At Their Wedding
i.
After the church the ballroom.
Bride and groom. White tablecloth. Black chairs.
Dinner plates. Lamb and fiddlehead fern.
The bride’s mother is pleased.
ii.
A hand grasps a glass. Too much perfume.
The room is so hot. A shoe pinches.
A head shakes No.The waiter moves on.
A dress wrinkles. Should I check with the babysitter?
A lipsticked-red mouth sneers itself into a smile.
iii.
Elbows on the table. Pass me the salt please.
Bored blue eyes. A napkin folded and set down.
A bracelet too tight for its wrist.
A fork spins and drops.
A slosh of wine. Gravy on the tablecloth.
Pink and white wedding cake.
iv.
Just one of the set:
Anonymous Bridesmaid.
Scratchy lace dress.
I pick at my fiddlehead fern.
Before tonight
I did not know you could eat
fiddlehead fern.
I guess that’s something.
2/17/23
Claudia McGill Writes Poetry, Did You Know That? 
It doesn’t sound like a very fun wedding.
It’s a true story with me as the bridesmaid. It was a cheerless event in a lot of ways but it also shows that the wedding does not predict the marriage – they are still together and happy.
I’m glad they’re still happy and together despite the cheerless wedding!
You know, I think they thought it was great. That is what counts. I guess actually being in the wedding does kind of cramp your style, you have to follow the bridesmaid duties script.
Well, if they thought it was great, then I suppose that’s what counts.
It’s been a long time since I was a bridesmaid. 🙂
Me too!
I like the way your poem captures the less celebrated aspects of a wedding: the chaos, mess, tedium. I was actually just thinking the other day about how long it has been since I was last a guest at a wedding and I was relieved.
Yes, me too (both how long since I was at a wedding and relieved at it). This poem is from a memory of a wedding I was in before I was married so it’s a long time ago. I like weddings usually but this one I guess since I was not just a guest but a participant, I didn’t feel free to enjoy myself the same way.
Luckily I’ve enjoyed every wedding I’ve attended…although I admit it’s less than 10 in my entire life. When I was young no one had a real wedding. Maybe a party after doing the legalities, maybe not. (K)
I’ve been to many many weddings and I usually really enjoy them, but this one, I guess since I was a participant rather than just a guest, I had to follow the script of bridesmaid. The event was a bit fussy and stiff. My husband, however, had a great time since he was seated with a table of my college friends and every time I looked over there (I was seated at the head table) they were all laughing their heads off and carrying on and so on while things at the head table were a bit more formal…
That sounds dreadful.