How to be Single, In Your Mid-Thirties at Weddings
Are you single and find yourself still attending multiple weddings year after year? Do you ever feel bad for yourself like “why are all my friends getting married and I’m still oh so very single?” I’ve thought like this. It’s not easy. Loneliness and weddings can go hand in hand. It’s often exacerbated if you are a bridesmaid and so you are front and center watching the married couple do the first dance and you are trying your hardest not to show your inner feelings in case one of the myriad cameras going off at that time happens to catch your face.
But fear not, my friends. It gets better. You just need to get to your mid-thirties. Reasons why this is the perfect age for weddings:
- You are still young enough to get down on the dance floor. You can be the first one on the dance floor if you want, who is going to stop you? Do you have a strong desire to do the Conga? Do it. How about the Electric Slide? It’s a classic. Shout? You better be twisting and shouting. Weddings are one of the very few times that there is a dance floor in your life — use it.
- You can have a conversation with whomever you like. You don’t have to worry about having a date who feels left out so if you are loving your conversation with the bride’s grandmother — keep it going.
- People are sometimes nicer to people who are single. I once flew to a different state for a friend’s wedding and all of her parents friends looked out for me. It was great and very much appreciated.
- You want to sit next to the hot guy in the church. Do it. There is no judgment here. In non-Covid times, the sign of peace is literally a reason for you to introduce yourself to others.
- The bouquet toss: Coupled up friends would nudge me and be like “get on out there!” Note: I’ve never been overly competitive. My one friend is the type who gets out there in the front at weddings and actually tries to catch the bouquet. And I give her so much credit for it. I’m usually the one in the back, inching off the dance floor, usually with a glass of wine in my hand. Obviously I’m not “IN IT TO WIN IT!!” And by your mid-thirties, no one is really pushing you anymore.
- Slow dances are perfect bathroom breaks because face it, you are in your mid-thirties. You can’t drink like you used to and now you actually use words such as “hydration” and “pacing yourself with water between rounds” in conversation.
- Finally, and this is one of the best parts of your mid-thirties, you are more secure in yourself. You know who you are and that is a person who isn’t as self-conscious. If you want to get up and dance with joy and do dance moves such as the dead leg, the turtle, the sprinkler and the shopping cart without caring what others think— do it. You’ve earned it. Life is too short to care what other people think of your dance moves.
So take a moment to realize how great it is that you are still getting invited to weddings. That you are given yet another opportunity to celebrate with your friends and family. And then, after you have had your moment, well the best advice I can now give is to just go to bed. It’s 9:30 and you are in your mid-thirties now, you need your sleep. (Reason number 8: solo weddings are fantastic, you really appreciate that queen size hotel bed ALL TO YOURSELF.) Enjoy life, it’s no fun otherwise.
