If you wannabe my lover, gotta get with my friends

Or, how I picked my maids. While I love the Spice Girls, I’ve always wondered about these lyrics. Yes, I would like my man to be friends with my friends. But I don’t want him to get with them.

Once upon a time, my older sister and I (and our parents) attended two family weddings. My padre is the youngest of four boys. His oldest brother has two daughters (my cousins, even). They were both married to delightful men in 2005, and they stood as each other’s only attendant. Leslie and I really liked this idea and decided to copy them. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

Flash forward six years. I realized that I wanted some more ladies up standing up there with me. And I wanted somewhere to share the burden of planning the bridal shower and bachelorette. I also liked pictures with bridesmaids. I did compromise with myself to have two more attendants. While I love Southern weddings, I don’t find it necessary for me to have 10+ maids. Though, thinking back, I think I would’ve had 7-8 bridesmaids if we’d gotten married right after I finished college. But back to my story.

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Meet Maid of Honor (MOH) Leslie, aka my older sister. Leslie is the token non-Alpha Gam in the bridal party; she’s a Pi Beta Phi. It’s hard to describe my relationship with her: we’re sisters, so we started out best friends, hated each other for awhile, and are now back to being best friends. I do find it funny that I have lots of best friends, but unique relationships with each of them. Here’s a gem of a family photo. Oh, 1989. What a great year. Leslie’s the little doll in the green (Daddy’s holding her), and I’m the pink blob on Mama’s lap.

Personal photo

My two bridesmaids were no brainers. Meet bridesmaids (BM) Antlers and JBenz. Antlers and I met one fateful January day in 2007. Our Sunday sorority bid day was cancelled because of bad weather, but we were given our bids and our t-shirts. All the new pledges proudly wore their t-shirts to class on Monday in anticipation of our rescheduled bid day festivities. Antlers and I spied each other up across the room at choir, and this happened:



Source

We’ve been friends since, through thick and thin, good and bad, coherent memories and total blackouts (here’s looking at you, senior date party).

JBenz and I met about one year later on another fateful January day. She had just received a bid to Alpha Gam. We realized we were basically soul mates during practice for another sorority’s philanthropy. Benzie is directly responsible for my relationship with Mac. She met Mac and his best friend, Rich, at Burger King around 3 am. She and Rich got to talking and later dated. After Rich commissioned in the Navy, she decided to seduce Mac and invited him to a party. I was also at the party, so I cockblocked her and stole him, haha. Thanks, betch! She also told me that if Mac and I ever got married, she had to be a bridesmaid. Dreams do come true.

Oh, I was so skinny. Me, BM Antlers, BM JBenz Personal photo