The Fainting Bridesmaid

From LoveToKnow Weddings

Hot, Hot, Hot

Back in 1963, very few churches were air-conditioned in our community where summer temperatures often reach into the 90s and above. My best friend was marrying my favorite cousin; their wedding was to be the third in that church on a hot July day. I was a bridesmaid.

With the completion of each wedding, packed to the walls with excited family and friends, the temperature in the church increased. When the other bridesmaids and I arrived a bit before the wedding wearing corsets and very high-heeled shoes, the temperature was probably in the low hundreds. And, it was humid.

Butterflies in Tummy

Not only were the bride and groom nervous, I was anxious because I had to partner with a groomsman with whom I'd broken up a week before after a two-year relationship.

The bridesmaids gathered in the preparation room with the bride, sweat streaming down our sides, tickling under our tightly laced undergarments. My shoes were beginning to pinch; my feet hurt already.

Finally, it was time. We marched down the aisle ahead of the bride and took our places at the front of the church.

Fading to Black

Shortly into the ceremony, I started to feel queasy; I saw black spots and the world began to twirl around my head. I felt the bridesmaid behind me slip her arms under my arms to support me. After that I don't remember much until the bride's weight-lifter cousin (who according to later reports had simply picked me up and hauled me to the back of the church) patted my face and asked me if I was okay. As I looked into his face I realized I had once known him, although I had no idea he was related to my friend. He had been one of my male colleagues in the junior-high-school Herpetology Club; I was the only female member. He apparently had gone to a different high school than I. But, by fainting in the middle of the ceremony, I'd once again met a fellow frog enthusiast.

By Lucy L.