By: Andrea Winters

In an industry built around two people promising each other forever, one photographer is suggesting that the world consider a different kind of vow: the commitment to oneself.

Ximena Zermeño, a Los Cabos-based destination photographer with over a decade of international experience, is part of a cultural shift that may be disrupting the wedding industry in subtle ways. Her movement—Marry Yourself—invites individuals to commit to themselves in symbolic, often ceremonial ways, reframing self-love from a general affirmation to a more ritualized experience that resonates globally. Because, as Ximena puts it, “marrying someone who’s already committed to themselves means they’ll love you from wholeness, not from need.”

At a time when marriage rates are falling, divorce rates are rising, and self-actualization is increasingly seen as an essential foundation for relationships, the idea of self-marriage may no longer seem eccentric. It feels more like a natural progression.

A Shift in the Market

Wedding spending continues to rise worldwide, driven by a surge in destination ceremonies, personalized rituals, and an expanding view of what a commitment ceremony can be. Beneath the surface, however, another trend is emerging: a growing demographic of consumers—especially women—who are opting out of conventional relationship timelines in favor of self-directed milestones.

Solo travel is on the rise, and luxury brands are responding by offering products and experiences that reflect the increasing cultural focus on personal autonomy and self-celebration. Ximena’s movement does not just reflect this evolution—it helps give it form, language, and ritual.

“We celebrate love between people beautifully,” she says. “But we’ve neglected the most essential relationship: the one you have with yourself.”

The Global Expansion of a Personal Truth

What began as a photographer’s moment of introspection while shooting a wedding in 2020 has expanded into an international project now gaining recognition in India, Europe, and Latin America. Through Marry Yourself Worldwide, Ximena offers a symbolic framework for clients to create their own self-marriage rituals, often in locations with emotional or cultural significance.

But this movement is more than just ceremonies.

The movement also includes:

• A podcast, co-hosted with her 21-year-old son, focusing on self-worth, healing, and modern love.

• A forthcoming book titled Marry Yourself: From Prison to Freedom documents real stories of self-commitment across cultures.

• The Vita necklace is a vulva-shaped pendant symbolizing rebirth and devotion to self.

• Ongoing collaborations with artists, venues, and mental health advocates worldwide.

Ximena’s background as a former criminal defense attorney uniquely influences her approach. She is less interested in glossy results and more concerned with authenticity, emotional depth, and human transformation. “I’ve spent years listening to people in crisis,” she says. “Now I want to create rituals that help people honor their wholeness—not just recover from their brokenness.”

Not Anti-Marriage, But Pro-Self

Contrary to some early assumptions, Marry Yourself Worldwide is not about rejecting romantic partnerships. In fact, many of its participants are in relationships—some even married.

“It’s not about choosing yourself instead of someone else,” Ximena explains. “It’s about choosing yourself first, so you can love from a place of fullness rather than fear or emptiness.”

This distinction is vital to the movement’s growth. It allows Marry Yourself Worldwide to coexist with traditional unions while introducing a new emotional vocabulary for love: one based on self-loyalty, ritual healing, and emotional independence.

Her clients range from recent divorcees to corporate leaders, trauma survivors, and even brides postponing their ceremonies—but choosing not to postpone their joy. Each participant is encouraged to craft a ceremony that feels meaningful, whether private or shared, quiet or celebratory.

The Cultural Moment—and What Comes Next

There’s a reason this message is striking a chord now.

Millennials and Gen Z are delaying marriage or forgoing it entirely. Burnout, therapy culture, and the perfectionism of social media have left many questioning the traditional ideas of love—that it must be earned, chased, or performed. The next step, Ximena argues, is not rejection—it’s redefinition.

Her vision for the next five years includes:

• Destination self-marriage retreats in sacred locations

• A certification program for photographers and celebrants to lead self-marriage ceremonies with integrity

• An online platform offering tools, community, and resources for those on the path to personal commitment

She’s also receiving international inquiries from therapists, spiritual coaches, and even luxury resorts looking to collaborate. The message is clear: self-marriage is not just a novelty. It is evolving into an emerging emotional framework.

A Quiet Revolution, Framed by a Lens

Ximena’s work does not demand attention. It does not force a narrative. Instead, it invites.

With a camera in one hand and a manifesto in the other, she is capturing a new kind of story—one where love begins not with “Will you marry me?” but with “Will I stand by myself?”

“The most important love story,” she says, “is the one you build with yourself. Once you’ve done that, everything else becomes a choice—not a need.”

In a world where love is often still defined by who walks down the aisle beside you, Ximena Zermeño is making a quiet suggestion:

Walk down it alone.

And mean every step.