What it’s like to attend seven weddings in 2016

I don’t claim to be a writer, just someone with a lot of opinions that happens to work at Medium. I know that if I am to write a story, it should have a point. But the point of this story is that it has no point —there was nothing to it going to seven weddings this year! I tried taking notes throughout the year but never was able to come up with the right reflection. But then it hit me, that having no opinion, is an opinion, that is pretty damn awesome.

I didn’t hate any of this seemingly arduous task, flying around the country for all but two of the weddings. I was the last one on the dance floor at each, I had dates, I went alone, I ate, I drank, I saw old friends and made new ones. It was only the commentary around weddings that made me ever think it was going to be a hectic year.

Sure there were moments, ok seven moments, where I thought “I wish it were me” but to be happy yourself, you have to be happy for others. It’s a mental conversation (debate even), usually a “why me” get’s thrown into the hat, but working through that inner dialogue was the hidden treat of the year and I could not be happier for the 14 love birds.

Here are the notes that I did attempt to make:

Money — but let’s just take that out of the argument, because that money is getting dropped no matter the time line.

Other people — the cohesive response from friends, family and acquaintances toward the last several months was a sternly negative “wow you have a lot of friends” :expressionless: Um, sorry? What am I supposed to say back to this? I’m still trying to formulate a rebuttal other than silence and shock. Very few said “wow, fun, that’s awesome!”.

Outfits — do not buy a new dress for every wedding. Borrow that shit from a friend. And definitely wear a dress twice. We’re millennials, we do whatever the hell we want. Seriously, stop buying brand new dresses that are so conservative you’ll never be able to wear them again. I bought a bridesmaid dress at Forever21 whilst being 32 years old. Both me and the bride care zero about what that implies, and I looked awesome. The less time and the less stress you spend on a dress/ clothing, the more fun you’ll have.

Dancing — being on the dance floor any less than 50% of the time is a waste of your attendance. Spending 73–99% of my night on the dance floor is what made my night(s) fun, and what turned a duty to attend into a total ball. Taking your shoes off is fine if you’re on a beach or as a last resort, but I’m always proud to tough it out.

That just spelled out MOOD entirely coincidentally.