Weddings truly are fantastic. People love each other, and want to be together forever? That’s a beautiful thing. By no means all inclusive, I present a list of things I love about attending/being in weddings.

10. Guys look great in a tux. This is a scientific fact. The same way that they look hot in baseball uniforms, cop uniforms, dressed up as sailors or soldiers…I’m not sure what it is, but seeing a group of men all wearing the same thing tends to make our blood run a little hotter. Some examples:

omg. take me now.
oh edward. you are so delish.

9. Free food and drink. Cocktail hour, buffet lines, appetizers, cake! And the cupcake thing is all the rage these days. Its a small thing, but always a nice thing to have an open bar and some finger food to look forward to. Best part? As a guest, you don’t have to clean up anything! Brilliant!

8. You get to get dressed up. This is always something that girls love and dread. We dread it because there is a lot of thought and time that usually has to go into the process, and we love it because we love to take pictures of ourselves and post them on facebook, mostly for other girls to see how hot we can occasionally look. There is something fantastic in curling your hair, wearing special perfume, slipping on some super high heels and sipping on something bubbly, standing around looking fantastic at the reception.

besties in the bathroom being silly. standard.

7. The Reunion factor. I’ve been going to weddings for friends from high school lately, and it always holds a measure of excitement to see people you may have not seen for years, minus the random late night facebook stalking. For girls, especially, there is usually a “oh my gosh!” squeal and run into each other’s arms, and then a photo sesh on the dancefloor, and possibly in the bathroom (why do we do that?!). The best reunions are the ones where you catch up on each other’s lives in five minutes or less, and then it feels like you’ve never even been apart, and you make promises to hang out. But then we all drift back into normal. And wait til the next wedding to see each other.

6. Speeches – They always make me cry. As soon as the person speaking starts crying, its like “hoo-boy here we go” and suddenly I can’t breathe. You always learn something you didn’t know about the person, and get to hear some funny stories. These are best when they are short and sweet and reHEARSED. I love when the dads say something sweet about their daughter and “welcome into the family” to the new son-in-law, and you can read the subtext “if you hurt her I will kill you and make it look like an accident.”

5. Unpredictable little kids. Gotta love when the ringbearer or flower girl refuses to go down the aisle, or starts throwing the petals into Grandma’s lap. These kids are great because they always break the tension a little bit. Look for them later, tearing up the dancefloor.

Giants cakepops?! Oh H Yes!

4. The special touches. No, not your creepy uncle on the dancefloor. I’m talking the unique personality laced into the ceremony and reception. I like getting to know the couple a little better by seeing what the “special” is that they put in…things like the wacky photo booth, or a slideshow, or some theme they have. One wedding I went to donated money to a charity instead of giving out favors, and had little notecards on each plate talking about what the charity meant to them. Another had a Giants-themed rehearsal dinner, as a game was their first date, and he had proposed to her in the dugout on a special tour!

3.Things that are beautiful. I love seeing flowers, centerpieces, the back of the bride’s dress as she walks down the aisle, the rings. When you see something so pretty and you can just say “wow.”

2. DANCING! This is what I’m always most excited about. I never remember what we ate or drank or the awkward conversations with strangers at my table, but I always remember that awesome dance circle we had going, and watching the older white guys on the fringe juuuust moving their hips and arms enough to qualify as dancing, and moms letting loose on the floor. I remember the fist pumps and there’s always one person who actually knows how to break dance and impresses us all. Singing along at the top of our lungs and stopping only for a champagne refill and a piece of cake.

1. Remembering to take chances and believe in love. All the weddings I’ve been to remind me that we can’t go looking for love and we can’t plan on it to come by us at a certain time or place. So many stories I’ve heard start with “I never expected to meet a guy like him there…” or “I really wasn’t interested in a relationship, but…” Being single in this world at this age can be a little tough at times, especially going to these events alone ( i refuse to torture guy friends by dragging them along). But I am always inspired by the love stories I hear. And the moment when the groom looks up and first sees the bride, the most beautiful girl in the world, that makes me believe in love.

So come find me, love!

I’ll be on the dance floor.