be invited to the ceremony. Several of the girls who were in the ceremony helped me with the planning, i did a lot of research on different styles of ceremonies. There is one Ceremony called The Ceremony of The Roses that is absolutely beautiful.

Some couples do their Collaring privately, not wishing to share it with anyone else, some couples will have a small gathering, and some do it casually at a party. We did our Collaring in front of a large group of people. We asked a friend of ours whose has parties at her home if we could borrow her house for our ceremony. We invited friends who we had met at parties and other lifestyle events. Some of our closest friends were in the ceremony, with our best friends, who happen to be a couple standing with us. A male submissive friend of ours escorted me in and presented me to Daddy. i was wearing a short white dress that we made specifically for this occassion. Daddy removed my training collar, and asked me if i wished to submit to Him. When i had answered His questions He placed the Formal Collar around my neck. Tears were running down my face. It was the best day of my life.

My friends did not let me do any of the work the day of, or the day after my Collaring. All the cooking and cleaning and setting up they did. They told me it was my day and i was to just enjoy it. They also helped me dress and one of them curled my hair. i had a manicure, a pedicure, and even had my eyebrows waxed for the first time, ever. i felt like a princess.

And yet, as wonderful as it all was, as pampered as i felt, the underlying meaning of this step was not lost on me. The fact that He cared enough about me to collar me was overwhelming. This Collar means so much to me. It means as much to me as a wedding ring. It is a symbol of ownership, and commitment. It means i am in this for the long haul. i did not accept this collar lightly, and i think He knows that.

There was a discussion on one of the boards i belong to recently on "The Velcro Collar Syndrome", couples making this commitment within days of getting together, only to have it end a few weeks later, instead of taking the time to be sure. Daddy and i waited almost two years before He formally collared me. It was not something we rushed into. i'm not saying that couples that enter into a relationship quickly are doomed to fail, after all even though we waited almost two years to do the formal collaring, we moved in together essentially after one date. i'm just saying that entering into a BDSM relationship is something that needs to be carefully thought out. You could possibly be putting your LIFE into the hands of someone else, don't you want to know you can trust them?

Being Collared means the world to me. We have our ups and downs, and some days i feel very frustrated, but when all is said and done, this is where i want to be. i belong to Him, completely.