You know what we need on this blog? More interaction and comments! So I'll start by throwing out a question to the female readership, though guys are welcome to contribute stories as well.
How many weddings have you been in? What was the craziest thing you had to wear? Are the couples you 'maided for still married?
I'll start - I suppose I need to restrict myself to talking about the weddings of people who will not be attending mine, don't I? So Lisa and Missy, you're off the hook.
But that's all right because with out a doubt all time "favorite" (and I use that word loosely) bridesmaid ensemble had to be the one I wore for Vicki and Robert's wedding. Vicki was a sorority sister - a lovely girl. Robert was the drummer for Telluride, THE party band of the late 80s in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. The wedding was in August 1989 in Birmingham.
Vicki wanted us to wear black, which we all would have loved, but her mother put her foot down. So what did we end up in? Long red skirts, red heels and white long sleeved lace tops with peplums. PEPLUMS, people! The horror! The sheer Roll-Tideitude of it all was amazing. After the reception at The Club (is that place still around) we went (where else) To Louie Louie's in Five Points, Sharon and I still sporting our 'maid ensemble and hooker heels. What a night.
My favorite 'maid story, though, revolves around Dawn and Todd's wedding. Dawn was a sorority sister but we also went to high school together and had been friends there. Todd went to college with us, too, and was also from Gadsden. In fact, they live there now after several years in Birmingham. If I knew where, I'd invite them. So if you know them, tell them to give me a shout or drop me a line.
Anyway, the event took place in Gadsden in July 1989, a few weeks before Vicki's. We wore dark green dresses made with giant, poufy sleeves (think Princess Diana poufy). The seamstress employed copious amounts of netting in the shoulder seams to make sure the sleeves stood up. No one thought a thing about it during the fittings, when we only wore the dresses a few minutes at a time.
Flash forward to day o' the wedding and all us 'maids - all sorority sisters of Dawn's except for one friend and her little sister who was 15 - are in a Sunday School room at Bellevue Baptist Church getting ready. As anyone who's been in a wedding knows, you have to show up about two hours early on game day for photos. Sometime during the primping and preening, someone asked if anyone else's shoulders hurt. We all realized our shoulders did, indeed, hurt. We pulled the dresses off our shoulders and discovered that the netting had rubbed them raw and they were oozing blood. What to do - no one had Band-Aids and it was getting close to kickoff time!
My sorority sister Roma, God love her, came to the rescue. She got that look in her eye (the one that usually makes you think something like, "Oh, no, what's she up to now?") and dashed out to her car.
And returned with a box of (sorry, boys) panty liners. Which we all proceeded to adhere to our shoulders, and which we wore for the remainder of the day. (Yes, we wore them during the ceremony).
Somewhere I have a regulation, wedding photographer made photo with Dawn's friend and all her smiling sorority sisters showing off our sexy, be-padded shoulders, accompanied by one 15-year-old who looks like she's about to die of sheer mortification.
Ah, good times.
Almost as much fun as the wedding in which, instead of flowers, I had to hold a LIT candle. That was Charlotte's wedding (another sorority sister) which I was in along with a former beau. We set the happy couple up. Come to think of it, if anyone knows where to find her or Vicki, or any of the old Alpha Xi Delta crowd (aside from the lovely Maureen who I know is attending, all the way from NYC - yay!!!) let me know.
Back to the story: My beau was still in Tuscaloosa getting his master's, and I was already here in Atlanta. I was spending the weekend at his place, and had put my shoes on a high shelf in the closet to prevent them from being eaten by Kayliegh, our golden retriever, who was a puppy at the time.
We left for the wedding in plenty of time, and got pretty much to one or two exits before the Birmingham bypass (the wedding was in McCalla) before I remembered I had forgotten the shoes. This was 1991 or '92, I guess - before cell phones - so we just turned around and drove 120 mph back to T-town to get them. And missed most of the picture taking and caused much consternation. But it all worked out. And for once, I was thisclose to a lit candle and managed NOT to set my hair on fire.
I need to see if I can scan pictures from these events and post them, too. As for you, dear readers, you know you have good stories. Post 'em in the comments!
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4 comments:
Too funny! I've heard all of those stories and they STILL made me laugh! And you could share my wedding if you wanted to since the marriage didn't last. That's o.k... the next one came with no bridesmaids but a definite updgrade!:) Didn't something freaky happen with your dresses for that wedding too?
OK, I'll play--though it's not a sweet memory!
I have a friend who got married in Ft. Myers, Florida. And though I can't remember exactly what time of year it was, it was hot! This was in 1986 or '87. The bridesmaids dresses were floor-length royal blue double-knit polyester. That kind of polyester that snags on the least bit of dry skin you might have and nearly hurts to wear.
They were sleeveless, with a matching royal blue "lace" (it was also polyester) vee-shaped overlay. I'm not describing it well, though you'd understand completely if you could see the way my hands are moving (when they aren't typing).
UGLY! I wore mine to a Halloween party several years ago. I dyed it black (it came out a sort of black and blue bruise color) and went as death.
On the up side, the couple is still married, I assume happily.
In another wedding, the dresses were lovely (not something I'd ever wear again, but lovely, nonetheless). The shoes, however, dyed pink to match, made my toes go to sleep as I stood for 45 minutes during the hybrid Methodist/Catholic ceremony. When we had to start the walk back down the aisle, the groomsman who was escorting me practically had to carry me to keep from falling. My toes didn't wake up until I took my shoes off at the reception!
They are also still married.
For those of you who haven't heard the story, my bridesmaid's dress for Missy's wedding was a green velvet two-piece suit-y number. The skirt went all the way down to the floor and had a slit in the back. By the end of the reception and the dancing and the fun-having, the slit had ripped several inches higher than its original starting point. From that point on, the groom's father seemed to be there every time I turned around, paying me somewhat off-color compliments. Still, I have the picture of the two of us (me and you, Missy, not me and Mr. _____) that night on my wall collage of favorite photos here in the office!
I love my friends. Therefore, I didn't have bridesmaids at either of my weddings. My friends also love me and have never asked me to be one. Thank you!
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