Be a bridesmaid

“One of the most beautiful parts of the entire experience was sitting around at the bachelorette party while the women (and myself) — who had known the bride at different points in her life, and in her relationship with Blake — told our favorite memories. Sure, shortly after we took a few shots and danced the night away, but that dinner was a great reminder as to why each of us was around the table. No one was thinking about whether or not they would look good in their dress, or which groomsmen would be walking them down the aisle. The only think we were thinking about was how lucky we were to know Megan and how excited we were to see her get married.”

“On a hot summer day, not too long ago, I packed my red chiffon bridesmaid dress and boarded a plane heading north. Landing in Portland, I was greeted by my ex, Anna, the bride, and her nervous-looking, soon-to-be husband, Dean. Dean and I had only met once before when the two of them were on their way to Costa Rica and had a twelve-hour layover in L.A. They crashed at my place, where Dean kept a tight grip around Anna's waist and eyed me suspiciously all night. [...] They had heard about me, knew I once dated the bride, and were morbidly curious to meet me in person. I stepped up to the plate, and one by one, they pitched their benign questions my way. How was my flight? What did I think of Portland? Would I like another jalapeño popper? Was my current girlfriend there too? (She wasn't.) They kept their curiosity to an inoffensive minimum, and my sapphic exoticness quickly faded into just another drunk girl at the BBQ.”