A Perfect Bride.

I was originally intending to write about all the things that went wrong with the wedding in which I was a bridesmaid yesterday. But despite all the trouble, this wedding was the happiest, most stress-free one I’ve ever been in. After thinking about it a little, I decided that the reason for the light, happy atmosphere is worth my time more than all that went wrong. And that reason was the bride.

For all of you still curious about the things that went wrong, I’ll highlight just a few: the flower arrangements didn’t turn out right, so the bride stayed up fixing them the night before the wedding; the hair stylist for the bridesmaids didn’t show up in the morning – we curled each others hair; the limo driver got lost on the way to the brides’ house; and as to prove that my writing is not just empty babble, one of the bridesmaids’ dress zipper broke during reception and we had to sew her in (see two posts below for complete story on the dresses.)

But back to the bride. First impressions really aren’t fair to this amazing individual. She is as tiny as Thumbelina, and looks no older than twelve. Combine that with “blond” comments that periodically come out of her, and you would think that you are dealing with the latest version of Jessica Simpson. That is until you pick up on the sarcastic humor of those comments and the bluntness that she so skillfully turns into innocence. Oh. And also all the complex mathematical calculations that this “little girl” is capable of computing in her head.

I met her when I moved to Washington four years ago. She was my cousin’s friend, and for a while the three of us were inseparable. The “three musketeers” lasted until two major events in her life intervened. That year she met her now husband. Just a little after, her father unexpectedly passed away. This is when everyone met the true Angela. The strong, determined, hard-working, wise and inspiring woman that she really is. In my life I’ve met endless people who become bitter and spiteful after tragedy hits. She was the very opposite.

After being the baby of the family for 17 years (her next sister is 16 years older) Angela all of a sudden had to take over her father’s job in order to keep the house that her and her mom were left in. Besides taking up his night shift without any grumbling, she also finished school and started college that year. I’ve heard the rest of the family say that if it wasn’t for Angela’s attitude, they would not be able to deal with the tragedy that hit them. Her father was a person who was loved by everyone, not just his family, so the loss was huge. Especially in that it was unexpected. But through her pain, Angie stayed as easygoing as she has always been. “I know he is in heaven, and that I will see him there when I die. Besides, he is better off with God, right? So I am happy for him even though I miss him, of course.”

Let’s just say that after living through that, a little wedding blues had no chance to get the cheerfulness out of the bride. Even through all that went wrong Angela never turned into bridezilla. She just wasn’t going to let anything ruin her day. And she made it truly special for herself and everyone involved.

The perfect bride. (And my other creative endeavors from the wedding. Please keep in mind that all I had was a cheap Sony for a camera and the images are much MUCH smaller than the originals...)

















SEWN IN BRIDESMAID: