Single Folks at Weddings

Going to weddings without a date has been the norm for me for several years now (ages 27-31). It is a fact of life. Furthermore, when a friend of mine who technically became my date at the last wedding I attended this past Saturday, I almost felt like I was ruining my streak. More details on the "technically" part in a second.

I've actually had quite a bit of fun sitting at the same table with all of the single people whether I am in Phoenix, Tucson or Seattle. I never have to bring anyone with me who doesn't know anyone else and is bored out of his skull or isn't dateworthy at all but I had to drag a warm body with me. Nope. I think single people at this age all have a common understanding with one another, it's almost like an immediate bond that we share that goes without saying. Going to a wedding by myself was something I worried more about in my early 20s, as in This really sucks and I'm going to go home and cry myself to sleep afterward. So far, I've actually felt pretty good after all of these weddings. Granted part of this is because I've always known at least one group of people at these weddings so that helps out a lot. Or maybe it's the alcohol that helps in general. Who knows?

My "technical" date meant we showed up at the wedding separately. The most time we spent together was for about 20 minutes when we ate dinner at the same table. I was "networking" before dinner with the justice of the peace who married my friend and her fiance. She also has a MPA degree and knows one of my bosses. My date spent the rest of the evening after dinner networking. It was his work crowd since him and my friend's fiance are in the same industry. Makes sense to me. At this point, if you're not married, you are probably working feverishly at your career. Not to say married people aren't career oriented by any means but if you're single in your 30s/40s it's most likely your career is a priority.