I remember being in seventh grade, where I had the longest running streak of wearing makeup - three days in a row. My mom had just thrown me a Mary Kay party, and I was so excited to showcase my new makeup. After the third day, I came home and took it off, and haven't put it on more than three times since. At the time, I just didn't like how I looked in it, but now it is so much more.

Over the years, I have watched some of my closest friends battle with insecurity and self-worth. They've had to battle with society. Not only did I not want to fight that battle, I wanted to help them get out of it too. Over the years, this personal choice has become more like a personal mantra. Not wearing makeup is my quiet rebellion against the standards society places on women. The standard that beauty does not come from within. The standard that we ourselves are not enough.

I want my wedding to be a purely joyful day - full of the people I love, carefree dancing, and the ability to be truly myself. My incredible fiancé has never seen me wear makeup, and my wedding day will not be the first time he sees me in it. My fiancé has chosen me and pursued me every day since we met in Spain. He knows me. I have let him get to know me. I feel like makeup would conceal who I truly am, would cover up the real me, and would make me not feel like myself. I want others to be able to know me for who I truly am, and in order to do that, I choose not to wear makeup.

You see, especially on my wedding day, I want my fiancé to know he is getting all of me. My joy, my pain, my love for life, everything. If I wore makeup on my wedding day, I would feel like I'd be giving him a false version of myself. And the day I get married to the love of my life, I only want him to see only pure joy on my face.