Meet the Wedding Party: Bridespeoples

A keen observer may have noted that I have yet to talk about our wedding party.  I have noticed that among my friends and fellow bloggers, most people seem to have a pretty easy time choosing their bridesmaids.  In fact, many people have their wedding party picked out before they even get engaged.  This was not an easy decision for me.  Choosing the core group, the three people I ended up going with, was very easy.  But there were other contenders.  One in particular who I really wanted to ask to be a bridesmaid, who I in fact did ask to be a bridesmaid the first time we were engaged, I agonized over for months, wondering if I should ask her this time around.  Though we haven't seen much of each other in the last few years due to distance, we still write (with real, genuine paper!) and talk occasionally, and I still consider her a close friend.  My soul mate.  The problem is that she never picks up her phone.  Or responds to any attempts at communication on a regular basis.  And in the end, I decided I didn't want to deal with the inevitable stress of having her as a bridesmaid.  I'm sad about it, but it's just not worth the strain.

So with that final decision made, I present to you my peeps!

Maid of Honor:  Seema

 

Seema and I have been friends since seventh grade and became best friends soon after.  I'll never forget our first conversation.  Being GATE (honors) students, we had a lot of classes together.  While walking to English one day after Drama, Seema came up to me and said, "Hi Courtney!"  I proceeded to look around bewildered, gave her a small smile, and continued walking.  But she kept talking to me and eventually said my supposed name again to which I promptly responded, "My name's not Courtney."  We've been friends ever since.  And yes, that is the start of the toast I will give at her wedding.  We've been through a lot together over the years--from hatching plans to dance to "Bye, Bye, Bye" on the tables of our history class and spending inordinate amounts of time at Disneyland to crushing boy troubles (including being broken up with by our boyfriends on the same day--yes, they planned it that way) and keeping in touch while hundreds of miles apart.  She is one of two people from high school I still keep in touch with, and after ten years, she is still my best friend.  Seema is one of those rare gems of my friends who was excited about my wedding even when she was single, and I'm so glad I'll get to have her by my side when the day comes.

Best Man:  Cody

 

Yes, that's right, I'm having a boy on my side at our wedding.  Deal with it.  In spite of his recent "ignore the family" attitude, my brother and I have always been very close, and I would not feel right getting married without him by my side.  Cody is one of the most interesting people I have ever known and is very difficult to describe.  I would caution against any attempt to classify him, so let's put it this way:  you know those "he's the most interesting man in the world" ads?  That's Cody.  I am so proud (if extremely jealous) to say that my 19-year-old brother has made more progress on his career than any recent college grads I know, and he and his band, Of the Vessel, have started playing gigs across Southern California.  I love him very much and wish that he would descend his "cloud of awesomeness" to talk to me even when other people are around.  But for now I'll just have to console myself with this:

Muahahahaha.  He was so cuuuuuuute :).

Bridesmaid:  Megan

 

Megan and I met the same way Daniel and I met actually, through BookWorlds.  Well, OK, that's not entirely true.  As Megan likes to remind people, we technically met when I added her on facebook despite the fact that we had never met in person.  But in my defense against utter creepazoidness, we had 3 classes together, the same major, AND we grew up 10 minutes away from each other!  It was fate.  We got to know each other in our Harry Potter class (the same one Daniel used to frequent that was taught by our officiant), and the next semester, we got a lot closer when we taught a class on The Lost Years of Merlin.  I will never truly be done repaying Megan for sticking with me through that highly cumbersome class, but I'm so glad she did (even if it still haunts her nightmares) because we became good friends and then roommates.  She is my closest friend from college, and I'll be happy to have her with me on our wedding day even though I know she'll spend the ceremony itching to get out of her bridesmaid's dress.  That's what she said ;).

And so I introduce you to my peoples.  Megan was highly amused when I noted the diversity among them, and we have taken to calling them my multicultural bridal party--the Indian, the White Boy, and the Asian with a dash of Latina (the runners up were a Persian and a very Aryan Mormon).  My friends have always been pretty spread out, culturally, physically, and socially, and I like it like this.  Whether because I like lots of different experiences or because I am a self-loathing white girl I am not entirely sure, but regardless, I love my friends, and I want ALL of them to share my wedding day with me.

How did you pick your bridal party?  Who did you pick?  Was it easy, or did it require debate?