Bridesmaids

Nobody has a better group of bridesmaids than me. Some might have it as good as me, but nobody has it better. These ten (yes, ten!) ladies represent a cross section of my life from as far back as I can remember! And I love them! So I've tried really hard to be good to them during this process. After all, a wedding is about gathering together all the people you care about in celebration, and the rest is really just "terminal silliness," as my "favorite" supreme court justice would say.

Oh Justice Scalia...

So my bridesmaids all got to pick one of eight potential dress styles, in the hopes that they'd all feel as good as possible in them. I don't really mind what shoes or jewelery people wear, I'm not making everyone get their hair and makeup done, and I'm totally ok with the fact that these amazing women with jobs and lives may not make it to every single event.

Some of my bridesmaids dresses in my color, moss green. I hope they love them as much as I do! (Source)

And that's why I have to take a stand against all the crazy ladies out there (you may or may not know who you are) who sit around and demand people shell out crazy cash for their 7 day bachelorette extravaganzas, or force their friends to pay for hair and makeup they hate. I know someone who has been told in no uncertain terms that she will be making a multi-thousand-dollar contribution towards the bachelorette party for a bride who chose to have a 5-star wedding. I know another person who was asked to buy a dress that cost upwards of $500 and needed much alteration, and was then required to pay someone to tease her hair into oblivion and apply harem-style lipstick. This for a girl who usually wears her perfect skin bare, with lip gloss and mascara. Its a miracle friendships survive this kind of madness.

I'm not saying a well-planned destination bachelorette party can't be wonderful or that hair and makeup aren't worthwhile- they certainly can be, and I'm usually the first to sign up to for both! But there is a not-so-fine line between asking someone to don a dress and stand up for you, and asking them to completely ignore their own interests and personalities.

Yes, I consider myself a feminist. And that may not mean the same thing to me as it does to you. But it makes me sad when women turn a ceremony about love, commitment and community, into an awkward, me-first extravaganza of selfishness.

Soapbox concluded.

Have you known any bridezillas in your life?