san diego experience, part 1: wedding fripperies and the BFOTB

last year on gilmore girls, there was an episode where sookie was helping lorelai plan her wedding to luke. he kept interrupting with questions or assumptions and she would yell at him every time, “luke! who am i?!” and he would reply in a tone of irritated bemusement so common to his character, “you’re sookie.” and sookie would get a gleam in her eye while asserting, “no. i’m the BFOTB–the Best Friend Of The Bride.”

this weekend was my turn to be the BFOTB. erica and i drove down to san diego on saturday to spend all day sunday shopping for wedding dresses with marina. marina, as you may or may not know, is getting married next august to mark. i’m to be the maid of honor/bridesmaid/ONLY ONE. that’s a lot of responsibility for me. i mean, i already started hyperventilating at the thought of making a toast at the reception. picture me standing up, turning as bright red as my dress and saying in a very quick, squeaky voice, “congratulations to mark and marina! and…many happy returns.” and then missing my seat and splaying out on the ground in my haste to sit back down. this is going to be a disaster, people. anyone thinking of asking me to be a bridesmaid after viewing this farce will quickly rethink their decision, i am sure.

so, as you can imagine, we tried on many dresses on sunday. we also tried on quite a few that marina had pre-ordered from nordstroms in the privacy of her home. which, let me tell you, is an excellent way to try on dresses and realize that you are not at all the size you thought you were. it also, apparently, is an opportunity for marina to be remarkably unselfconsciously nude.

in the out-of-the-house shopping excursion, we didn’t buy any wedding dresses. erica did buy a lot of work clothes, and i did buy a completely irresponsible pair of high heels. i couldn’t resist their teal satiny gloss with ribbon tie! i probably should have resisted their excruciating height and narrow toe though. i’m still convinced i can find a bridesmaid dress to match them. not, admittedly, if marina has anything to say about it.

at one store (i believe it was neiman marcus) we discovered an amazing collection of goth dresses. i tried for an oddly extensive period to convince erica that i could wear this black lace dress with a white underlayer and have fingerless white lace gloves and a lace maid’s headband and be the absolute epitome of a cute goth-loli. she didn’t even really acknowledge my argument with words. she lifted an eyebrow and then walked away from me while i shook the dress at her in entreaty.

i want to point out that i could totally wear a black dress with a white/cream sash if marina got the BCBG dress with the black bust sash. how cute would that be?! especially if the boys wear black suits and not navy ones. navy, feh. you give this some thought, marina. because that dress, and its secretive photo op, is still my favorite. well…except i do still like the lace one. and the fish fin one is totally growing on me. though, i think it’s possible i will like best the one you’re getting friday OR that one at the stupid bridal store with all the buttons.