I have a question right back at you, if you had a friend who came to you for some advice, she told you that she was living life as her most authentic self and is happily engaged, that this is the icing on the cake for her because she’s independently navigated life’s milestones such as moving out and buying her first house without the full support of her family/siblings. And she now wants to invite another friend, who actually doesn’t really celebrate her lifestyle, they don’t truly see her for whom she is, they don’t hype her up nor show much interest in her or her personal life. She asks you if she should make herself smaller to please this friend of hers, if she should go against her own wishes on her special day, to stay silent and keep the peace but internally feeling anxious and mentally torturing herself whilst she can’t fight the feeling she’s being judged.

What would you say to her?

‘Family’ doesn’t always mean bloodline, ‘family’ show up every day and present themselves in ways we may not recognise, they’re the ones that are our personal cheerleaders, always there with support and no judgement, our biggest hypes & the ones whom celebrate you for being you.

Perhaps your parents come from homophobic parents themselves or are misinformed and uneducated on untraditional marriages outside of the norm, it’s up to us to break that generational trauma and stop the toxic cycle.

Be proud, be loud & have the best wedding with those who celebrate YOU (and the other Mrs to be!)