Happy Virtual Engagement Party, Jen!

As many of you already know, Jen of Operation Pink Herring recently got engaged! (In Barcelona!) She also recently told a little white lie about a fake engagement party “scheduled” for tomorrow so that she could get her ring resized in a reasonable amount of time. In honor of Jen, her gorgeous ring, and that adorable fiancé of hers, RA and I decided to go ahead and throw Jen an actual (virtual) engagement party. Since nobody pays any attention to the Internet on Saturdays (I know I don’t anyway), today is the big day!

The goal of this surprise party (that’s right, Jen has no idea we sent out a mass email invitation — Surprise, Jen!) is to fill Jen’s feed reader with as many congratulatory and wedding/engagement-themed posts as possible. A bunch of people have already joined the party, but if you want to be “fashionably late” and join the fun, by all means, do! Just shoot RA or me an email or leave a comment to let us know your post is up, and we’ll add your blog to the list of party-goers!

And now for my contribution to the party:

Jen! Congratulations on your spectacular Barcelona engagement! I know you are already having a great time figuring out ideas for your wedding, but I have yet to see you talk about yet the one thing that has the potential to make friends of brides-to-be quiver in fear: Bridesmaids’ Dresses.

Now, friends of a Good Bride (which I have no doubt you will be) should have nothing to worry about; the Good Bride will consider her bridesmaids’ fashion preferences, budgets, and desires to get maximum wearability out of a dress. The Good Bride will consult with her bridesmaids when deciding on bridesmaid dresses and will vow not to force her friends to don some hideous prom-ish nightmare with the sole purpose of making the bride look better in comparison.

When I got married, I tried my best to be a Good Bride. I went shopping with my bridesmaids and looked for dresses that would flatter each and every one of them. I repeatedly asked their opinions and let them choose their own shoes. In hindsight, I realize that my girls’ dresses may not have had the most get-more-than-one-day’s-use potential (sorry, girls!); however, the girls all liked the dresses, and they all looked damn good walking down that aisle and shaking their booties on the dance floor.

Oh, you know I can’t ever pass up an opportunity to post wedding photos!

I like to think I was successful in my attempts to be a Good Bride, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a little fun with my bridesmaids, too. After one memorable shopping trip with my mom, I simply couldn’t resist the temptation to email my girls and tell them how excited I was to have found The Perfect Bridesmaid Dress! I went on and on about how I couldn’t wait to see them in their dresses, and I hoped they really liked what I’d chosen, because I knew it was going to be absolutely perfect. Of course, I was courteous enough to attach a picture of the dress:

Needless to say, I did not end up purchasing any dress from this shop.

Two of my bridesmaids — my sisters-in-law to-be — had a good laugh over the email. My maid of honor — ever the diplomat — very politely emailed me back asking if I was serious; she was clearly distressed but not wanting to offend me on the off chance that I was, indeed, in love with this dress. (That, my friends, is a Good Maid of Honor!) I assured her that there was no way in hell I would consider doing anything with that dress besides mocking it, and even via email her relief was palpable as the two of us verbally ripped the dress to hideous rainbow tie-died shreds.

Of course, my bridesmaids wouldn’t have been good enough friends to be my bridesmaids if they didn’t share my sense of humor. Shortly after I asked her to be in my wedding, Tim’s younger sister Aleisha made me a very thoughtful card letting me know a little bit about her dress style preferences.

The card reads: “I will let you put me in any dress you want as long as it doesn’t look like these.”

 

And, yes, you are seeing that correctly. It is a woman’s pregnant belly sticking through a hole in a dress.

When I was in Barcelona, she sent me a set of postcards explaining that she knew I didn’t want her to wear her newly-purchased bridesmaid dress until the wedding day, but she just hadn’t been able to resist.

She wore that dress all the way to the pyramids, Mt. Rushmore, the Taj Mahal, Russia, and Holland. And she didn’t even stop to see me in Spain!

I may have been a Good Bride, but I had some Damn Good Bridesmaids.

Jen, I know that you will be a Great Bride, and I hope that you and your bridesmaids have just as much fun as we did.

Once again, congratulations! I am so incredibly happy for you and Joel, and I can’t wait to hear all about your adventures in bridesmaid dress shopping!

. . .

The party doesn’t stop here! Be sure to check out the other party-goers’ posts, too! (List to be updated throughout the day):

February 15, 2008 | Filed Under Photos & Videos, Things that make me laugh, Wedding 

comments

15 Responses to “Happy Virtual Engagement Party, Jen!”

  1. Definitely RA | Rainbows and bridesmaids on February 15th, 2008

    [...] Sangria Lover [...]

  2. RA on February 15th, 2008

    Oh, my goodness, NPW had the same crazy pregnant dress in her post, too! The horror, the horror!

  3. nancypearlwannabe on February 15th, 2008

    Ahhh! The pregnant dress! It’s everywhere!

  4. Gary on February 15th, 2008

    I have that pic of us in my room!

  5. Julie on February 15th, 2008

    I would have gladly worn that rainbow dress over the one I had to wear.

    Did I mention Tim had a SWORD?

  6. Fluent Brittish on February 15th, 2008

    I like the pregnant dress. What’s wrong with you people?

    You were a lovely bride, Audrey!!

  7. Aleisha on February 15th, 2008

    I was a pretty creative bridesmaid wasn’t I?
    It was easy to be a goods brides maid when Audrey is the bride. She made everything fun!

  8. Did I Say Yes? - Sweet Life With Mary on February 15th, 2008

    [...] the link to this post to Sangria Lover, as part of Joel and Jen’s Fake Engagement Party.  Congratulations and Good Luck!!! You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS [...]

  9. MarysMom on February 15th, 2008

    Like everyone else, I love the pregnant dress.
    I’d like to join this engagement party — check out my post at http://sweetlifewithmary.com/2007/12/14/did-i-say-yes/

  10. alyndabear on February 15th, 2008

    Okay, I am in love with your bridesmaid. Classic!

  11. elise on February 15th, 2008

    My favorite part about the multi-colored bridesmaid dress is is that it is NEXT TO A WATER COOLER. Wtf? Is this good marketing? :)

  12. Erin on February 15th, 2008

    The dress with the pregnant belly hole…I’m dying over here!

  13. Lindsey on February 15th, 2008

    That rainbow brite bridesmaid dress sure is somethin’! Maybe I should have chosen that for my maids! They would probably kill me. I hope I am a good bride. I’m trying! I think I picked dresses that will flatter and will be re-wearable. We’ll see!

  14. Operation Pink Herring on February 18th, 2008

    You look like you’re having so much fun in those pictures. it makes me so happy!

    Thank you so much for organizing this totally sweet internet party!

  15. Laurel on February 19th, 2008

    That bridesmaid is AWESOME!!!

    Also, what a great MOH who is willing to take one for the Wedding Team, no?

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