Weddings rarely deviate from a normal structure. You’ll always have the dress, the flowers, and the table settings. Just add the perfect groom and you’re all set. But what if the man you thought would be with you forever turned out to be a dud? What would you do on your wedding day if he broke up with you one week before your big day?
I don’t know if this is the correct answer, but it’s sure not the wrong one.
Meet Shelby Swink, a 23-year-old girl who met her ex-fiancé at college back in 2011. The two were happily engaged by March 2014, with a November wedding in the works.
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“I poured my heart and soul into the wedding plans, because I wanted the day that would celebrate our love and commitment for each other to be absolutely amazing,” said Swink.
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However, her fiancé backed out a week before the wedding, telling her he wasn’t in love with her. This left Shelby devastated and looking for some way to move on.
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“Bam. My dreams of marrying and having kids with what I thought was the man I would spend the rest of my life with vanished,” she said.
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“I was in complete shock and had no idea what to think or do. I was numb. The next few days were a blur of calling guests and canceling vendors.”
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But after canceling everything, she needed to find something to occupy her mind on her wedding day.
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“A pity party was the farthest thing from what I wanted or needed,” she said.
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Her photographer came up with a “trash the wedding dress” photoshoot idea and BOOM! She was hooked.
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“At first it sounded crazy, but after really thinking about it, I knew that it was the perfect thing for me,” Swink recalls. “After all, it was just a dress, a material item.”
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“Nov. 1 was supposed to be a fun and happy day surrounded by friends and family who loved me,” Swink continued. “I decided that I would not let my ex-fiancé’s mistake of letting me go take that away from me.”
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She even asked her parents to be in the photoshoot, clothes and all.
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“My mom is the one who paid for the dress, so I was nervous as to how she would react when I told her what I wanted to do with it. But both of them were 100% supportive and wanted to be there for me.”
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Her dad even brought the cigars and champagne.
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And provided the entertainment…
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Her family and bridesmaids all helped Shelby make an awful day just a little bit better.
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“I couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends [and family].”
!["I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends [and family]."](https://images.viralnova.com/000/104/340/desktop-1420212700.jpg)
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“I can’t even describe how liberating and cathartic the experience was for me,” said Swink. “The moment the first bit of paint hit my dress I was free.”
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Shelby’s dress is on display at a local bridal shop in Memphis through the beginning of January. A portion of the proceeds from each dress bought while it’s on display will go to a local nonprofit called Be Free Revolution.
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Full of positivity, Swink appears well on her way to getting over her former flame.
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“Instead of lying down and letting life trample over me, I decided to get up and face it head-on,” she said.
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When asked what should would say to her ex-fiancé if given the chance, Shelby had a wonderful response. “Thank you for sparing me greater pain and loss down the road. Thank you for pushing me to realize my own strength. Thank you for teaching me that no one can take away my happiness. Thank you for letting me go so I can one day experience true reciprocated love. THANK YOU!”
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(via BuzzFeed)
Taking something that could have been the worst moment in your life and turning it into something positive is a skill that everyone should have. Swink is certainly a model I’d like to live up to.
But at the very least, let’s all take this away: Don’t leave someone you pretend to love at the altar. You just might find yourself as the butt of a joke on the Internet.
