Alice

I never imagined that this day would arrive so quickly.

Inside the bridal suite of the luxurious ballroom hotel where Lance and I were about to get married, I sat quietly in front of a large mirror while the stylist fixed the final details of my hair.

The room was calm, almost peaceful, but faint sounds from outside occasionally slipped through the door—staff members moving around, voices giving instructions, the distant clatter of preparations happening in the reception hall.

Through the wide window of the suite, I could see the bright morning sky. Below, on the garden terrace, the elegant glass aisle had already been set up for the...