Nanny Mimi's Getting Married!

I had kind of planned on maybe getting married this October. I did. Really.

But then one of the fiance's best friends decided to get married at the end of August. And, then, two other of my friends, who had a baby last year, decided to tie the knot, finally, in September. (Their one year-old will, of course, be in attendance.)

I didn't want to ruin the excitement of the marriage of the fiance's friends, nor did I want to follow my two other friends who had a baby and then got married, because it would look like I was just getting married because they were.

And, trust me, one of my friends got engaged around the same time as another of her friends. And then my friend booked her wedding date a week earlier than her friends and...well, let's just say they are no longer friends.

But, mostly, I can't get married in October because Nanny Mimi is. That's right. Nanny Mimi is getting married on the exact same weekend I was maybe debating planning to get married. Well, I certainly couldn't steal Nanny Mimi's thunder, can I?

A couple months ago, Nanny Mimi and her boyfriend were over one evening to babysit. I was all ready to go out and the fiance was still in the shower.

"Rebecca, we have to ask you two something," Nanny Mimi said. Early that day, she had flashed me her amazing engagement ring and told me all the dets.

"Oh, do ask," I said.

"No, we should wait until he's finished showering," Nanny Mimi said about the fiance. "We want to ask you together."

"Oh, forget about him! Just tell me! Tell me! Tell me!!'

"OK, well, we want you too to be sponsors at our wedding!"

"Ok, great! We would be honoured too!" I answered. Meanwhile, what I was really thinking was, "What the fuck does a sponsor do?"

When the fiance came downstairs to join us, I said, "Mimi has asked us to be sponsors at her wedding!"

"Is that ok with you?" Mimi asked the fiance.

"Sure, we would be delighted too." he answered.

And then the fiance and I got into his car.

"Um, Beck. What the hell does a sponsor do?" he asked.

"I don't know. I think it's a Catholic thing," I said.

"Maybe it's a Muslim thing," the fiance said. (Mimi is catholic and her fiance is Muslim.)

"Do you think we just agreed to pay for her wedding?" the fiance asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. Is that what a sponsor does?"

"I have no idea."

Well, it turns out - thanks to our housekeeper who explained what a sponsor does - we just have to sign some papers and light some candles. There was nothing about paying for the wedding, which was good. You know, one day I might need the money to get married myself.

Now a lot of people have been moaning about being bridesmaids recently on their blogs. I wasn't moaning, because for all I knew, I just had to light some candles, and walk down the aisle with The Dictator (she's going to be a flower girl.)

In fact, I got really caught up in planning Nanny Mimi's wedding, especially since she really doesn't have that many girlfriends to go shopping with or get excited about her wedding. I don't know, but planning her wedding seemed more fun than planning my own.

I bought Nanny Mimi Instyle Weddings and gave her a six pack of bridal colour nailpolishes from Essie. I taught her how to use the internet to find venues and bands and even bought her a tiara and a matching purse that she loved that we saw in Scottsdale, Arizona.

I mean, someone should be excited for you when you're getting married, right?

But then....well, then....

"Rebecca? We were also wondering if you can make a speech at our wedding," Nanny Mimi asked last week.

Argh! For some reason, I'm asked to speak at weddings/anniversary parties/birthday parties a lot in my family. No matter how many times I say, "Just because I'm a writer does not mean I make a good speech."

Well, I say it a lot. But no one in my family ever listens to me. Ever!

Anyway, how could I say 'no' to Nanny Mimi? She's become one of the closest people in my life and takes care of the most precious person in my life.

Still, there's nothing worse than being responsible for making a wedding speech. Nothing. I tell you, I'd rather me a bridesmaid.

It means I can't get drunk before I speak. It means I have to be funny. It means now that not only do I have to worry about not setting the place on fire (because I have to light some candles) it means I have to speak to a room of people I don't know about a person I've only known for three years.

I'm completely stressed out - and it's not even my wedding!

And then there's the fact that I'm not sure how much longer Nanny Mimi will stay with us after she gets married. So I'm kind of sad about that. She says she loves to work, and she really loves The Dictator, but her fiance is a little old-skool and may not want her to work.

(When Nanny Mimi comes to Toronto with us, she used to make lunches and dinners and ironed all his clothes for the two weeks she'd be away from him.)

But, I think Nanny Mimi has learned a lot from the almost three years she's been with us. Like, no, you don't actually have to make dinner for your husband every night. (I sure don't.) And that it's ok to use tears when you really, really want something. (I sure do.)

And, sometimes when Nanny Mimi and her fiance are over at our place and the wedding comes up and he'll moan about something Nanny Mimi wants for the wedding, I always stick up for her and say something like, "It's her wedding day! Don't argue with the bride. Just nod your head and smile and show up on the right day at the right place at the right time."

I think Nanny Mimi appreciates this.

Who knows...maybe I can train The Dictator to speak full sentences by October and she could do it for me. Because, as I've said before, just because I'm a writer does not make me a good speaker.