Japan’s Princesses have the most unfair deal of all: If they want to marry someone who isn’t aristocratic they must relinquish their royal titles. This rule, we might add, does not apply for their brothers the Princes. It’s only the women who must choose between love and family.

This week, Japanese Princess Ayako chose love, marrying her partner Kei Moriya at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine in a silent protest against the outdated Japanese Imperial regulations on 29 October, reports CNN. Ayako, 28, is the youngest daughter of Prince Takamado and Princess Hisako, and will lose her title and her royal allowance after wedding her partner. In images taken just after the ceremony, the couple beamed at well-wishers and gave a few statements to the crowd about their blissful union.

“I am awed by how blessed I am,” Ayako said at her marriage ceremony. “I will leave the imperial family today, but will remain unchanged in my support for his majesty and her majesty.”

Women Making Waves is part of Stylist’s Visible Women campaign to raise awareness of women who’ve made a difference to society. See more Visible Women stories here.

From Louis C.K’s protesters to Zoë Kravitz: the women making waves this week