BETWEEN THE LINES: WEDDINGS: THE PERFECT MIXTURE OF SHEER PERFECTION AND NEAR DISASTER

It's been a few days and I'm still recovering from a weekend mixed with sheer perfection and near disaster.

I spent three days with friends in Florida attending a wedding. Weddings evoke such a whirlwind of emotions, it takes me a little while to recover.

I'm not sure why, but I always cry at weddings. I guess it's the rush of emotions -- happiness for the newlyweds and sadness that a part of their lives are gone forever.

Although I can be harshly cynical at times I'm really a hopeless romantic. That fact probably makes matters worse at weddings. I enjoy a good love story and cry at nearly every Hallmark commercial ever made.

But I had almost given up on love stories, until I moved to Florida. In my lifetime, I haven't met very many women who lived a fairy tale, but now I know a few.

After living in the land of Disney, the Cinderella story now holds a new meaning.

A former co-worker once told me a story about her daughter and son-in-law, who live in Florida. It seemed that after years of searching, her daughter hadn't found Mr. Right. After ending a long relationship and taking a new job, he showed up one day at her office. Lesa and Rus have been happily married for about five years and Vicki is thrilled to have such a wonderful son-in-law.

My friend, Lisa, the bride-to-be, said that Prince Charming always arrives, but he isn't always riding a white horse. I'm beginning to believe that's true.

Attending the wedding this weekend was even more emotional than usual because I returned to a city where I'd lived only briefly, but found many friends. It was like a visit home again.

I was greeted at the airport in Jacksonville by the bride-to-be, who drove me straight to the dress shop for alterations on my bridesmaid dress. (We had a little dilemma with sizes and orders). After lunch, I spent two hours waiting for the seamstress to finish my dress, but it gave me a chance to catch up with another friend, Jennifer.

The long wait made things a little complicated, however. Jen and I had to rush home from the shop, change clothes and rush to the church for rehearsal. We were about 15 minutes late, which is great considering we battled rush-hour traffic in a city of nearly 1 million people.

All in all, the weekend was a success. The couple got married and everyone seemed to enjoy the reception.

I doubt I hold a record for the most weddings attended, but I seem to be getting a lot of invitations lately. I think it's cyclical.

In the past three months, I have attended four weddings and been invited to another but couldn't attend. About four years ago, I had a summer's worth of wedding invitations.

Weddings are fun because they offer a chance to see old friends and catch up on each other's lives.

Yet, I think the best thing about weddings is knowing that everyone attending the ceremony came to show their love, encouragement and support for the bride and groom. There's probably no better way to start a life together than with a church full of people who love you.

~Laura Johnston is a copy editor for the Southeast Missourian.