Here Comes the Bridesmaid

It was a  beautiful day for a wedding. The weather was perfect, and the air was full of buzzing excitement and joy. Inside the church, the groom and the priest stood at the front of the altar, patiently awaiting the arrival of the bride. Guests lined the pews and they all stood up in anticipation for the wedding party’s entrance. 

Aria plastered a smile on her face, and held her bouquet steady as she waited in line behind the rest of the other bridesmaids in the lobby of the church. To the left stood the groomsmen, and Aria held her arm out for the one who would be walking down the aisle with her. 

The man gave her a questioning stare as he looped his arm through hers. “You a friend of the bride?” 

“Yes.” Aria answered almost instantly. Technically she had been hired by the bride, but they had been in contact for so long that Aria knew her almost as well as she knew any of her friends. 

Most people laughed whenever Aria told them that she worked as a for-hire bridesmaid, but Aria loved her job. She couldn’t imagine any better way of earning a living than helping people on the happiest day of their life. Sometimes brides needed more bodies to fill up the wedding party, or they wanted a professional who could help wrangle the other bridesmaids and squash another drama or problems that threatened to ruin the big day.  Whatever it was, Aria was happy to do it as long as she was provided with the necessary cover story to make sure that no one other than the bride or groom ever figured out who she really was.  

“I thought I’d be walking down by myself.” The groomsman said. He looked her up and down, as if he couldn’t quite believe that Aria was really there. “There were supposed to be four bridesmaids and five of us guys.” 

“Well now I’m here, so you won’t be alone anymore.” Aria said cheerfully, as she patted her hair softly to make sure that not a single strand was out of place. She quickly ratted off the cover story that the bride had instructed her to say in case any one asked any questions.  “My name is Jenny. I went to middle school with the bride. We were good friends but then I moved to a different state when my dad got a new job so we fell out of touch during our high school years but then in college we reconnected on social media.” 

The groomsmen continued to stare at her, confused. “I’ve never heard her mention any one named Jenny.” 

“Are you close to the bride?” Aria asked as innocently as she could. “I don’t mean to be rude but what’s your name? I’m sorry that I don’t recognize you, this is actually my first time meeting any of her friends in person.” 

“I’m Miles.” He said. “And no, I’m actually a friend of the groom. We played basketball together in college.” 

“How nice.” Aria said. She let out a sigh of relief when she heard the familiar notes of the wedding march start to begin. Turning her attention to the front, she kept her eyes trained on the back of the bridesmaid who was standing in front of her. One by one, the bridesmaids and groomsmen pairs began walking down the aisle. Aria smiled warmly at all the guests, and even pretended to wave at someone. 

“You’re walking too fast.” Miles muttered under his breath, as he lagged slightly behind her. 

“You’re walking too slow. We’re falling behind.” Aria replied, all while never breaking her smile. She knew that it was best for the bridesmaid and groomsmen pairs to maintain an equal distance as they walked down the aisle. Miles rolled his eyes at her remark, but he did pick up his pace. 

As they neared the front  Aria could see the groom waiting. She was surprised by how different he looked in person. He was much paler, taller, and bulky than the pictures she had seen from the bride. 

Miles leaned over and whispered in her ear. “I’ll bet you $10 Danny cries while reading his vows.” 

Danny? Aria could have sworn that the groom’s name was Ronald. The closer they got to him, the more Aria realized that he was not the same man that she had been told would be the groom. No no no….

She looked over her shoulder as subtly as she could to sneak a quick peek at the bride, who was just about to start walking down the aisle. That was not the same woman who had hired Aria. 

This cannot be happening right now.

Miles and Aria reached the end of the aisle, and Miles turned to the left to stand besides the rest of the groomsmen while Aria went to the right with the other bridesmaids. As she took her spot, Aria looked back at the door and briefly debated sprinting to her car and moving to another country. 

I’m at the wrong wedding!

The bride had arrived, and she faced her groom as the priest began the ceremony. Out of the corner of her eye, Aria could tell that a couple of the other bridesmaids were looking at her but she did her best to ignore them as she tried to figure out just how exactly she had screwed up this badly. 

These were the facts: She had been hired as a bridesmaid for a wedding ceremony at 12pm at St. Martha’s Church on Sunday the 27th. She was definitely at the right church, and the time was right…but today was Saturday the 26th. 

What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? 

There was no way she could leave without making a scene, and Aria knew that the poor bride didn’t deserve to have her special day upstaged by a wedding crasher. She took a deep breath and tried her best to remain calm. She was a professional after all, she knew how to deal with unexpected situations. 

Aria remained standing with the rest of the bridesmaid for the rest of the ceremony. She made sure to play the role of a supporting friend as best as possible, and even made herself get teary eyed during the reading of the vows. When the bride and groom shared their first kiss as a married couple, she clapped and cheered along with the rest of the crowd. 

After the ceremony was over, the couple descended back down the aisle, along with the rest of the wedding party. Aria linked up with Miles again and with each step they took she could feel her heart start to beat fast. The hard part was over, now she just had to make herself disappear. 

They made it out of the church, and as most guests started cheering and rushing towards the happy couple, Aria knew that this would be the best moment for her to slip away unnoticed. She was about to step away, when suddenly Miles tightened his grip on her arm. 

“Let’s go for a walk.” He said, making a sharp turn away from the group. They walked around to the other side of the church. Once they were out of sight from the others, he dropped her arm. 

“What’d you think of the wedding?” Miles asked. 

“It was a beautiful ceremony.” Aria shifted nervously on her feet. She could tell that Miles was starting to get suspicious but she still believed that she could play it off. 

“It was, wasn’t it?” Miles smirked and leaned in close to her. “You’re not really a friend of the bride, are you?” 

“Yes I am.” Aria insisted. 

“Can you tell me the name of any of the other bridesmaids or groomsmen?” 

Aria grew quiet, knowing that she had just stumbled into the very question that would give away her entire ruse. “I’m not good with names.” She muttered. 

“Who are you?”  Miles asked, crossing his arms against his chest. With each word, his voice grew louder and louder. “And why are you here?” 

Aria panicked and immediately decided to come clean. The longer she stood there with Miles, the more likely it was that someone would catch them and hear their converstation.  “My name’s Aria---” 

Miles jumped in again before she could finish. “Aria? But earlier you said your name was Jenny.” 

“I did, but that was a lie.” 

“You lied about your name? Who does that?” Miles shook his head and pulled out his phone. “I don’t know what’s going on, if you’re just one of Danny’s insane ex-girlfriends or a stalker but I’m calling the police.”

“No, don’t do that!” Aria reached out to grab his phone, but Miles put his hand in the air and held it just out of her reach. “Please don’t call the cops.” She begged, as she started hopping as high as she could. 

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t.” Miles said as he stepped back, trying his hardest to dodge Aria as she tried jumping all around him. 

“Because I’m not some stalker, I was just trying to do my job!”

Miles’ eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks. “Your job?” He asked, confused. 

“Yes, my job!” Aria repeated again.  “I’m a professional bridesmaid. Brides hire me to be in their weddings.” 

Miles stared at her in shock. He put his phone back in his pocket, having decided that Aria wasn’t a threat. “So you were paid to be here?” 

“I was, but not at this wedding.” Aria buried her face in her hands, feeling embarrassed that she was about to admit her screw up out loud. “I got the dates mixed up. I’m supposed to be at the wedding that’s happening here at this church tomorrow.” 

“But…” Miles was at a loss for words as he pointed to Aria’s dress. “You match with the bridesmaids?” 

“Honestly it's a total coincidence that both brides picked the same color and style for the bridesmaids dresses.” 

“You were crying earlier when the vows were being read?” 

“I was faking it.” 

Miles continued to stare at Aria but a whole grin spread across his face. He started to shake, not with fury but with laughter. “I cannot believe you crashed a wedding and stayed for the entire ceremony.” 

“What was I supposed to do?” Aria asked, feeling slightly embarrassed by how much joy Miles was getting from her predicament. “Run out in front of everyone and cause a scene that would ruin the big day?” 

“I can’t believe you were bold enough to do it.” Miles said again. “You did fit right in though, so good job on playing the perfect bridesmaid.” 

“Thanks, now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get home and make sure I have everything ready for the real wedding tomorrow.” Aria said. She started walking away in the direction of the parking lot, but she stopped when she heard Miles calling out to her. 

“You sure you don’t want to come to the reception?” He asked. 

Aria stopped, unsure if she had heard him correctly. “What?” 

“My invitation came with a plus one but I didn’t bring anyone.” Miles smiled at her, this time it looked genuine. “I’ll introduce you to the bride and groom. Not that it should be necessary given that you were already at their wedding. ” 

Aria couldn’t help but laugh. The mere idea of it seemed ridiculous and like a sure fire way to embarrass herself even further. She knew that she should have turned him down immediately and gone home, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that maybe this would be the perfect way to end such a chaotic day. At least this way she’d get a chance to apologize to the bride and groom and explain what happened. Plus, she had to admit that Miles was a particularly handsome groomsman and she wouldn’t mind enjoying the party with him. 

“Let’s go to the reception.” She said, holding her arm out to him. 

Miles looped his arm through hers, chuckling as he did so. “Let’s do it.”