Father of the Bride came out in 1991, and I have to say that it's probably around that time that my wedding phobia began. Because while it's a movie and it's certainly exaggerated, it did represent a way of life that many of my soon-to-be-married-off, South Florida friends had. And I did not. When I got engaged, I actually thought to myself, at least I can get this hell over with. I wanted things my friends had, I wanted to fake like my family was like theirs, and if it took tears and groveling, so be it.

I’m going to a wedding this weekend. In my old South Florida life, this wouldn’t be all that out of the ordinary. But this is L.A.; I’m a transplanted aspiring director; and this is only the second L.A. wedding I’ve been invited to by a friend in five years.