Bridesmaid's Blog
Have you been asked to be a bridesmaid? Not sure what to expect? Share in Emma's experiences over the next seven months as she heads deep into bridesmaid territory...
The call came late afternoon on Friday 9th May. I remember what I was wearing, that I was sitting down (thank heavens), and that I was halfway through a rusk and some tea. “Listen, Em,” the caller said, “I’m going to propose to Sarah-Jane tonight…”
Me being a girl, and having known the lady in question for more years than I can remember, I gasped, then screeched hysterically, “NO! Leon, are you joking?” Of course the groom-to-be wasn’t joking – people don’t usually make prank calls like this, do they? Especially not to best friends who might turn nasty – and so my flabbergasted response was entirely inappropriate, and caught the poor man off guard. “No, I really am going to propose to her…” A confused pause. After which he proceeded to give me a nervous run-down of the evening’s proceedings – something about a café in town, wanting me to be there after the proposal, etc. But it had to remain a secret – “…that’s very important, Em …blah blah…”
I have to admit, I wasn’t listening very well. I was too busy nursing a lump in my throat, and running through childhood memories (everything from re-enacting Spice Girls’ music videos to rolling in the mud – literally), that I’d made with my lovely friend, who was now about to become a fully-grown, super-mature, engaged woman. Somehow, I managed not to cry, to congratulate Leon (who - I suppose I should mention - happens to be a very nice guy), and to phone my mom. Who as it happens was in a dentist’s chair, with numb gums, and so - needless to say - just barely sounded thrilled.
At 9pm that evening, I was strapped into a car belonging to my friend Julie – another old mate of Sarah-Jane’s - and racing through town, trying to find a certain Café Maxim, which continually eluded us. We were freaking – I mean, who the heck is late for a best friend’s engagement party? Eventually we pitched up on the doorstep (everyone else had already arrived). We strode with magnetic force towards our friend, steam-rolling her parents and anyone else in the way, barely making eye contact with Leon, who was standing in the corner, wearing a suit and some very pink cheeks.
Sarah-Jane looked ravishing (her forward-thinking mother Lindy had ensured this), and every bit the blushing bride. In great, giggling depth, she described the proposal, and how she hadn’t expected it one bit. I rolled my eyes: Sarah-Jane had been dreaming of this day since she first met Leon, and had started doodling “I Love Lee’s” in her Matric Biology textbook. In fact, she’d already picked a ring for her engagement, and she’d been complaining that he was taking too long. But at least it is fair to say that the event itself was a surprise.
Invited to a ‘smart dinner’, Sarah-Jane had dressed up, been fetched by Leon and driven to Café Maxim – a restaurant venue with a difference: it showcases jewellery as part of the dining experience. When they got there, the café was empty of people, but filled with candles and 12 bunches of roses. Apparently still not suspecting a thing (I mean, this kind of thing happens all the time to every girl!), Sarah-Jane rushed to the back of the restaurant – always a sucker for a bit of sparkle – and examined the twinkling glass jewellery cabinets. “But Leon,” she frowned, “isn’t that my ring?” At which point Leon said yes, it most certainly was, got down on bended knee (he later admitted that he was terrified), and Sarah-Jane burst into tears.
The rest, as they say, is history, and having been invited to be one of her pretty-in-pink bridesmaids (Sarah-Jane is the original girl), my next six months will be filled with all the hustle and bustle that go with ‘bridesmaid territory’. It’s time to start planning!
If you have any comments, feel free to email me: blogs@celebrationhouse.co.za
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