Perfect
Brides and Grooms
They
really do exist!
I was once a guest from Hell and I have
never seen a bride and groom (or anyone else on the planet) behave more
graciously. I had been dating my boyfriend only for a couple of months by
the time of his good friend's wedding (who I also knew, but not well). The
bride was French and the wedding was outside Paris. My BF and I decided it
would be fun to spend a weekend in Paris (we live in London), so I would
go with him but not go to the wedding. We asked friends for advice about
whether to tell the groom I would be in town because the last thing on
earth we wanted to do was to make him feel like he had to invite me, but
wondered if he would be just as upset if I was in town without telling
him. Our ingenious plan was to tell him I would be in Paris, but that I
had plans with friends during the time of the wedding, so he would be off
the hook. Sure enough, at 9am the DAY BEFORE HIS OWN WEDDING, the groom
calls my BF asking him to invite me to the wedding. Says it's no problem,
they'd really love for me to come.
Now, I've never planned a wedding myself
but I know enough to know that can't be true (adding another person to the
catering arrengements, changing the seating chart, etc.), but I went
anyway, thinking it would be ruder to decline at that point than to go. At
the reception, the bride and the groom actually THANKED ME FOR BEING ABLE
TO COME AT THE LAST MINUTE! At least three times. It was remarkable. And
after the brunch the next day, whilst spending time with her family, the
bride slipped away and said to BF and me, let me get you some chapagne!
We're looking at each other with that look that says "we drank until
4am at a spectacular reception (great DJ, amazing chateau, everything was
perfect) and we couldn't possibly drink more, but we have to go along with
this!" As the BF looks for glasses for us all to have some, she says,
"no I mean take a bottle to drink tonight!" (That night was the
BF's birthday and she actually remembered that in the middle of her
wedding weekend.) I have never in my entire life seen a bride so on top of
all her guest's needs in all my life. It was inspiring, and so much fun to
reflect back on after reading all of the bridezilla stories!
Perfect Brides 0814/03
Love the site, and unfortunately I have
a story about unintentionally spoiling my cousin's wedding. My cousin
Carrie was getting married just before Christmas, and my father and my
siblings drove down to Florida for the wedding and to spend Christmas with
my deceased mom's relatives. I was fifteen at the time and very excited,
as this would be the first wedding I'd ever been to. Carrie was my
favorite cousin to boot, and I was happy to be included in her special
evening.
We got there two days before the
wedding, and everyone was having a wonderful time. Carrie's fiance Andrew
fit in perfectly with the rest of us, and things were going great. While
many of the adults went to the rehearsal dinner the night before the
wedding, some of the kids (older teenagers) decided to order Chinese food
and rent a movie. I hated Chinese food, so another cousin went out of her
way to get me some KFC, which I scarfed down happily. It tasted a little
weird, but not remarkably so.
The next day, I literally woke up
projectile vomiting. I couldn't keep anything down, not even water. I was
staying at my cousin Katie's house (Katie was Carrie's oldest sister and
her MOH) and poor Katie, bless her heart, was trying to tend to me and
wedding errands at the same time. Katie's husband Dave, like Katie a
nurse, appointed himself my caretaker so Katie could help Carrie. At
around noon, he called my dad, and the two of them bundled me to the local
ER. By now things were getting very ugly, and it didn't take a rocket
scientist to realize that I was in the throes of a massive case of food
poisoning. The doctor told my father that he wanted to admit me right
away. I overheard that, and immediately burst into tears. "But I want
to go to Carrie's wedding! We came all the way from New Jersey! I want to
go!" My dad and Dave tried to soothe me, saying that Carrie would
understand, but I was hysterical. The doctor said that he would run an IV
and give me some drugs, and if I responded well to those he would release
me. So he put in the IV line and gave me a couple of shots, and within a
couple of hours I felt a little better. Actually, I felt horrible, but at
least I wasn't throwing up anymore. The doctor looked askance, but after
me insisting (otherwise known as lying through my teeth) that I felt much
better, he signed the release forms at around 4:30. The wedding was at
six.
I went back to Katie's house and got
dressed for the wedding. By now word had spread about my illness, and
Katie's phone was ringing off the hook asking after me. When Carrie
called, I made it a point to speak to her and said, "I wouldn't miss
your wedding for anything." Katie quickly did my makeup for me,
worrying out loud that I was pale as a ghost, but I kept saying I was okay
and promised to take it easy. She and Dave (who was an usher) left for the
church, and Dad came by to pick me up. Whatever drugs the doctor had given
me were wearing off, and I was feeling horribly sick to my stomach. The
sweat was pouring off me as we got out of the car, but I pasted a smile on
my face and joined my family in their pew. The wedding began. The
bridesmaids walked down the aisle, lovely in their hunter-green gowns. I
was biting the inside of my lip bloody, trying to keep from throwing up.
Carrie, a vision in white silk and lace on her father's arm, began her
march to her soon-to-be husband. The videographer walked backward in front
of the pair, capturing every moment ... including me, rudely shoving
Carrie out of the way and barreling out of the church to be sick in the
bushes. As it turned out, loudly sick. Yes, the video camera had a very
sensitive microphone, and as Carrie and Andrew exchanged their vows I
could be clearly overheard puking my guts out. I've seen--and heard--the
video.
The reception was being held in the
parish hall, and my dad and a couple of my male cousins managed to sneak
out of the wedding and get me over there. When the ceremony ended, Carrie
and Andrew didn't stop for the photographer, but went straight for the
hall to check on me. By that time I was sitting on a toilet in the ladies'
room with a wastepaper basket on my knees because I didn't know which end
would erupt next, and as it turned out that's where I spent most of the
evening. I managed to stagger out once or twice, but in the end I was
driven back to the ER, there to be admitted. I was in the hospital for
three days. Carrie and Andrew, God bless them, even called from their
Cancun honeymoon to see about me. It's been almost twenty years, but I
still feel terrible that I spoiled Carrie's wedding, even though Carrie
swears otherwise. When I got married several years ago, Carrie was
pregnant with her fourth child and was having a horrible case of morning
sickness. Guess who had to leave in the middle of my ceremony to go throw
up? Fortunately, she felt better after some crackers and ginger ale, but
several members of my family swear it was karma, and to this day Carrie
and I joke about each other's weddings making us sick!
Perfect Brides 1012/03
Do you know a wonderful bride and groom who should
be immortalized for their graciousness? Send us the story!
Page Last Updated May 18, 2007
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