Lessons I Learned As A Bridesmaid

October 8, 2016. I woke up to the noise of branches being slapped across the window. Did we evacuate to the wrong city? The smell of pancakes and French toast and the thought of drinking my chilled boxed wine lingered over me. The three-story building across from the Govenor’s Mansion held 13 of us: 6 kids and 7 adults. Two of those adults were supposed to be celebrating their wedding weekend, but Mother Nature had other plans. This Hurrication was bittersweet.

That’s right, the wedding we spent a year planning and celebrating was rescheduled. Instead of champagne toasts and a bouquet toss, we were testing I-26 lane reversals. Life throws us many curveballs. Those curveballs usually turn into life lessons, also known as, major keys and gems. The lessons I learned as a bridesmaid are no exception.

Lessons I Learned As a Bridesmaid

Eloping is underrated.

I will give my full support to anyone who chooses to skip the traditional marriage celebrations. Just like most “commercial” holidays, the love between 2 people has literally nothing to do with most of the stress that comes with the wedding planning process. Do I love participating in those celebrations? Yes. Do I think they’re necessary? Nah.

My time management skills are weak af.

I may have the same 24 hours in a day as Beyoncé, but not the same organization skills and team as the Queen. It feels like I will be catching up on sleep for at least a month. Between my clients, the blog, bridesmaid duties and maintaining a social life — I’se tired.

I need to learn to sew/hem.

To be clear, not as a career or even a legit hobby. Just having the skill would’ve been helpful and a hell of a lot cheaper than having to go to a seamstress. I asked a woman if she would teach me, and she said no. “You’ll hate it,” she said while folding 1 of the 4 layers of my dress, “If you don’t have a passion for it, you will hate it.”

Thoughts becoming things, but not everything can be controlled.

We shouldn’t give so much negative energy to the things we can’t control. I know from personal experience that this is easier said than done. It was so hard to see my cousin upset over things and people she had no control over. Maya Angelou said it best:

People will eventually show you who they really are.

Anyone can claim unconditional love for another through social media and text messages, but their true colors shine when it’s time for more action and less words. There’s another Maya Angelou quote for this one:

This isn’t my first time learning these lessons. History repeats itself, so I guess one more go ’round won’t hurt. What lessons have you learned from life’s curveballs?