A Navarro daughter weds

My sister Catherine got married the other day.

I tell you, its the most surreal and awing experience to have your own family involved in a wedding. Its one thing to see friends marry, you feel joy and affection for them and its all very grand. But to see the person you have known since they were born, the person you played with, fought with, grew up with, laughed with, confided in, loved, walk down the aisle with your surprisingly handsome and regal father... well, its another thing entirely.

My greatest concern for the entire day was that my clumsiness should shine more than my lip gloss! I am not known for being the most poised or elegant person out there, in fact, some people (Seanie, I am referring to you here!) would call me the clumsiest person in the universe. So the evening before the wedding, as I tried to walk elegantly in my mothers bedroom in the shoes I was to wear the next day, I discovered with a dawning fear that I couldn't walk slowly in high heels without falling over, getting my heel caught in the dress hem, or walking in a drunkenly swagger. To make matters worse, due to the sheerness and body clinginess of my dress, I had to go down the underwearless route.... so can you imagine my fear... walking down the aisle, everyone staring joyfully at me, me smiling beautifically, then oops, Leithy trips, falls unceremoniously, and the congregation get a glimpse of something a little too matrimonial.

Rest assured, all went well. There was a little hem catching, but I dealt with it, and no one was any the wiser! I glided down the aisle in a daze, gazed in wonder at my beautiful sister, and then witnessed this gloriously happy union manifest itself.

The rest of the reception whizzed by too quickly. Being bridesmaid and sister, I had the unspoken responsibility to work the room, make everyone feel special, welcome them, thank them. It was actually fun, and so humbling to be in a room of people that were there exclusively for my family.

Then it was speech time. My sister granted me the immeasurable honour of asking me to do a speech. Us Navarro's aren't sticklers for tradition, so I was quite happy to be a tradition-breaking bridesmaid speechmaker. I prepared and strove and moaned and created... and eventually came up with something I thought would be tender, poetic, and a little witty. I was scheduled to speak last, and I was faring fine during the preliminary speeches, but when the best man started speaking, my heart froze. Turns out this man is a national public speaking champion, a talented lawyer, and one gifted with incredible wit. Within seconds, he had the room in crazy peals of teary side-splitting laughter. Oh dear, how could I possibly go on after him! My speech which I thought would be sweet and sentimental suddenly seemed schmaltzy and weak.

But again, it all went well. Amazing what heart-spoken words can do, eh?!

So thats it. A beautiful day for a wonderful couple. If only life could always work so perfectly, so free of potential disaster, so free of doubt, so full of loving attention!