What is it with weddings that they are able to create such an absolute frenzy?
I remember with much trepidation that my own wedding involved a few, or rather one too many, nosy parkers.
I grew up in a tight knit community in South Africa: one of those communities where everyone knows everyone’s business and where people really do care about one another. These communities are wonderful until secrets need to be kept or until you really do not want people to know something.
My wedding budget was one such instance. I saw no reason for everyone to know what I would be spending on my dress but for some reason this became a matter of great interest to this lovely tight knit community. It all started with a dear old lady in the church who thought it was her full right to know exactly what I was spending and who my designer was.
My mom and I tried various tactics to fob the dear woman off but none deemed successful. One cheerful spring morning she came straight out and asked my mom what the budget was.
What do you say to that? After a shocked few minutes of silence, my mom responded that we needed to get the dress custom made due to my height as we were not able to source a suitable dress and that meant spending a bit extra than buying the dress off the shelf. This was not a lie as I am 6″1 and every dress I tried on sort of touched my ankles, leaving me feeling somewhat un-sexy.
She was hoping that this response would suffice but sadly it didn’t. The dear old lady pressed on and said, “So, how much are you spending?” I was standing at a distance at the time and I saw my mom’s body language change. She blurted out an exhorbatant amount and looked the lady squarely in the eyes and said: “So, what are you going to do with that piece of information Aunty Agnes?”
Aunty Agnes clucked her tongue, turned in disgust and muttered something about ridiculous spending from young people nowadays. My mom turned my way and winked. We were both thinking the same thing: a wildfire of gossip was just about to start.
Sure enough it did: To this day I still get asked whether I really spent that much on a wedding dress.
My response is mostly a deep belly laugh. Small communities certainly have entertainment worth!
What funny stories do you have to tell about your own wedding or weddings that you have been involved in?
