I’ll never forget this. I was sitting in what was objectively one of the most boring classes ever taught at Middle East Technical University: Public Administration 101. The professor had a voice that could sedate livestock. After his first three sentences, I closed my eyes and thought, “God, this is going to be the longest semester of my life.”

But then something happened. This man took that mind-numbingly dull curriculum and approached it from angles none of us saw coming. He gave us a semester that genuinely cracked our brains open. And his opening line for the topic that hooked me? It went like this:

After humans abandoned the nomadic life, found the first piece of fertile-looking land, put a fence around it and said “this is mine” — thus inventing private property — guess what their very next big invention was?

Marriage. Obviously. Because suddenly it wasn’t enough to own land — you needed to pass it down to your bloodline. Monogamy, which up to that point had been a pretty casual concept, became extremely strategic overnight. And marriage became the institution that locked it all in.

Here’s the thing though: the reasons we invented marriage thousands of years ago and the reasons we get married today have almost nothing in common.

Today, marriage isn’t an obligation. It’s not a safety net. It’s not a life milestone you’re “supposed to” hit. Today, marriage is the decision to choose someone when you already have the luxury of being alone.

Especially for women, the meaning of this decision has fundamentally shifted in the last century. We can sustain ourselves — not just emotionally but financially. We can build our own lives. Stand on our own two feet. Which means that today, marriage is born not out of need, but out of a conscious partnership. Two people who know they could carry on alone, choosing to do it together.

And within that choice lies something really layered: the belief that these two humans, who will keep growing and changing on their separate life journeys, will create space for each other to become their best selves — and coach each other when it’s hard.

Because honestly? There is no greater luxury in this world than coming home on your absolute worst day and having someone in your corner who believes in you more than you believe in yourself.

Which is exactly why, when I saw the photos from Seyda’s gorgeous New York wedding ceremony, I knew I couldn’t keep them to myself. The idea of grabbing your three closest friends and eloping in Manhattan? The street shots that look like they fell out of a fashion editorial? That timeless dress? Her perfect HoS picks — Auriluna and Vizcaya together — chef’s kiss.

And I have to share this: a few years ago, another HoS bride I adore, when her family asked what she wanted them to give her at the wedding, chose her Peggy and said: “The only thing I needed while saying Yes today was a reminder that I could one day say No.”

I’m not crying, you’re crying.

We wish Seyda’s new chapter everything: excitement, happiness, trust, and exactly as much forever as she wants. We all raise our glasses.