My bridesmaid blooper!
Vanesa Marcia, 37, couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle in front of her friend Gracia Garcia – but then she had a high-heel hiccup!
Taking a deep breath, I clutched my bouquet and took a step forward. I was the last of five bridesmaids to walk down the aisle and behind me, my best friend Gracia was dressed in a beautiful white dress, excited, nervous and waiting for her moment.
Gracia, 34, and I met at Middlesex University. She’d just split up with her boyfriend, and my mum was seriously ill with cancer. As we supported each other through our respective tough times, we became firm friends.
We both got jobs as language teachers, and Gracia met someone new, Rajvi Batchu, where she lived in Richmond upon Thames, London.
They were so clearly in love, it didn’t surprise me when she told me he’d proposed while they were on holiday in Paris in the summer of 2016. As she showed me the pictures, Gracia popped her own big question. ‘ Will you be my bridesmaid?’ she asked. I was so excited, I couldn’t wait for her wedding.
Gracia loves the countryside and decided to tie the knot in a beautiful English garden. She chose gorgeous maxi dresses for her bridesmaids, but allowed us to pick our own shoes. So, wanting to feel extra-glam, I chose a pair with huge heels.
But the night before her wedding in July 2017, it rained.
‘I don’t want to have my wedding inside,’ said Gracia, her eyes filling with tears. ‘It’s just a village hall.’
So, we agreed to go ahead outdoors. Aware that the paths were slippy, when it was my turn, I made sure to walk slowly and carefully. But, halfway down the path, my heel got trapped in a drainage grate.
I staggered, just stopping myself from falling. But as I tried to move my foot, I realised the heel was stuck. I couldn’t move.
Forcing a smile, I tried desperately to wriggle the heel loose, but it wasn’t budging.
After a minute or two, the guests had started to turn around, wondering where the bride was. My face reddened, my hands shook, but I couldn’t yank the shoe out.
I could hear giggling as the nearest guests clocked what was going on. My humiliation turned to panic. Gracia would be furious!
By now, the entire congregation was looking at me. My partner, Sam Ali, 34, was filming the ceremony and I could see his shoulders shaking with laughter.
Eventually, someone stood up and, with a sharp jerk, wrenched my shoe free. The heel snapped in two, but I didn’t care. I rammed it back on my foot and hobbled down the aisle, trying to ignore the smothered sniggers.
I was so frightened of what Gracia would say afterwards, I barely heard a word of the ceremony. She’d spent months planning this and I was terrified she’d be upset.
Fortunately, she laughed it off. And, as for the shoes, they went straight in the bin!
‘I could hear giggling from the guests’