A/N: Yes, another story. With it being summer and all, I'm definitely going to try to update more. But I'm in a rut with my other stories and I got this idea and thought that I'd write it, hopefully bring me out of my writer's block. This is inspired by the Wedding Planner! Hope you enjoy.
Rachel Berry didn't expect anything less from her friend's wedding. She could've told you back in high school that Sugar Motta's wedding was going to be this extravagant. But she definitely would not have foreseen herself planning the wedding for the girl who stole her first boyfriend. But it was her job, the job that she absolutely loved, and her past with Sugar was definitely all in the past.
"The dress is all wrong!"
Rachel glanced at her watch and smiled. The bride freaking out has commenced right on time. Twenty minutes before she's supposed to walk down the aisle.
"It's all wrong, it shows too much cleavage, it's way too long, I'm going to trip on the way down! Rory's probably going to back out last second. He doesn't love me. It's not—"
Rachel took a hold of Sugar's bare shoulders carefully. "Sugar, take a breath."
Sugar listened and she took a deep breath but the frantic look in her eyes didn't dissipate. "Listen to me," Rachel said softly. "You look absolutely beautiful. Your dress is going to be the envy of every single girl in that room. They're all going to be thinking 'Man, I wish I picked that dress!' and they're going to be depressed that they haven't gotten married in order to just wear that dress. And then you're going to walk down that aisle with your dad and you're going to see Rory at the altar, smiling like he's never smiled before and he's going to be thinking that he's marrying the most beautiful, wonderful, and extraordinary woman he's ever known. Then you're going to stand next to him and say your vows and you're going to become his wife. It's going to be everything you've pictured, and more. It will be perfect because you are perfect Sugar. Rory is so lucky and you have nothing to worry about today."
Rachel sighed deeply when Sugar smiled reassured. "Thank you," Sugar whispered to Rachel and gave her a hug. "Thank you for everything. Planning all of this with me even though we—"
Rachel held up a finger, stopping Sugar from saying any more. "It's all in the past and today, it's all about your future. With Rory. Come on, finish getting ready and wait for my cue."
Rachel walked out of the room, but not before fixing Lisa Flanagan's dress and cutting off an itchy tag of one of the flower girl's dresses. She walked to the main hall and saw that mostly all of the guests have already arrived. She saw Kurt standing near the front, surveying the room, and when Kurt and Rachel's eyes locked, Kurt gave her a thumbs up and Rachel nodded.
Rachel walked to the men's dressing room and said, "Okay guys, time to get to your place. Let's go." She ushered them out and started to follow them when she noticed that Rory was still staring at the mirror, a blank expression on his face. Rachel walked into the room and closed the door.
"You're nervous?" she asked him.
"Should I not be? I'm marrying someone, vowing to spend the rest of my life with them. It's daunting," Rory answered blankly.
"But you love Sugar," Rachel reminded him. "You two have been through so much, something no one else would understand. Your love for each other is and will be unmatched."
Rory laughed and turned around to face Rachel. "I know you well enough to know when you sound rehearsed. This is your job, to make the wedding happen."
"Well that may be true," Rachel admitted. "But I mean it this time. You two are perfect for each other and it'll be perfect."
"How much did you and your co-workers bet our wedding would last?" Rory inquired curiously.
"There was no betting, because I know you two will last and for the last 10 weddings we've planned, I've been right," Rachel said with a smile. "So go, marry the love of your life. She's waiting for you."
The wedding went off without a hitch. Rachel let out a relieved sigh when Rory and Sugar finally kissed and Rachel and Kurt high-fived; another wedding success.
At the reception, Rachel looked over all of the decorations and food, making sure everything was in its place. When she was about to make her own plate of food to eat, a plate was held out to her.
Santana Lopez held the plate, which was filled with chocolate snacks, and Rachel grabbed a cookie. "Congrats," Santana told Rachel. "Another success."
"Thanks," Rachel muttered with a full mouth.
"So, when are you going to plan your own?" Santana asked.
Rachel hit her shoulder. "No, the question is, when am I planning yours?"
"No, no, no, when I get married, it'll be in Vegas or something. A shotgun wedding. None of this fanfare and crap." Rachel glared at Santana and she quickly apologized. "Not that it's not hard work or anything. It's all beautiful and stuff but I don't wanna have to go through all this just to marry the one I love. If I find her, I'll marry her, no struggles, no planning. Just marry her."
"How beautiful," Rachel said sincerely. "I agree. Seeing the backstage happenings of a wedding, I wonder why women make the men go through all of that. They fight on how many people should go, they fight on the colors. Why not just do it? Maybe it's a test – to see if they'd stay even through the bridezilla moments. I mean, I love romance. I believe in marrying the one you love and all but, weddings aren't always necessary."
"Never thought of it that way," Santana shrugged. "But hey, my best friend from high school—"
"I thought I was your best friend?" Rachel said jokingly.
"Fine, my other best friend," Santana clarified. "The one I had before I transferred to William McKinley, she just got engaged and I told her I have a friend who plans weddings. So I thought maybe you'd meet her and her fiancée?"
"You just told me why you hate weddings but you want me to plan your best friend's wedding and have her go through all the bad stuff you and I just described?" Rachel asked incredulously. "Do you hate the girl now or something?"
"She said her fiancée wants a good, big wedding and you're the best of the best to plan it so…"
"Fine, give them my number and have them call me."
"Great! Hey, where'd you order these chocolates? They're delicious."
"I'll give you the company," Rachel laughed.
"Oh, by the way, how much did you bet for how long Sugar and Rory's marriage will last?
Rachel scoffed. "Santana, they're our friends. I wasn't going to bet on them."
"Rachel."
"Fine...five years."
"Really?" Santana grabbed the nearest wine glass. "I'd say three."
Rachel walked up the steps to her apartment after getting home from Sugar and Rory's reception. She took off her work clothes, folded them and hung them in her little section in her closet for dry cleaning, and took out a bowl of leftover pasta. She heated it up and waited for the microwave to sound. Once it did, she took her place in front of her couch and played the shows she missed all day._
After an hour of watching TV, Rachel washed her dish and got ready for bed. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, combed her hair, and finally, she laid down in bed. She tossed and turned for a while, never finding a comfortable spot, until finally, she fell asleep.