Every time I saw a wedding announcement online, every time a friend sent me pictures of her engagement ring, and every time someone asked when Mark and I were finally getting married, I felt a little piece of my confidence disappear.
I never wanted an extravagant wedding.
I didn’t need a diamond the size of a marble or a celebration that would leave us in debt.
I simply wanted to know that the man I loved was choosing me, completely and without hesitation.
One evening, a few weeks before my birthday, I was sitting on the couch beside Mark when I came across photographs from my friend Rachel’s wedding.
She looked radiant in her white dress, standing beside her husband beneath an arch of flowers. In one photograph, he was kissing her forehead while she laughed.
I smiled at the picture, but something inside me ached.
“Look at Rachel,” I said, turning my phone toward Mark. “She was so beautiful on her wedding day.”
