Playing Maid of Honor

Contrary to what some may think, not every girl dreams of walking down the traditional wedding aisle of ever after.

I'm intimidated by weddings. Some ladies picture gliding in glorious gowns. All I can think of is the three-inch heeled shoes one has to wear for hours just to accent a gown too white and beautiful you're afraid to touch it. It's enough to make me want to grab my torn rubber shoes and run.

I'm bewildered by weddings. Why do couples want to subject themselves to months of nerve-wracking preparation, endless debates over motifs, difficult suppliers, in-laws and coordinators just for a few hours of saying 'I Do' ?

I'm bored by weddings. I'm sorry to say this but hey -- same script, same characters, same costumes? I just couldn't understand why people would want to spend ridiculous amounts of money to produce what suspiciously looks like to me an over-rerun stage play.

So I try to escape weddings as much as I can, which unfortunately is becoming more and more difficult at my age. And then, fate, apparently, has a twisted sense of humor.

Just recently, to my horror, I received not one but three proposals from friends on their way to the altar-- "Will I be their maid of honor?"

It sounded like a bad joke. Felt like the poor lass in that King Kong movie who got cast into a role she didn't even audition for. Why me of all people? A thousand and one reasons why I couldn't sprang to my lips each time I was asked. But in the face of couples so obviously in love and dear to you, how can you say anything but "Yes"?

So there I was last month, clueless, thrust into a significant supporting role in the first of three weddings in a long while I could not manage to avoid.

And it was as I expected. Being maid of honor, I got side tickets to the rollercoaster ride of frustrating last minute changes, tears, arguments, misplaced invitations, wrong table arrangements, high heels, heavy gowns, and more. And I found myself thinking -- if my friends manage to survive this madness, then it must be true love indeed.

And it was more than I expected. Being maid of honor, I got a front row ticket to a surprising show of love and pure passion. After everything's said and done, I realize that these are what carry you through and that the more you work for it, the more it matters.

And somehow, it was humbling. For then I finally understood that while the road of love may not be as blissful as we'd like, it's actually the crazy moments that make it all worthwhile.

Yes, I may not be a big fan of weddings, but these guys who dare to brave the madness are among the few reasons why I still believe in happy endings.