Secret Bridesmaid’s Business

In case I hadn’t mentioned it already...I am going to be a bridesmaid (matron of honour)!! How exciting you say? I would agree except for the fact the wedding is 5 days after my due date. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am very very excited and delighted to be a bridesmaid for my best friend’s wedding (as she was for me). I am just not so excited about what I will look like (I know that doesn’t really matter...it is all about the bride but still).

The dresses were ordered off the rack, when I was only 6 weeks pregnant. To my displeasure I was informed by the lady at the shop that I should purchase a size 18, given the proximity between my due date and the wedding. I tried on the 16 and it was huge (I am normally a size 12); there were no size 18s in any colour to try on. The plan is to have the dress altered ASAP after the baby is born. That is all well and good if the baby comes at least 5 days before the wedding (its due date), but what if it decides to enter the world after this date???

There are 4 bridesmaids. Each of the bridesmaids got to try on their dress back when they were ordered. Each is small – one size 8, size 10 and a size 12. Then there’s me – a size 18! I know that everyone says don’t worry – you have an excuse – you just had a baby. Still though, I can’t help feeling (just thinking of the rights words...mmm) frumpy, fat, ugly, chubby, portly, unattractive – I could go on for quite a while, but think it best to end here.

These feelings were a tad compounded last night when I picked up the dress. The size 18 was everything I thought it would be – HUGE! I tried it on over my 22.5 week pregnant belly and there was still a lot of room left (who knows this will probably be needed )...it is just the bust area that concerns me the most. When I had Byron, my chest only went up to a marginal size 12C (normally a 12B). The bust area on this dress is huge and definitely filled by a whole lot more then a 12C - more like a 12DD. There lies a big dilemma...which really can be fixed by a great dressmaker (gee I have to find one now that will work on my terms when I need the dress fixed, at a reasonable expense).

Turning to other bridesmaid business... We (that is, the bride, 4 bridesmaids and the bride’s mother) all went out last night to dinner and a play – "Secret Bridesmaid’s Business". My best friend is the kind of girl (God love her) that loves this whole bonding experience. You know, getting together over dinner, brunch, lunch, breakfast, drinks, and cocktails – you name it, she will do it! For crying out loud, she is having a ‘hens’ weekend.

In all honesty though, she truly is a wonderful friend; the kind that is there for you know matter what. She is a selfless person who always puts others first, so really it is only fitting that she be put first...even if it means countless bonding experiences, including a hens weekend and me as a frumpy bridesmaid. For the record, I guess my main concern is the fact that I will let her down. That is, I won’t make the wedding (due to labour), that I won’t have had the baby and therefore won’t fit the dress or that I will ruin the photos by looking puffy and sleep deprived. I know deep down that the latter doesn’t bother her, but really it is the former that I fear the most (and I guess she would too).

Only time will tell...