The Bridesmaid that I came to be

My sister recently got married. It was the typical Catholic wedding that we celebrated in a famous church in my country, Philippines. After which we headed on to the reception; an al fresco dinner by the garden where live music and band serenaded the happy couple and their guests. I am claiming that my sister’s wedding is typical because it was the most common type of wedding us Catholics celebrates: Church and Reception and then a bunch of farewells here and there. But what made my sister’s wedding different, other than it being my sister’s wedding is that is was the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended in my entire life given that the preparation only took place in a span of two and a half months.  Which reminds me that I need to help her select her bridesmaid gifts for all the girls in the wedding.

As you might have probably guessed, I was my sister’s bridesmaid. It was the most perfect event of my life because it was actually my first time to be part of an entourage. Many of my friends became flower girls when they were little, as for me, I never had that experience.

Prior the wedding and during the preparations, I kept on daydreaming about how my gown would like and what my future husband would buy as groomsmen gifts. All I knew is that it would be in a mixture of silver and blue; my sisters’ favorite colors. I imagined how I will walk down the aisle and kept neither telling myself that I should not trip nor fall despite my gown being too long for me. I imagined too how beautiful that special night would be as my sister and her soon-to-be husband will bind their hearts as one.

Weddings bring about different kinds of emotions. It makes you feel ecstatic and nervous all at the same time. It makes you feel nostalgic and even detached sometimes. It brings you back memories of home and your childhood. My sister and I grew up together but are not really close and that's why buying cheap groomsmen gifts for our wedding is not a good idea. Our relationship was all about the usual fighting and quarreling and a series of bullying on her part. She is older therefore she demanded respect from me as though I didn’t need any for myself.

On her wedding night, all the negative thoughts vanished. I was there as her bridesmaid and I walked and sashayed in the very long red carpet leading to the altar, she walked after a couple of seconds behind me and I looked at her with so much anticipation and love in my heart. All the memories we shared growing up will never fade; now there’ll be more memories to build… with our families and future children.