Real
She blinked her eyes once more, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Her results matched with the other countless times she had checked. On her father's arm, she turned the final corner, walking into the room that had been everything except a home for many selfless people over the past few days. The pews were nearly spilling over with hundreds of smiling people. The room was attractively decorated with red and white roses. The atmosphere was perfectly complemented with a marvelous lighting job. The people lined up on stage were in perfect position, their hair and make-up all done carefully, and every suit and gown was without a blemish.
Though all these things were enough to mesmerize her, she could hardly notice any of it. Her gaze was hopelessly fixed on him. He stood not 20 feet from her, standing on one side of the half-empty center stage. As soon as she had turned the corner, his eyes had filled with a mix of rapture, astonishment, and incredulity. Everything about her at that moment was worthy of such a reaction. Her shining, white gown flowed perfectly down her small figure in a way that might remind you of a soft breeze. Her blonde hair had been scrupulously styled to fall gently onto her mostly-bare shoulders. She gripped an elegant bouquet of roses firmly that aided her in the effort of keeping her shaky hands still. She had never looked so beautiful.
As she neared the stage and the man that was on it, he dropped a foot down to the highest stair and extended a hand towards her. Once close enough, she approvingly set one hand into his, and took the other as well once she had arrived at the top of the steps. As soon as they were standing still in their places, he gave her hands a reassuringly firm squeeze. This was it.
The pastor spoke, and the ceremony rolled by at a steady pace. When it came time for the vows, both repeated them as they were to be repeated. As she stood listening to his voice recite the words, his eyes flooded with more sincerity, passion, and love than she had ever seen from him. And she knew it was real.
A few minutes later, he held a polished band of silver in one hand, and her left hand in his other. She was inevitably reminded of the night he put the first ring on her finger.
It had been the sweetest thing. It was a frigid day in December, towards the end of most every college's term. The 13th, to be exact; 2 years after he had first told her his feelings for her. Their relationship had steadily increased, from still being friends months later, to the beginnings of an actual relationship after a few more. And then that day.
She had had one last exam that day, and she was proud of her performance. As she climbed the stairs and opened the door into dormitory number 309, there he was waiting for her. As was the intent, she was taken completely off-guard at his surprise turn-up. But that certainly did not take away from the elation of the moment. She knew his last exam was the day before and that he had to be out of his dorm that day, but she did not suspect being out of his dorm would follow with him being in her's.
After she had peppered him with questions of how all this came about, he announced his plan to take her out to dinner at one of the finest resturants in the area. Dinner had been splendid: both the food and the conversation. He had even ordered her a slice of cake that verged on being altogether extravagant.
Later that night they walked and talked around the city, stopping every once and again. As they stopped at a particularly nice place, she commented truthfully on how beautiful that night was. With a little smile, he added that it wasn't as beautiful as she was. All she could do was look down as she blushed and smiled back a little. He said there was one more thing that would make it just a little nicer, as he discreetly reached into his pocket with one free hand. With that, he let one knee drop to the ground and spoke words she had longed to hear for years on end. "Will you marry me?" It took her a few moments to recover, but she eventually accepted whole-heartedly. He slid the exquisite piece of work onto her finger, and she caught herself up in his embrace for a lengthy amount of time, though it did not seem long enough. And now, there he stood with a second ring perfectly crafted to fit the first, preparing to fit it onto her same finger.
Then some of the final moments of the ceremony had arrived, and the pastor spoke that had held them back from doing the one thing that would happen next. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." He tenderly placed his lips on hers, and they shared that which neither had ever experienced before. At that moment they both determined it was well worth the wait.
And they lived happily ever after.
The end.