Never Saved a Wedding Before

I have done lots of things in my life.  I've fallen in love, gotten married, traveled to China, pulled a bully off my brother before he could drown, accidentally slapped someone in a haunted house (will explain in another post I'm sure), graduated from high school/college/grad school, etc.  Suffice it to say, I've done a lot in my 20-some years.

But Saturday was a first.

D and I to a wedding for my friend L.  She married P. The location was GORGEOUS.  It was a lovely country club right around the corner from our house.  The bridesmaids looked lovely.  The parents were beaming.  The bride was glowing.  (The groom was nervous ... kept looking out into the crowd!)

The wedding ceremony was unique for a Jewish wedding.  (Very brief, not completely accurate/illustrative explanation of Judaism: there are three main branches.  I say main because there are others but let's just focus on the three main ones: Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. The Orthodox are the most observant followed by the Conservative and then the Reform.  Make sense?  No?  If not, and you want to know more you can email me or go here!)

Ok now that we have that taken care of...L's wedding was Reform.  There are certain traditions that usually happen at a Jewish wedding.  For instance, usually both the groom and the bride are escorted down the aisle by their respective parents.  The bride usually walks around the groom 7 times before the ceremony begins.  Both the bride and the groom drink from the same wedding cup.  And probably most well known, the guy smashes the glass at the end.  (There are some traditions I didn't mention).  Some of these they did and others they didn't.  But the strangest thing was they asked each other to say "I Do."  Now in all the Jewish weddings I've attended (both Reform, Conservative and Orthodox) I've never seen a Jewish wedding have the couple say I Do.  An experience for sure!

Then it was cocktail hour (I'll spare you the details in case you haven't eaten but it was delicious!).

And then time for the reception and time for L and P's first dance.  It was obvious they had taken professional lessons and had a routine all planned out.  There was just one problem...L kept tripping over her dress.

At one point I actually heard her say to P, just step on it.  At that point, what are you going to do?

Now after the first dance there is what's called the Horah or Hava Nagilah (we all dance around in a circle, you can do-see-do...though we don't call it that...with the bride/groom and they get lifted up in a chair).  During this dance I danced with L and she started apologizing saying "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."  I told her not to apologize, it didn't matter, she was married and worst case scenario, the dress rips.

As she kept dancing, the bustle kept getting looser and looser.  When she started walking around to the tables she had started crying.  My heart was breaking for her.  No matter how in love and how happy you are, that day is incredibly stressful.  When she got to me, I asked her what was wrong and after first insisting nothing (through the tears) she then admitted she was upset about the dress and because the wedding planner hadn't helped.  Apparently the wedding planner told L she didn't bustle dresses AND that they had to go-go-go.

I'm sorry, but it's the bride.  It isn't starting without her!  I told L we could find some safety pins and just pin it up.  The formal pictures were over.  This was about functionality.  She agreed and 10 minutes later we'd hunted down some pins.  She motioned toward me and I followed her into the next room.

I had her stand on the stage about 2 feet above me so I could get an easier angle.  And then I just started pinning.  I could have smacked the wedding planner who kept acting like SHE was fixing the day.  Whatever.

I should also mention I was not a bridesmaid.  One of the bridesmaids came in and kept commenting that I'd missed my calling.  However, I took this as a sarcastic comment.  And was rightfully annoyed.  This same bridesmaid also commented she wish she'd have thought of having L stand on the stage.

Not my fault I have better ideas!   

I am a pusher.  And a royal buttin-ski.  I know this about myself.  I've accepted it.  It is who I am.  It's not my fault that the bridesmaids didn't step up or didn't come up with the solution.

And you better believe if I had been a bridesmaid I would have put that wedding planner in her place.

I got L's dress up and it never touched the ground again.  She never tripped and danced the night away.

I'd say I saved her wedding.  Agree?