Rise executive director Holly Stallcup was given the opportunity to guest blog on The Mudroom. You’ll find an excerpt from the piece below.

Ask any woman what she’s feeling when she enters a bridal store and you’re likely to get a wide array of answers. Excitement. Nerves. Happy tears. Sad tears. Joy.

But what you are also likely to hear, if you asked certain women and told them they could be completely honest with you, is an emotion you may be surprised by: fear.

I curled my hair this morning. Big loose curls that I tousled with fingertips and hairspray.

As the clock eventually inched toward bedtime, I ran my fingers through it a few times, and then I wept as I put it away into its nightly scrunchie.