Wedding Bells in Vegas Part I

photo left: L before the wedding at her Bellagio hotel window overlooking Vegas strip

There is no other city I would call a second home than Las Vegas. Mike has been here eight times and I've been here six times all in the past three years. But this time, it's the most special because I am here for my bestfriend's wedding. L has finally found her better half and is getting married. Oct. 27 is the big day. We fly in on Wed. night, Oct. 25. It's my first time being a bridesmaid (matron of honor). I think I am more nervous than the bride.

I pack the bridesmaid's gown, a two-piece in pretty pool blue. The wedding is going to be at 6:30 at the Terrace in Bellagio. I also collect everything for the bride's emergency kit including safety pins, bobby pins, cotton balls, Q-tips, hair spray, mints, needle and thread, chap stick, and etc.

L says I am going to make a toast after the bestman. I panic. It's not because I have never made public speech before. I was MC in front of eight hundred people when I hosted a new year party in grad school. Back in college, I also hosted numerous functions. But I panic nevertheless. Maybe because L is my bestfriend and this is the most important day in her life and I have the honor to toast to the end of her maiden days and to her transition into a brand new life. I've known L for six years. We have traveled together, eaten countless meals together, drunk vodka and wine over Korean movies... She endured my overbearing temper and I held her when she cried... We have shared a lot and still have lots more to share. I have many things to say but I cannot find a place to start. I decide not to write the toast down because I will get more nervous trying to remember every word. I decide to wait till the last moment and "just wing it" like what Mike did before he made a toast at his bestfriend Dave's wedding.

Thursday passes really fast. L gets her marriage license and we meet at 3 PM for rehearsal. It's windy and a little chilly at the Terrace. Sara, the wedding coordinator singles out the wedding party and tells us what to do. Since it's my first time being a bridesmaid, I am not that familiar with the sequence of who walks in first and who follows suit. It is quite chaotic, adding to the confusion is the fact that the parents on both sides do not speak English and only one person (me) out of the entire wedding party has experienced a Western wedding ceremony first hand (that was even two years ago at my own wedding). Thank god for Sara, we get it done hazard free.

Friday morning I get up early and meet L at the Salon. We both have French manicure done. She's already gotten so many congratulations as soon as people know this is her big day. At 1:40 PM, we head towards Bellagio for her hairdo and makeup. I sit beside her in the waiting room and stare at her flipping through the pages of a wedding magazine, looking for an updo she likes. Surprisingly she is incredibly calm. When the hair stylist passes her onto the makeup artist, everyone congregates around L, congratulates her and admires her gorgeous classic updo with a tiara of lilies in the front... She blushes under the fingers of the makeup artist. L has always had a sweet demeanor. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, I sense the aura that is sweeter than ever. She now has the glow on her face that only a bride has on her wedding day.