Author: Olivia Bennett
Weddings often feel harmless this way. Nothing they ask for seems unreasonable when it’s taken on its own: a hairstyle, a color palette, something framed as “just for the day.” That’s why the questions they raise aren’t always obvious. They tend to surface later, after everything has already been agreed to. Weddings aren’t only celebrations. Weddings function as rituals as much as celebrations. They mark love, while quietly organizing the people around it. Roles begin to settle. Certain figures move toward the center, while others adjust around them, often without being told to. Even those meant to be present often…
It rarely begins as a decision. More often, it shows up as a suggestion. A passing comment about color palettes. Something about the overall vibe. Or a reminder that the photos will last forever. No one frames it as a request to change who you are. It sounds lighter than that. Something about making things nicer. More cohesive. Just for the day. It doesn’t land as a correction. It feels closer to being brought in, quietly. Later, in front of the mirror, you notice yourself lingering. Longer than usual. Taking in details you don’t normally question: your hair, your clothes,…
There’s a moment at weddings like this that tends to catch people off guard. You’re dressed for the occasion, you show up on time, you’re smiling in photos, doing everything you’re supposed to be doing. And still, something feels off. Not sad enough to explain, not dramatic enough to justify. Just a quiet sense that you’re there, without fully feeling inside the day the way you thought you would be. It’s subtle enough that you almost dismiss it. You tell yourself you’re just tired, or distracted, or overthinking the moment. After all, nothing is wrong. Everyone else seems perfectly at…
Sometimes it shows up after the wedding is already over, when you’re back in your own space, replaying the day, trying to name what felt slightly off even though nothing went wrong. What often gets misunderstood about this feeling is where it comes from. It isn’t that your friend changed, or that you don’t support them. And most of the time, it isn’t about wanting what they have. The loneliness comes from relational reorientation. A wedding marks a shift in emotional gravity. Even when the friendship remains loving, the center moves. And your body registers that change before your logic…