I was so happy after my parents agreed to the wedding. It has taken years for them, to come around as my fiance is Bangladeshi and we are Pakistani.

Now though, after all my cousins have gotten married, my parents are feeling the pressure of having a wedding that matches their standards.

The costs are escalating and it's causing so much stress.

I even decided to wear my mum's wedding dress to avoid extra expenses, but my parents feel so much pressure to book an expensive hall with all the trimmings just because other family members did it.

I suggested having the mehndi at home but my parents said people will laugh at them.

I heard my dad talking to my mum about remortgaging the house to pay for my wedding.

It makes me feel like cancelling the whole thing and not getting married at all.

On top of that, they feel obliged to pay for extra gifts for my fiance and his family even though they specifically said they didn't want anything. They are even paying for the flights and accommodation for some family members.

My parents are so worried about their social standing, even though it is costing them their sanity and health.

It would have been better if I had gotten married secretly and just announced it to them.

They might have hated me but I can't live with the guilt of what this wedding is doing to them.

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