Photo: A-Tone works
On the surface, weddings offer everything that is good in life: delicious comfort food in bite-size portions, cute DJs playing your favorite songs, endless vodka and pineapples that don’t cost a penny, hilarious and terrifying dances. that give you the courage to make a move. However, if you are attending a wedding alone, it may be difficult for you to let go of your self-awareness and enjoy it. I’ve been to a solo wedding and two others as the best man date (which leaves you only half the time while they pose for photos and eat at the head table). I hardly knew anyone at these weddings, but I got through them unscathed and without any embarrassing moments.
This is how you can successfully attend a solo wedding:
Lower your expectations to zero
Weddings are sometimes disappointing. Personally, I’ve never met a cocktail hour appetizer that I didn’t like, but I’m sure that happens. Maybe the music is horrible or the cake smashes on the floor, leaving you without dessert. Maybe no one will dance and you will be bored for four hours or everyone will dance and you will be the only person sitting alone at the table. Maybe everything will be great and you will have the best night of your life. Whatever is going to happen will happen. Keep your expectations as low and without describing them as possible. In this way, however, the wedding turns out that you will have great memories or a fun story to tell.
Act quickly
Whoever you’re going to be at night – the adventurer who makes a line for the dance floor, the super social, the funny guy who makes the whole table laugh – be that person from the start as possible. From the moment you show up at the ceremony, everyone is evaluating each other to find out who looks best, who wears what, where the single people are. Whatever you’re putting out there, people will see it. The wedding lasts only six hours, which leaves you with a short window of time to make a good first impression, but plenty of time to spend with no one to talk to.
It starts with the people around you
Start a conversation with the people at your table. If you are at a wedding where no one was invited with a companion, chances are you are sitting with other soloists who are also hoping to make friends. Even if you’re the only lonely person at a couples table, trust that the bride and groom brought everyone together at your table for a reason. The easiest way to break the ice is to ask, “How do you know the boyfriends?
Befriend the older generation
Sometimes it is easier to talk to people who are a little older than you, especially if you feel a little insecure about yourself. If you can find friendly relatives of the bride and groom, they will not only be happy to chat, but they will also get to know everyone present and be able to make introductions.
Head to the bar
The bar is where people go when they don’t know what to do, so it won’t be difficult to find someone who is interested in talking. Having a cocktail or two can calm you down and relax enough to get close to someone. Know your sweet spot in moderation, though. For me, it’s two drinks, then I alternate the water with the alcohol, and I sip them both slowly. Loose and natural is only a few cocktails away from that horrible drunken point of no return.
Search for the fugitives
Every wedding has at least one group of people who are doing something else. They can gather around a television in the hotel bar to watch the game or lounge on the sofas in the lobby to unwind from the music and bright lights. Find them, complain about whatever they are complaining about, and then introduce yourself.
Remind yourself that not all eyes are on you
Yes, everyone is staring at each other, but in this situation they won’t be the center of attention for long – newlyweds have that covered.
Armed with the right mindset, you will not only survive a wedding when you are alone, but you will thrive and maybe even date a new friend or two.