Chapter 1 – I Do

Sara felt a little dizzy. It wasn't the 'feeling sick' dizzy or the 'just embarrassed myself' dizzy; it was the happy dizzy. She was overcome with happiness and knew she would be happy for a long time.

"I do."

Those two words brought her back to the present. She had been thinking about every moment she had spent with him. She smiled wide at the man holding her hands. She looked deep into his deep blue eyes. Sometimes she wondered if it was those eyes alone that made her fall in love with him. She looked at the man standing to the right of her.

"Do you, Sara Sidle, take him Alexander Montez, to be your lawfully wedded husband? For richer, for poorer, in sickness, and in health? As long as you both shall live?" he asked her.

She looked back at the tall man in front of her.

"I do," she said softly. He smiled and hers matched his. The priest was telling Alex to kiss her so Sara leaned in and they kissed. She didn't know if it was just the people cheering or what, but this was probably the best kiss she had ever had. They pulled apart and faced the people who Sara had forgotten were there. They were all sitting on church pews in the church Sara had always thought was beautiful. It had high ceilings with beautiful artwork splashed across it.

Everyone was standing now and Alex led Sara back down the aisle to the large oak doors on the opposite end. They went through and then down the steep steps into a limo that was waiting for them. Alex let her slid in before he got in and shut the door.

Sara laughed as people from the church came out and waved as the limo started pulling out slowly. They waved then Alex turned to Sara.

He kissed her and said, "Well that was fun."

"You bet it was," she said with a smile. Sara readjusted in her seat. The big princess dress took up a lot of room and it seemed like she was swimming in white fabric. She tried to take off the veil without ruining her hair but the limo was just too small. 'I never thought I would say that,' she thought.

"Here, let me help," Alex said, seeing how much trouble she was having. She turned in her seat and held her hair down while he pulled the veil carefully out of her hair and folded it up as Sara turned back around. She couldn't seem to get the smile off her face. She felt like she had slept with a hanger in her mouth.

Before long they arrived at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. Sara had gone there a few times before and absolutely fell in love with it was a Japanese garden with sloping lawns and huge, leafy trees and stone pathways and stairs. The perfect place to take pictures after a wedding. The got out of their limo and waited for the rest of the wedding party to get there. It only took 10 minutes; the entire time spent Alex kissing Sara. When everyone got there, the photographer posed them and snapped what seemed like hundreds of pictures.

When that was finally over, the wedding part accompanied the happy couple to the reception hall. They were introduced to the hall and loud cheers rang in everyone's ears.

The dinner was filling and fun. Many people came up to congratulate them, but one stuck in her mind for a long time; Alex's sister, Janice. She lived in Australia and hadn't met Sara.

"Tell me all about how you met," she wanted to know. Sara looked at Alex and started the story they must have told a thousand times. Each.

"We met at Harvard. At a party in my second year,"

"And my third," Alex interrupted.

"Yes and your third. I was at the bar because my friends were dancing and I really didn't feel like it. He waltzed over all tall and handsome and asked me to dance. I told him a didn't want to so he sat down and bought me another drink. We talked and talked for about an hour then he asked me to dance again and, because I had already polished off a few drinks, I said yes."

"Hey, you were all there," he said playfully.

Sara shrugged and smiled, "Maybe. Anyway, we danced for almost as long as we had talked and I ended up giving him my number."

"The classic bar scene," Janice said.

"Pretty much," Alex said, taking Sara's hand and smiling at her.

"So is my brother as mushy as I remember? How did he propose?" she wanted to know.

"He proposed on Christmas Eve. At another party with everyone watching. He had arranged for balloons to fall just as he proposed," Sara smiled at the memory. That party had been so much fun and the proposal had just made it that much better. "And now, a year later, we are married," she finished.

Janice talked with them for a few more minutes then left because the speeches were starting. Kelly, Sara's maid of honor, was giving her speech. Kelly had been her best friend since high school and had always been a good public speaker, so she blew the crowd away. Alex's brother and best man, Jason, gave his speech, and like so many best man speeches, made everyone laugh. The speeches lasted for a long time and at the very end, Sara and Alex went up to dance.

He stood and held out his hand to her as the DJ dimmed the lights and called them up. She took it and the pair walked onto the hardwood dance floor. The song "Because of you" by Tony Bennett blasted through the sound system and Alex spun Sara around before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close. He had always been a good dancer and Sara had always felt safe in his arms. She let him lead her around the floor as if they were floating. The song slowed and Sara took her hand away from his and wrapped that arm around his neck to meet the other. He kissed her and they pulled apart, her forehead leaning against his. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"I love you so much," he whispered.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I love you too." They danced until the song ended and Alex dipped her into the last note. They danced for what seemed like hours and others came on the floor to join them. The night was perfect and Sara wouldn't have wanted her wedding day to be any different.