That great ol' institution
It looks like I'll be using my summer vacation next year to go back to Ottawa to see one of my best friends get married! Not that it was a surprise, because the last time I spoke to Anna, the engagement was all but official, but I still laughed when this morning, not fifteen minutes after I read her "YOU HAVE TO BE MY BRIDESMAID!!!" email (and before I'd even answered, but that's okay, because I'd already promised her a long time ago I would be her bridesmaid no matter when or where she actually got married), another email to me and the other three bridesmaids appeared in my inbox with a link to a dress and a plea to answer ASAP so she could place the order. And fifteen minutes after that, another message to say that the dresses had been ordered. I think someone was TOTALLY READY for the official proposal, wouldn't you say? :D
This is the dress, in "wild peony". Pretty! Of course, I would have chosen it in green (or blue) for myself, but it's not my wedding, right? :} Let's hope it fits me right, and that my weight doesn't fluctuate too much between now and next August!
The only (slightly) disappointing thing is that I won't get to wear an ao-dai; since the groom's family is all in Alberta (and they're Chinese, so who knows how they would have combined cultural traditions?), it won't be a super-big affair, and only Anna (and her mother and all the aunts, I imagine) will be dressed Vietnamese-style.
Anna has expressed surprise that of all her friends who are in and/or getting out of unhappy marriages/relationships, I'm the only one who's enthusiastic about her engagement, when I might have more cause than most of them to be bitter about love. The way I see it, one failure is no reason to give up, and it's certainly no reason to think other people will be as unlucky or make the same mistakes. I certainly learned a lot from the experience and while I wish the last year of it hadn't happened, I can't regret that it's made me wiser and (hopefully) a better partner the next time around.
This is the dress, in "wild peony". Pretty! Of course, I would have chosen it in green (or blue) for myself, but it's not my wedding, right? :} Let's hope it fits me right, and that my weight doesn't fluctuate too much between now and next August!
The only (slightly) disappointing thing is that I won't get to wear an ao-dai; since the groom's family is all in Alberta (and they're Chinese, so who knows how they would have combined cultural traditions?), it won't be a super-big affair, and only Anna (and her mother and all the aunts, I imagine) will be dressed Vietnamese-style.
Anna has expressed surprise that of all her friends who are in and/or getting out of unhappy marriages/relationships, I'm the only one who's enthusiastic about her engagement, when I might have more cause than most of them to be bitter about love. The way I see it, one failure is no reason to give up, and it's certainly no reason to think other people will be as unlucky or make the same mistakes. I certainly learned a lot from the experience and while I wish the last year of it hadn't happened, I can't regret that it's made me wiser and (hopefully) a better partner the next time around.