­It’s often said that the most memorable dream a girl will have is the one of her wedding day, a.k.a. the best night of her life. The white dress, the scenic venue, the copious amount of food, the color scheme paired with the bridesmaids’ dresses, and the very moment the words “I do” are exchanged are imprinted in the mind of a potential bride from a young age. On Friday, July 8^th, 2016, I had the pleasure of standing next to my sister on the altar, watching her dream come true as she married her best friend. What I knew would be the best night of her life rapidly became the best night of my life for you see, it was this night when for the first time in my own life, I finally envisioned what my own wedding would look like; it was the moment I turned around to my father in church and said, “I changed my mind about eloping.”

Reality escaped me the entire morning, even when she and I finished with our hair appointment, even when we slipped our dresses on for the last time, even when the photographer placed me in our staged living room, even when the escalade transported us to the church, and even when I signed the marriage license as a witness, I couldn’t grasp the concept of time and how quickly twenty-three months passed. No, it was in the church whilst lining up when my dad walked my sister, bouquet in hand, towards me in the procession line that triggered an emotional response. It was the first time I witnessed the purest form of happiness and pride in both my father and my sister. The anticipation rushed over me while thinking about the day my father would walk me down the aisle to the poor sucker at the front of the altar.

It’s no secret that people get married for a variety of reasons, but often people ponder whether or not it’s necessary to get married in order to vow to spend the rest of your life with someone. Is it essential to declare your love in front of the most important individuals in both of your lives? As I’ve observed over half of my parent’s marriage together, I’ve seen nothing but unconditional love for the other. So if it’s not getting married that people question, the question is why have a wedding at all? Why not elope? The only answer I have is the reason I’m choosing not to elope in the future. It’s not because of what my parents want or even because of what my future husband might want. It’s because I want as many witnesses possible watching the change on my fiancé’s face when the reality of the moment truly hits him. That’s the moment one can describe as “true love,” the unspoken confirmation of devotion and commitment one vows for eternity.

I spent the night surrounded by a large majority of loved ones, including my immediate family and my three best friends. Looking around the room that evening, I can’t tell you what everyone was wearing or the number of songs that was played, but the uniformity of each individual’s euphoric state of mind reminded me there are small victories in a world so chaotic and while no wedding is by any means perceived as "small" in the sense of being nonchalant or of unimportance, my sister’s wedding was a brief period of time when every individual I love is happy and pure and ultimately the uniqueness of that moment is the small victory in itself that is symbolized by the ring on her finger. For me, my sister's wedding ring symbolizes the small victory that amongst any doubts or confusion, I am exactly where I am intended to be in life with the people who are intended to be close. It is this moment that would inspire my younger self to believe life truly only gets better from here.