When my fiancée, Lori, came up with the idea of displaying her late husband’s photos at our wedding, I was shocked. Who asks to bring their late spouse’s photos to celebrate a new marriage? But I agreed… on one surprising condition.
I’m not one to talk about my personal life online, but something that happened recently has prompted me to talk about it. My life was absolutely amazing until the day Lori and I discussed our wedding plans.
That night, Lori said something that made me wonder if I was marrying the right woman.
A man looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
Let’s go back a little.
I work as a business analyst at one of the best companies in the city. I’ve been there for four years now, and my career is going quite well. I love my job because it allows me to meet all kinds of people with different perspectives.
Actually, it was through my work that I met Lori.
A man at work | Source: Pexels
She joined the company around the same time as me. We were assigned to the same project and hit it off right away.
She was smart, funny, and had a way of looking at problems that made them seem insoluble. We started out as colleagues, then friends, and eventually, something more.
“Brandon, can you look at these numbers before the meeting?” she’d ask, sliding a folder across my desk with that smile that always made me forget what I was doing.
“Only if you have coffee with me afterward,” I replied, and she pretended to think before agreeing.
A man who smiles | Source: Midjourney
Coffee breaks turned into lunches, lunches into dinners, and before I knew it, we were a couple. She was easy to talk to and made me laugh like no one else could.
Early in our relationship, Lori told me about Logan, her late husband. They had been married for two years when he died in a car accident four years ago. I could see the pain in her eyes when she spoke of him, and I respected the fact that he had played an important role in her life.
Silhouette of a man | Source: Midjourney
“He loved hiking,” she told me one day over dinner. “We went to Colorado for our first anniversary, and he insisted on climbing this ridiculous mountain at sunrise.”
“Was it worth it?” I asked.
“The view was breathtaking,” she said, her gaze distant. “But I mostly remember how happy he looked when we reached the top.”
I thought it was natural for her to talk about him. He was such a big part of her story, and sharing these memories was her way of grieving. I never felt threatened by a man who was no longer there.
Or at least, that’s what I told myself.
A man who thinks | Source: Midjourney
Six months ago, I proposed. We were at his favorite restaurant, and I had the ring in my pocket all evening, waiting for the right moment.
“Lori,” I said, taking her hand from across the table, “these past few years have been the happiest of my life. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, of course.”
Everything was going well until one evening last week. We were reviewing wedding plans at our kitchen table, going over the seating chart and floral arrangements.
A Wedding Planner’s Notebook | Source: Midjourney
“Where do you think Logan’s picture could go?” Lori asked casually, as if inquiring about the placement of a centerpiece.
I looked up from the guest list I was reviewing. “What do you mean?”
“Logan’s picture,” she repeated, a slight frown forming between her brows. “For the wedding. I thought one of my bridesmaids could hold his picture during the ceremony.”
I put down my pen. “Holding his picture during our wedding ceremony?”
A framed photo | Source: Midjourney
“Yes, and I’d also like to have his picture on our table. And when we take pictures, I want to hold his picture in most of them.”
I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh and tell me she was joking. But she didn’t.
“Lori,” I said cautiously, “are you saying you want your late husband to be a part of our wedding?”
“Of course,” she replied. “He’s still important to me, Brandon. I can’t pretend he never existed.”
I sat down in my chair, truly stunned.
A man sitting on his chair | Source: Midjourney
Was I really supposed to share my wedding day with her late husband? The day that was supposed to be about us, our future, and our love story… was I supposed to make room for a ghost?
“Don’t you think that’s a little… unusual?” I asked, trying to keep my voice even.
“I don’t see why,” she said, her tone turning defensive. “Many people pay tribute to deceased loved ones at their wedding.”
“Yes, with a candle or a mention in the program,” I retorted. “Not by holding their picture throughout the ceremony and having it appear in our wedding photos. This isn’t a memorial service. This is our wedding day.”
A man speaking while looking straight ahead | Source: Midjourney
“You’re insensitive,” she retorted. “Logan played a big role in my life!”
“And I’ve respected that from day one,” I countered. “I’ve listened to all the stories, looked at all the pictures, and even visited his grave with you on his birthday. But our wedding day should be about us. About our beginning. Not about your past.”
We stayed like that for hours. Neither of us wanted to give in. Finally, I raised my hands in surrender.
A man raising his hands in surrender | Source: Midjourney
“Look, I don’t want to argue about this tonight. Let me think about it, okay? It’s a big decision.”
She nodded, though I could see from the set of her jaw that she wasn’t happy. We went to bed that night with an uncomfortable silence between us.
For the rest of the night, I struggled with my emotions. Was I being selfish? Was this just his way of grieving? Or was I about to marry someone who was still in love with a ghost?
Apartment window at night | Source: Pexels
By morning, I had made my decision.
I was already at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee when Lori came downstairs. She looked tired, like she hadn’t slept much.
“Good morning,” she said cautiously, pouring herself some coffee.
“Hello,” I replied. I waited for her to sit across from me. “Lori, I’ve been thinking about it, and I’m going to grant your request. But on one condition.”
A man’s hands on a table | Source: Pexels
“Thanks, Brandon,” she said with a huge smile. “What’s the condition?”
I took a deep breath. “If Logan can be at our wedding, then so can Beverly.”
Lori frowned. “Who is Beverly?”
“My ex.”
She looked at me with wide eyes.
“Your ex-girlfriend?”
I nodded. “If you can honor the man you loved before me, then it’s only fair that I do the same. Perhaps we can put his picture next to Logan’s. And for the ceremony, I can ask one of my groomsmen to hold a picture of her too. And during our first dance, I’d like to hold her picture close to my heart.”
A man talking to his fiancée | Source: Midjourney
“But… it’s completely different,” she stammered.
“Oh yeah? Why?” I asked. “Because you were married to Logan and Beverly and I were just dating? Or because Logan died and Beverly and I broke up? What’s the difference, really?”
“It’s not the same thing at all!” Lori insisted. “Logan didn’t choose to leave me. He was taken from me!”
“So, it’s about honoring someone who didn’t want to leave you,” I said calmly. “But Beverly didn’t want to leave me either. We broke up because she moved across the country to find her dream job. Neither of us wanted it to end.”
An upset man sitting outside | Source: Pexels
She remained silent, staring at her coffee cup as if it contained the answers.
I stood up and put my mug in the sink. “Lori, I love you. But if you’re not ready to let go of Logan enough to plan our wedding instead of some weird memorial… then maybe you’re not ready to be my wife.”
She then looked up at me, her eyes shining with tears. “It’s not fair.”
“Why?” I leaned on the counter. “Lori, you’ve been talking about Logan since the day we met. At first, it didn’t bother me. I understood that he was an important part of your life. But it’s been four years since he passed away, and sometimes I feel like he’s even more present in your life than I am.”
A man standing in a kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“That’s not true,” she protested weakly.
“You keep his picture by our bed. You visit his grave every month. You compare restaurant meals to what he would have liked. You even call his parents every Sunday,” I said softly. “I’ve never complained about any of this because I know how much you loved him. But our wedding day? That should be the beginning of our life together.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t want to forget him.”
“No one’s asking you to forget him,” I said, kneeling beside his chair. “But you can’t keep one foot in the past if you want to move forward with me. You have to let him go, at least enough to make room for us.”
Silhouette of a man | Source: Midjourney
She didn’t say anything, just looked at her hands in her lap.
We didn’t talk much for the rest of the day. I gave him space, working late at the office and grabbing takeout on the way home. But that night, I noticed something. The picture of Logan that was always on his nightstand? It was gone.
We didn’t discuss it. She never brought up the possibility of having her picture at our wedding again. It was as if the conversation never happened.
Three months later, we got married.
A couple showing off their wedding rings on their wedding day | Source: Pexels
And on our wedding day, it was just the two of us making promises to each other. No ghosts between us.
As it should be.
Later, Lori told me that my “condition involving Beverly” had forced her to see how unfair she was being. “I realized I was asking you to marry both me and my memories,” she told me. “It wasn’t fair.”
All of this taught me something important: Sometimes loving someone means helping them see when they’re stuck in the past. And sometimes the kindest thing you can do is hold up a mirror so they can see it for themselves.
A man who smiles | Source: Midjourney
Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting the people we’ve loved. It simply means making room in our hearts for a new love to grow. Lori still keeps a small photo of Logan in her desk drawer and even tells me stories about him sometimes.
Honestly, it doesn’t bother me now because I know I’m not competing with a memory anymore.
If you enjoyed reading this story, here’s another one you might enjoy: Family can be complicated. But when my aunt convinced my sweet grandmother to finance a “family vacation” only to abandon her in a cockroach-infested motel, she crossed the line. What happened next is something my aunt never saw coming.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the story. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims regarding the accuracy of events or character portrayals and are not responsible for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and the opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
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