Bridesmaid’s-Eye View

When a friend is both the queen of details and loves to make others comfortable, you know being in her wedding party will be a day to remember.

The chilly Saturday morning dawned, and Melissa and Levi’s wedding day had arrived. It was time for me to remove the plastic bag covering the light mauve bridesmaid’s gown— my first dress made by a professional dressmaker.

It fit like a dream.

After the dress, I pulled on greige suede leather boots. Melissa had chosen the color for a winter wedding, and I had found an almost-new pair at Community Aid. I added my navy puffer jacket and grabbed my wedding gift, and was ready to go.

The first stop of the day was the Copper Horse, where the reception was going to be held. At 7:15 a.m., all was quiet and dim. The three groomsmen— Vernon, Sylvan, and Joel had all arrived before any of the bridesmaids. We nodded good morning, then I went into the kitchen to find the flowers Melissa had arranged for us to bring along to the photo shoot.

In a few minutes, Anna and Renae arrived, and according to plan, the six of us got into Renae’s truck, driven by Sylvan, with flower arrangements, bouquets, and a tray of boutonnieres balanced in our laps. We were a clique for the day, accented with roses and eucalyptus.

“For my sister’s wedding, she picked sunflowers,” Renae told us on the road. “Ones we grew ourselves. We had the car all full of sunflowers.”

But the season of sunflowers was far away this day, and I was glad Melissa and Levi had chosen an indoor photography studio, SUPPLY in Manheim, to get wedding photos. By the time we arrived, family members of the bride and groom were gathering in the waiting area.

In the main studio room, with white walls and a large floor-to-ceiling window, the bride and groom were still posing for couples photos. After talking with a few people and peeking at the kitchen studio across the hallway (so that’s where ads happen!), I returned to the studio to watch the photo shoot.

The photographer’s name was Michelle, assisted by her husband Curtis. It was their sixtieth wedding to take photos at. (Michelle let me use her photos for this blogpost. All the photos [except for the one I took of them] are hers. To see more of Michelle’s work, visit Higher Focus images here.)

“You look stunning,” I told Melissa, when it was time for the bridal party to start taking photos. She was wearing a snow white wedding gown with a lace overlay on the sleeves and bodice, accented with slim silver belt.

“Thank you,” said Melissa, “I thought maybe it’s too much sparkle!”

“Just be yourself,” said Anna.

I said, “It’s your wedding day! I think you get to sparkle!”

After picture-taking, we left SUPPLY and headed to Myerstown Mennonite Church for the service. On the way, we stopped for coffee— the bride and groom had given us personalized coffee mugs, and Levi had given his brother Vernon a gift card to treat us all to coffee. At the church, the bridal party and family members had brunch in the basement as the guests started arriving.

Even though it was my fifth time to be bridesmaid, the whole walking into the church and remembering when to stand and sit and turn around still made me a little nervous. But the practice runs we had done at the rehearsal paid off, and Melissa’s wedding coordinator smoothly conducted the processional as the vocalists sang beautiful acapella songs in the back of the church.

Melissa’s father opened with a welcome and prayer, and then her brother led a congregational song. A preacher from Levi’s church had the message.

Then it was time for the vows, lighting the unity candles, signing in the marriage certificate. And just like that, Mr. and Mrs. Levi Stoltzfus were presented to congregation.

Back at the Copper Horse, the celebration continued. Melissa’s aunt and uncle own the wedding venue, a large barn-like building on a farm in Ephrata. Three days earlier, the bridal party and some friends and family had helped set up tables and chairs and iron tablecloths. Levi’s family had helped set the tables on Friday.

During the meal, one of Melissa’s nephews asked, “Why are Melissa and Levi sitting at their own table?”

We bridesmaids also had our own table. (There were three tables pushed together for the bridal party). People stopped at the table to talk to us or even to take photos. It felt like being a celebrity. As we dug into dessert (Fox Meadows ice cream, the best in Lancaster County, and fancy cupcakes), I told Renae, “It’s like being a princess for the day!”

“Well, I don’t feel like a princess very often!” Renae said, who works as nurse.

Being at the bridal table also gave us an observation point of all the wedding guests. “Weddings bring together a group of people who would never else be together,” Renae commented.

The festivities of the day ended with Levi and Melissa leaving the Copper Horse as the guests formed two lines and held sparklers and cheered as the happy couple left together in Levi’s gleaming black pickup truck.

Back in the barn, clean-up began in earnest. All the food had been catered, but the tables had to be cleared. The rented dishes had arrived clean and would go back dirty. So we emptied water and punch glasses, put trash into garage cans, and sorted the dishes and glasses into dishwasher trays. Soon the tables and chairs were folded, stacked, and whisked away.

Levi and Melissa were off to begin a new chapter of their lives. For the rest of us, their wedding day was now just a lovely memory of a day cherishing our greatest values as a community of believers— faith, family, and love.