Center Stage

As a bride-to-be, you have to learn to love the spotlight. If there's ever a time to put all modesty aside, it's bridal time. I don't really love the spotlight and I consider myself a pretty modest person so I must say being a bride-to-be has taken some getting used to. I'm getting used to it though, no worries. When M and I first got engaged it was non-stop celebration. A party in Chicago, a party in New York. All fun, all the time.

But the bridal spotlight and all the hoopla aren't for everyone. Case in point, my bride-to-be cousin L. My cousin L is one of the most sophiscated people I know and had a bridal shower to match. It was largely a wine tasting, partly a charity event, and slighty a shower in the traditional sense. At the Hotel Gansevoort's hip Ono restaurant we sipped a new glass of wine with every spicy tuna roll and shitake mushroom skewer that touched our plates. Instead of shower gifts, L asked that money to be donated to a scholarship she created in honor of our Pa, to send children from a Harlem school to college. What a saint! How in the world can I live up to that?! In any case, for the beautiful bride-to-be that she is, L shuns the bridal spotlight. Looking at my cousin N, who recently gave birth to an adorable baby girl, L joked that everyone was actually there for a baby naming. And that it was my aunt's birthday lunch. And that it was a luncheon to celebrate the World Cup finale. Anything but a shower.

This leaves me to ponder one crucial question: Will L's wedding be in the Sunday Styles? She's surely got the credentials. Top schools. Top law firm. Philanthropic woman of the world. Fabulous reception site. And I bet L and her fiancee would take the perfect eyebrow to eyebrow photo. It's a sure thing. Eh, she probably hasn't even thought about it.

As the year goes on, on the scale of L to super bride, I think I'll be a little to the left of center (as always). Definitely not all about me all the time, but also enjoying my time in the spotlight. By the end of L's shower I was already discussing potential options for my NYC shower with the powers that be. I'm thinking Soho. Stay tuned...