Guest post: Always a bridesmaid…and other wedding shenanigans

Note from The MG: Modern Angie is one of my best sources of information here at The Modern Gal. She is an expert in many fields, first and foremost the field of being a bridesmaid and has a guest post on the subject.

(*author’s note: I am not bitter or cynical. Just remember, I had something wedding-related, be it a shower, party, or wedding, every month since November 2007. Yes, really.)

If I had a dollar for every time someone said I reminded them of Katherine Heigl’s character in 27 Dresses…well, I’d probably have enough to at least pay for one of seven bridesmaids dresses I have protruding from my closest.

Since February of 2008, I’ve been a part of 10 weddings. I’ve been a reader once, a program attendant twice and a bridesmaid seven times. At first it was fun. It was new. And it was exciting.

And then about three weddings in, I was done with it. If I heard “Canon in D” one more time, smelled one more hydrangea or ate one more piece of buttercream-frosted wedding cake I was going to poke my eyes out with my bouquet.

At one point, they all just kind of ran together. But looking back on it now that I am done and don’t have as much as one wedding shower ahead of me, I see that all of the weddings had their own special touch. Something that made each of them unique, made them stand out and made them memorable.

Here is a random list, in no particular order, of some things I’ve learned or observed in the last 18 months of Bridesmaid Bliss.

1. Fall was my favorite time of the year to be in a wedding. I love the coolness of the air and the colors. Taking pictures outside in the dead of summer in a floor length dress is just not fun. Makeup sweats off and hair frizzes!

2. One time early on during a reception, the sash to my dress fell in the toilet as I was using the bathroom. Only me.

3. Every single wedding I was in, I brought the same pair of cheap Target flats to change in to the second I got to the reception location. I will never master walking in heals.

4. PHOTOGRAPHERS KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING. They are in this business for a reason. I always got so annoyed when another member of the wedding party would try to tell them how to do their job.

5. Of the seven dress, I kept three. Two were perfect as-is, and one was altered to be shorter.

6. DO NOT LOCK YOUR KNEES. I had a bad habit of this. I always shifted my legs during a prayer. And it obviously worked, because I never once passed out.

7. I don’t quite understand the appeal of paying extra money to have your napkins monogrammed. I mean seriously? They wipe cake from your mouth and go in the trash. Not necessary.

8. The last 5 or so minutes before it was time to walk down the aisle was the biggest rush of every kind of emotion.

9. One wedding I was in had a few real-life wedding crashers: students from a local college looking for a free pre-game.

10. I never caught the bouquet. I mean you would have thought at least once, right?!

All that being said, it really is an honor that of all the people she has met along the way, the bride wants you to be a part of the most important day of her life. And while my bank account and social calendar may be smiling more now than before, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything.