Soon I'll attend a wedding. It has been a long time since I've attended a wedding so I am really looking forward to the celebration. There was a time in my life when I attended a wedding almost every weekend--that was a crazy, busy chapter of life. One wedding morphed into another and so on. What I learned about weddings is that if a wedding well represents a couple's love and personality, it's a good wedding no matter where it is, how many people go, or what happens.
So as I prepare to attend this wedding, I'm thinking of the various weddings I've attended over time.
As a child, I attended many of my older cousins' weddings. I thought those weddings were magnificent. I dreamily watched the brides and bridesmaids walk down the aisle. I thought they were all so beautiful. I also had a great time running around the reception with my cousins and siblings tasting the good food, dancing with relatives, and observing every aspect of the celebration. Those were very good times.
I also dreamed a lot of getting married when I was little. I drew those dreams again and again with my friends as we designed wedding and bridesmaids dresses on paper and talked about the kind of guys we might marry.
Weddings as I got older often involved some travel. At relatives' weddings, the whole family would rent rooms at nearby lodgings and we'd make a weekend of it. Those family trips were great fun--we had lots of laughs as we experienced new places together. One of the most memorable weddings took place at Bowdoin College. The whole family stayed at nearby Bailey's Island, and when we weren't at the wedding, we were exploring the island shore and eating lobster. Most weddings took place at hotels, restaurants and country clubs, but there were weddings at historic sites, a beautiful architectural firm, beach resorts, wineries, a fancy farm, VFW halls and public parks too.
At each wedding, I had the chance to partake in one of my favorite pasttimes, people watching. I love seeing all the people, noticing the fashions, and witnessing the range of activity and emotions. Of course, I really like the dancing too--I remember fondly dancing many times with my dad to one of his favorite dance songs, Jeremiah was a Bullfrog by Three Dog Night.
Weddings bring about positivity in me, in part, because it was at a wedding that my husband and I became an item--we reunited at our good friends' wedding after his Asian stint in the Peace Corp. It was so good to see him again, and we've been together since that day about 35 years ago.
I had to miss a few weddings too which I regret, but life events such as illness, financial obligations, work expectations and childcare issues prevented me from attending those beautiful events. As much as possible, when invited to a special event, I try to go as I know celebrations like this are special times.
A wedding is a chance to bring people together to celebrate a couple's love and commitment. It is one of those traditions in life that results in good cheer and joy. I'm happy that I have the chance to be apart of a wedding soon--a welcome event particularly after the laborious limitations of the pandemic years. Onward.