Becky, a good friend of mine who I adore as if she is my biological sister, met the other half of herself who was daring enough to put a ring on her finger! It took her only a heartbeat to ask me to be one of her bridesmaids. And it took me even less than a heartbeat to respond, “YES.”
Normally, if a man received an invitation to his good friend’s wedding, he would check whether his favorite grey suit needs to be dry cleaned or not. However, I AM GOING TO BE THE MALE BRIDESMAID!
Would I feel uncomfortable standing among dresses, makeup stuff, hair dryers, and heels? Yes. In fact, I am terrified.
First and foremost, I am certainly not going to wear a dress. So, I have a list of things I must consider that are lingering and super complicated. My monotonous color suits can never be an option for a bridesmaid on the bride’s most important day. What color tie should I wear? What about a lapel pin, dress shirt, or pocket square to match the bridesmaids' dresses and their bouquets?
But I also do not want to wear any flamboyant girly item either. The pressure is on. Plus, what if Becky’s conservative grandma questions my qualifications to be her proud male bridesmaid at the wedding?
On the bright side, the fact that my female friend asked me to play an important role in her wedding regardless of all the differences and traditional perspectives makes me more honored to stand next to her during the wedding. And we are the living proof that men and women can actually be best friends!
Having a male bridesmaid is, in fact, quite a smart idea. First of all, I get to bring a unique perspective to her wedding plan. Not sure your husband-to-be would also think that you look hot in that dress? Ask me! I will give you my honest male opinion. I can also lift, carry, and pick up your wedding cake order and dry cleanings, staple to add fabrics to dresses and other miscellaneous stuff that a handyman would do.
What else can I be? A bouncer/bodyguard or even a fake boyfriend to cut off the creepy old cousin of the bride that flirts with you. Or even the other way around; I will gladly be my fellow bridesmaids’ wingman to go express their crush on the groomsmen. And when the bride’s stress level is above the okay level, I am more than willing to be her "hitman" without a doubt.
You know, I think the experience of being someone’s bridesmaid could be life-changing for me. I still don’t understand concepts of love, romance, life-long commitment, and companionship of two people. But this upcoming April, I will get to witness the dazzling result of all those complicated words with my bare eyes when my beloved human being gets married. There is no shame in this honor.