Dear Reader,
I was never an early riser. Back in university I was the kind of girl who would let my group members get started on the project meeting while I was still pressing snooze. Awful, I know.
What I am though, is a sucker for wedding dresses. It's the fashion-lover in me. I hardly watch TV. Newest shows? Online shows? I wouldn't know, because I don't follow. But if I happen to walk by while TLC's Say Yes to the Dress is on... well, all else is forgotten and I'm gravitating towards the TV. The danger with TLC is they play show after show so after 2 hours pass you suddenly realize you had something to do.
For someone who dreams of weddings dresses, I have never grown up dreaming of my own wedding. There's the idea that little girls fantasize about Prince Charming and their wedding day while coddling baby dolls from Fisher Price. My 5-year-old cousin is proof of this. I don't know where the ball dropped with me but I didn't dream of fairytales. I grew up fearfully imagining that E.T. was in my closet and dragging around my stuffed animals by a coiled tether linking its arm and mine with velcro straps. The same tether that my mom attached to me when we went out in public; in fear that I'd get lost, bolt, run away, whatever. The day that I was introduced to velcro shoes was the day the tether was rendered useless.
Back to the current day.
As I set my alarm clock the night before a wedding job for 4AM, 5AM, and the blessed 6AM I do so on autopilot refusing to let my mind calculate the hours of sleep I won't be getting. It goes off a few hours later and my bleary eyes open to a dark room - a taunting reminder that, yup, it's that early. I go through the morning in a hazy blur, staring at my half-conscious reflection and curling my lashes. If I pinch my eyelids one day, that would wake me right up.
The morning drive is sobering, it's just me and road, little else around besides some morning birds. Each red light seems longer than usual and the streets are peaceful for a change.
With weddings it's a fine balance between you, the clock, and the bridal party's agenda. Monopolizing the conversation, telling someone that they can't possibly look like Jessica Alba, and not meeting the deadline are big no-nos. I listen intently, manage hair expectations, and work efficiently.
It's a special day. For her, for her loved ones, and for a beauty artist like me. I'm invited to be a part of an intimate day and entrusted to make someone and her party look and feel beautiful. I've been privy to a lot of special moments. It's warming to hear the group remind each other of past memories with "Remember when..." stories and see them burst into peals of laughter. To hear one party affectionately call each other by "friend" instead of by name, to see one bride quietly reflecting while writing her vows (she was a writer by profession so I know she conjured up something good), and to witness the moment when the finishing touches are complete and the room goes absolutely quiet as she enters in the ever-magical wedding dress. Our faces light up, we're in awe, and we all cheer her on.
That is why I love weddings.
That is why I love weddings.
Not only have weddings allowed me to have meaningful and early starts to my days, they've really got my time management going! For a girl who was never an early riser, whose notorious tardiness gave life to the phrase "Are we meeting in real time or in Monica time?"... weddings are a magical thing indeed.
Yours truly,
Mon
