A Long-Awaited Wedding

We've returned from the wedding. We left on Wednesday night and have been going non-stop since we arrived on Hilton Head Island. In short, the wedding was spectacular. A 4:00 ceremony on the beach, perfect 70 degree weather with nary a cloud in the sky, and a bride so calm I would swear she was drugged (She wasn't, I'm pretty sure... okay, no she wasn't).

I was so honored to be a part of the Design Goddess' wedding (I'm one of the lovely ladies in the background in the polka dots). She and I have been great friends for a number of years, and she's almost like another sister. I also get along with the Design Goddess' actual sister quite well, and we stayed at the real sister's place the entire time. I forget how fun it is to hang out with girlfriends. When we all get together we invariably spend hours laughing and being anything but serious. I have enough "serious" in my daily life, so the occasional departure is welcome and, dare I say, necessary.

One funny anecdote (before I get all serious on your asses). The bride had her hair and make-up all done and we had to get her in her dress. So, the bride is standing in her foundation garments (you know, Spanx, chicken cutlet sticky bra, the works) and we're contemplating how to get the dress over her head without causing damage to the 'do, the dress or the painted face. So, we come up with the brilliant idea to cover her face with a plastic bag and shimmy the dress over quickly.

We maybe should've thought that one through a bit first.

See, as soon as we start pulling the dress over her head, we realize it's not so easy. It's a bit tight and we've got to ease her on into it. Butter or Crisco would've helped... they make those slim-fit wedding dresses awful form-fitting. Next thing we know, a little voice from inside the dress says "uh, guys, I can't breathe" and then we hear the plastic bag suck in against her mouth. The bride was out of air. As the other two bridesmaid's are frantically pulling the dress down, I dive in and attempt to either (a) poke a hole in the aforesaid plastic bag, or (b) find the hole in the handle for her to breathe through. It took about ten seconds, but I got found her an air supply. I'm pretty sure I almost wet my pants once air-flow was returned to the bride. The photographer was getting no end of amusement out of our stupidity.

Lesson: Don't suffocate the bride on her wedding day.

But I digress. Truthfully, I am a bit socialized out, but I feel like I gained a ton of new friends over the weekend. Granted, most of them live in Chicago (where the bride and groom currently live) but we get up there enough to see our newfound friends from time to time. I've been very introspective lately, and I think getting out and remembering how to make new friends is something I've been lacking lately. It's easy to get complacent... but complacency is rarely exciting.

I think what stuck with me most was when I was leaving today. I was speaking with the newly crowned Mrs. Design Goddess and she said "now all we have to do is arrange to all move back to North Carolina when it's time to have kids... what do you say?" That statement really excited me. I think being somewhere where you are surrounded by friends and a close social network is so invaluable. It's easy to just go-go-go and chase your career, your desires, etc. All of those things are necessary, but in the end, you need to be surrounded by good friends and family. Friends are especially underrated because, unlike your family, you do get to choose friends. So, in some respects, a good friend can be more important to your life than a semi-involved relative.

I was also struck this weekend by how much this wedding moved The Italian. He cried multiple times... at the rehearsal dinner slideshow, at the wedding, at the Maid of Honor's toast. He told me later that he sees the Design Goddess as his adopted sister. I'm so lucky that my husband has a genuine love for my best friends (in fact, she was his friend before mine... thanks for the gift, love). He said seeing close friends get married means so much to him because he knows we'll spend the rest of our lives with these people. Even if we're not in the same city, we support each other through hard times and successes, go on vacation together, and share common interests.

Me? I have a cold, black heart and don't cry at weddings. I don't know, it's just not my thing. I do WANT to cry when I'm sitting a wedding going "you fools have lost your minds. You are so getting divorced. I hope you have a pre-nup and good birth control." But happy weddings, like this one, where I know the bride and groom really get each other and will try their best to make each other happy... well, that just makes me feel comforted and satisfied, and tears are impossible when I feel that way.

Upon reflection, it was quite a weekend. I'm exhausted, I'm sick, but my heart is full. Congratulations to the Design Goddess, one of my best friends in the world and one of the best people I know.