How I Survived 8 Weddings in 7 Months

My boyfriend and I began dating in July of 2017. At this point in time I was aware of 1 wedding I had to attend, my cousin’s – and I was the Maid of Honor. Fast forward to about 11 months later, June of 2018 and my wedding count was at 8.

EIGHT WEDDINGS PEOPLE.

**DISCLAIMER: When I write stuff in all CAPS I mean to say it very passionately, not screaming!

So here is Kate`s survival guide and lessons learned from becoming a professional wedding attendee.

1.Rent the Runway is a girl’s best friend. For those who are not familiar with the website, they send you a dress of your choosing in two different sizes which you may rent for 4 days. You get the dress you love for ⅓ of the price you would pay for in-store, and gracefully return it in a bag they send to you on Sunday morning.

2.Weddings are expensive as sh*t. Dress, hair, makeup, shoes, hotel, gift, Peanut M&Ms for the car ride- THE LIST IS NEVER ENDING. So if you are a fellow Virgo, get yourself organized and set aside money for this occasion. I tried to put aside about $100 a paycheck for a few weeks in advance to lessen the load of these expensive weekends. Also IT IS OK TO REUSE ITEMS, I REPEAT WEAR THAT DRESS TWICE GIRL NO ONE IS LOOKING.

2a. Piggy backing off of that- DO NOT WAIT UNTIL LAST MINUTE. Speaking from personal experience; having a dress altered the day before the wedding will leave you flustered and your seamstress screaming at you that the next time you pull this she will kick you out of her store (true story, Shout out to Sara).

3. Do not be the couple that sits at the table the entire night. Not that Brian (my boyfriend) and I WILL EVER that couple, but at some weddings the only people we knew were essentially each other and the wedded couple themselves. My advice in those instances, to more shy couples, is to make new friends. You`re at a place with great food and free booze there is no reason the people across the table can not become your BFFs for the evening.

4. Different Culture Weddings ARE THE BEST WEDDINGS. One of Brian`s good friends from college (shout out to JZ) sister was wedding married and they are Pakistani. I did not want to appear disrespectful (especially when it came to what I wore) which resulted in some uneasiness about attending all the parts of this magical endeavor. It turned out the future Bride-to-Be was incredibly helpful and excited for us to be apart of the big day. So my lesson learned was it is okay to ask questions about  the Dos and Don’ts of a wedding which is culturally different than your own. The ceremonies we attended for this couple were super special because they were so inclusive with all their guests, which made it an amazing experience to be apart of.

5. Boyfriends of Girlfriends in Bridal Parties (or Vice Versa)- IT’S TIME TO MAKE SOME FRIENDS. I was in three bridal parties and Brian has had to learn to fend for himself (the best he could at least ;P). So boyfriends/ significant others, if your girlfriend is in the bridal party, you will have some free time on your hands. Talk to cousin Vinny, dance by yourself, try the 6 different mac-and-cheeses at the cocktail hour, chit-chat with the future brides grandma, PREOCCUPY YOURSELF. Your girl will be in photos galore, assisting with other tasks and may not see you for parts of the evening, but you can put her mind at ease by enjoying yourself.

6. ABOVE ALL HAVE A BLAST. You spent a lot of time, thought (and money) leading up to this event, so enjoy it! This is a couple “happiest night of their lives” so actively be apart of that. Dance like crazy people, eat too much cake, drink too much tequila, as a guest, THAT IS WHAT A WEDDING IS FOR.

Here are some pictures from our 8,000 Weddings & I hope you enjoyed this read!

Xo K.

admin