Now before I start receiving any congratulations, I am not getting married at the moment.  But my really good friend is and I am standing as bridesmaid in support.  I love her to death and the guy she is marrying is really great and they are going to be very happy together.  But with all of the tiny little details and the large drama involved, I'm not sure a big wedding is right for me!  Maybe I'll just elope to Vegas......

Here it is, only 3 days before the magical day (May 2, 2009), and there's still a list of at least 10 details that need to be worked out.  10!!!!!  I would have thought that by now everything would be done and the last week before would be absolutely stress-free.  Nope!  The programs still need to be printed, the guest baskets (guest baskets?!  what?!) need to be assembled, the poem needs to be tied to the favors, gifts need to be bought, and the list goes on.  Unbelievable.  I always only think of the big details, like the church and the reception hall and getting the license.  Now I'm afraid if I ever do get married I'll forget something that will throw everything off!  I'm finally understanding why people get so stressed out....

Top that craziness with family members.  Now, in respect for my friends privacy, I'm not going to get too far into the gory details, but I am not a fan.  They seem to be causing more trouble than the wedding needs to go through.  And they have not been very supportive in helping my friend with the planning.  Oh, sure, they planned the shower and the bachelorette party, and it's not like they're against the wedding, but it was the other bridesmaids and me who stuffed envelopes with invitations, made sure they got into the mail, went to multiple dress and shoe stores (for both the bride and her bridal party), helped the bride shop for gifts and honeymoon items, made a check-list for her to make sure she does get everything done, and so on and so forth.  One thing I will allude to is certain of her family members are quite selfish and bratty, and I am looking forward to not dealing with them anymore. 

And who knew it would take so long to plan a simple thing as a wedding?!  My friend and her fiance were engaged in August.  That's about 9 months to put the whole thing together.  But apparently, according to wedding experts, that's not much time at all!  Some venues require 1-2 years in advance to book the reception hall.  At a lot of churches, you need to tell the priest (or reverend or pastor or whatever) 6 months ahead of time.  That's just crazy.  And then I hear stories of normal people (not celebrities with millions of dollars at their disposal) getting married in just 6 weeks.  If they can do it in a month and a half, why do some people need almost an entire year?! 

Weddings have become so far from simple it's starting to be ridiculous.  I mean, yes, you want a pretty dress and a nice church and a fun place for your reception, but do you really need to spend thousands on a Vera Wang dress with Manolo Blahnik shoes (both of which you'll probably only wear once) and get the ballroom at the Ritz and have hundreds of people there whom you don't know?  As far as I'm concerned, if you love him and all of your friends and family are there for support, that's all that's necessary. 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm excited for this wedding.  I've never been a bridesmaid before (unless you count glorified flowergirl at my sister's wedding when I was thirteen) and I'm so happy for my friend.  But Sunday will be a relief when I can just stay in bed and relax and not think about it anymore!