It was time for Stephanie to walk up to the altar. After today, she would no longer be Stephanie Shaw, but Stephanie Shaw da Silva, a married woman. Her and Marcelo would be starting a new family, and one day, she was certain, they'd have children as well. That would be some years in the future- they were both young and their life circumstances weren't stable enough to allow for children at the moment.

It wasn't really traditional for her to walk up there with a friend, as opposed to a father or similar figure, but there wasn't anything to be done about it. There was no 'giving away' here, this was her and Marcelo entering into marriage together. Freely.

Yes, she was a little nervous, but she couldn't help but smile incandescently as she stepped out. That smile, if anything, grew even wider when she caught her first glimpse of her soon-to-be husband. Her eyes grew a little moist and her heart started hammering like a schoolgirl's.

Despite everything, they were here, together. And they would be, for the rest of their lives.