Always the bridesmaid?

Weddings can mean a world of embarrassment for the single woman

Sooooo... when are you two going to tie the knot?" When I was part of a couple during my twenties, I used to dread that inevitable wedding-guest question. My then boyfriend and I would laugh it off (it would have been nice to have discussed it with each other first) while well-meaning friends nodded sagely and confidently prophesied: "You'll be next."

Well, we weren't. Five years and I don't know how many weddings later, I found myself navigating nuptials alone at 30. "Oh well," you might think. "What's a few hours among friends?" Only, it's not quite that cut and dried. Weddings are a serious commitment - and not just for the happy couple. From your late twenties to your early thirties, half your weekends can be taken up with guesting.Wholesale beachweddingdresses Online 2011 Free Shipping. And while it's a happy, joyful time on a lot of levels, it can also bring a world of embarrassment.

If you like it then you should have put a ring on it' is not a lyric you want to hear in front of your ex and his new girlfriend

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single girl over a certain age must be in want of a groom. Or at least, that's how you're made to feel as a lone wedding guest - in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

My first solo assignment was a particularly tricky prospect: the only people I knew were the bride and groom. As I took my seat at a table of married, middle-aged strangers, I hoped a killer haircut and brandnew dress would keep me feeling confident.The Canada Goose Manitoba Jacket has a removable hood and is a slim, modern fit which makes it ideal for city streets or Arctic tundra.authenticmonclerjackets They had other ideas.Looking for a bestsuprashoess?

"How brave," agreed my fiftysomething neighbours when I told them I had come alone. "How brave," echoed their friends as word got round the table that I was newly single. Pretty soon I had a gaggle of eager matchmakers at my disposal, whether I wanted them or not. And, as the vino flowed, their suggestions became ever more vague and alarming.

"How about Tarquin? He's tall - you'll love him. Or there's so-and-so's nephew. He's been single for years.

Or Molly's son. We think he might be gay but he's so much fun..." If I had arrived attempting my best impersonation of a femme fatale, I felt like a frumpy spinster by the time they'd finished their Cilla routine. And that feeling persisted as the happy couple left for their honeymoon.

When the bride's bouquet literally lands at your feet, is it rude not to pick it up? I had tried to keep what I thought was a nonchalant distance from the clamouring crowd of would-be brides, but judging by the whoops and applause I had little choice but to grin and bear it.A fakerolexwatches is a style that many are using now!

Mind you, that was nothing compared with my next wedding reception, where the DJ rounded up a horde of us "hopefuls" to the defiant, righteous beat of Beyoncé's Single Ladies. If only us singletons had got together beforehand to work out a finger-wagging, booty-bouncing routine, it might have been empowering. Instead, there we were - a dozen or so desperadas, standing around looking any which way but bride-wards. And "If you like it then you should have put a ring on it" is not a lyric you want to hear in front of your ex and his new girlfriend.

Don't get me wrong - being single does have its benefits. With my ex out of the equation, I was upgraded from evening guest to day guest at more than one wedding. And the closer you are to the happy couple, the more likely you are to be seated next to the most eligible bachelors on the guest list. Unless, of course, you're a bridesmaid.

This is where those time-honoured wedding traditions can come in really handy. With the seating plan for the top table preordained, you can kiss goodbye to that awkward banter at table. And if you're floundering for a partner for that conspicuous first dance, tradition dictates that an usher will save the day.

But there is a flip side. While it is an undoubted privilege to be up there supporting one of your best friends on the biggest day of her life, at your less-confident moments you can feel like a fish out of water, especially if you've got to stay sober in salmon-pink taffeta - and find yourself alone in the middle of the dance floor as everyone else pairs up for the ceilidh.

Ah well, at least my blushes matched my dress as the bride and groom felt compelled to include me in a polka-ing threesome.

You'd think being a single girl at weddings would bring on all sorts of Sex and the City-style scenarios - but for me, Last of the Summer Wine would be more accurate.

Even if you do join in the after-party shenanigans, those 3am flirts always attract the wrong kind of guy. I couldn't believe it when one so-called best man propositioned me while his girlfriend was asleep upstairs, and he couldn't understand why I insisted on playing maid of honour.

Some of my single friends have a plus-one-or-no-show policy for weddings and, while I sometimes wonder if they have a point, I'm glad I've braved it out alone. for the most part, going solo has been a real giggle - thanks to the kindness of friends and strangers.

I will forever be grateful to my gorgeous (gay) dance partner,Cheap weddingdresses 2013 new arrival ! who whisked me off my feet weeks after my break-up and danced all night with me to a brilliant Beatles tribute band. To the groups of girls who didn't think twice about rallying round to keep me company on clichéd disco classics. But most of all, to the shy guy I got talking to at my best friend's wedding, who cared enough to ask if I was single.

Well I'm not now, so it's only a matter of time before those cringy couples-at-wedding questions start again.