As someone who’s currently navigating bridal traditions and expectations, I know how stressful planning a wedding can be. No matter how simple you INTEND to keep it, there’s always that cousin’s cousin’s cousin you “have” to invite and some kind of mishap with the floral arrangements that needs to be handled.

Needless to say, it’s easy to let the special occasion get overtaken by the stress of planning an event.

Besides the logistical stress of it all, there’s also the worry about what other people will think. Will your overly-critical grandma give you an earful if you don’t wear a white dress like you’re expecting to? Is your family going to be judgmental if you get married outside, rather than a place of worship?

Oh yes, there are plenty of rules you’re expected to follow to be the “perfect bride.”

Well, Tasnim Jara wasn’t going to play the bridal game. On her wedding day, the bride wore…nothing — on her face, at least. The beautiful Muslim bride poses for her wedding pictures in a white saree, no jewelry, and not a stitch of makeup on her face.

Jara said she was inspired to go au natural from years of seeing the nasty double standard of how the bride should look and how the groom should look:

“I have hardly attended any wedding where I didn’t overhear people gossiping: ‘Is the bride pretty enough?’ ‘How much gold does she have on?'” Jara said. “Growing up listening to these questions, a bride feels pressured to look for the best makeup artist in town, pays a hefty amount in time, money, and energy, and ends up looking nothing like herself.”

Some of her family members were so put off that she rejected the traditional image of how a bride “should look” that they refused to take a picture with her on the big day.

Despite some icy reactions, Jara had absolutely no regrets about her chosen wedding look — and we’re so glad she doesn’t. Not only does she look beautiful all on her own (no flashy jewels or cakey makeup required) but she looks happy. And, contrary to what nosy family members will have you feeling, you’re SUPPOSED to be happy on your wedding day. Crazy, right?

The most empowering thing any bride can do for herself is dressing the way she wants to on her own wedding day, without any societal norms of familial pressure playing a part.

Jara puts it best:

“Don’t get me wrong, if a girl wants to use [makeup], [jewelry], and expensive clothes for herself, I am all in for that. But it is a problem when she loses her agency in deciding what she would like to wear on her wedding day. When the society forces her to doll up and look like a different person, it gives a message that the authentic look of a girl isn’t good enough for her own wedding.”

Thank you, Tasnim Jara, for sticking to your guns and making this important statement on your day. Hopefully, women everywhere take a cue from this kick butt bride and do whatever makes her happy. HER being the keyword, here.