The Mother Of The Groom’s Take On The Gathering

Author's Note: I am attending a wedding today, and my daughter is attending another wedding, so even though this is fiction, the idea came from a talk between my daughter and me about our wedding conversation.

Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts —

The Exercise —

Write two separate versions of the same event: an engagement party. First write it with an I narrating, say the mother of the groom-to-be, and then use the third person. Notice how the fictional shadows fall differently in each version.

The Objective —

To learn to feel easy in both the first and third person and to understand what the use of each entails, its potential, and its problems.

Mother of the bride: Jane, I am so nervous about this upcoming wedding. Would you help me choose a dress to wear? It is a semi-formal event, which means I will be wearing a dress. Do you know how long it has been since I have worn a dress? I work with kids every day at school, and I don’t have to dress up.

Jane, I had this dress-casual outfit in my closet that I am wearing tonight at this engagement party. It is my outfit that I wear to funerals. Then, everyone here is skinny. His new wife, the mother of the bride, and her friends and family. Everyone!

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Jane: The mother of the groom walks into the engagement party dressed to the nines. She is beautiful. She looks more like she could be the bridesmaid, as she looks so young. I love what she has done to her hair. And that outfit she is wearing is perfect for this event.

Then, when she talked to me about finding a dress, I had no idea she was so concerned about her weight. Sure, she has a few extra pounds, but to hear her talk, you would think she is obese, compared to her pointing out how every other man and woman in the room is skinny.

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First published by Mercury Press on medium.com