Have you ever heard the phrase “I don’t need a man to make me happy” or “I may as well just marry myself”? Well, these common sayings are getting a whole new meaning these days with the rise of “sologamy.”

“Sologamy,” or essentially, self-marriage, means that you don’t choose another person to spend the rest of your years with—you devote the rest of your life to yourself instead.

Sologamy is achieved in the same way most regular marriages are—through a wedding ceremony filled with all your loved ones surrounding you, wedding cake, a DJ, you name it. Except you’re not doing any of that first dance stuff, since, well, it’s just you marrying you.

You may have seen the idea being portrayed in characters on popular TV shows like Sex and the City or Glee, but there are plenty of people doing this in real life too.

So why are people choosing to say “I do” to no one but themselves? Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always because they couldn’t find someone better; it’s more a way to affirm your own values, practice self-love, and be a happier person in general.

“I think it’s hard not to adopt whatever society’s messages are…and I certainly think that one of the messages is, ‘You are not enough if you are not with someone else,’ ” explains Erika Anderson, a New Yorker who self-married. “I think women marrying themselves might seem incredibly threatening because it looks like we’re saying men are irrelevant. But we’re actually just saying that we matter.”

Though of course, there are still those who choose sologamy as a way to heal a broken heart. Take New York-based performance artist Gabrielle Penabaz, who chose to have a sologamy celebration after having to tend to a bad breakup.

Her sologamy celebration was, in her words, the “best wedding ever.” So much so that it inspired her to began to officiate other people’s solo marriages to themselves. Since her own wedding day to herself in 200, she has since married more than 1,500 people.

“The ceremonies are usually very cathartic and all about self-love,” she says. “80% of the people whom I married to themselves shed a tear reading their vows. They usually say things like ‘I forgive myself’ and ‘I will no longer call myself ugly’.”

Additionally, sologamy can serve as a way to cleanse yourself after being stuck in a a violent or abusive relationship. “I have witnessed people leave abusive relationships, step more fully into their life’s work or meet their beloved after marrying themselves,” says Dominique Youkhehpaz, who also officiates sologamy ceremonies.

So really, it’s all kind of beautiful when you think about it.

Sologamy isn’t yet legal everywhere in the world, but mock ceremonies can be found in Japa, Italy, Australia, the UK and more, and it continues to be on the rise.

Have you ever heard of sologamy before? What do you think of the idea of marrying yourself? Would you ever do something like this, or know someone who has gone through with marrying themselves?