Welcome to the wedding of TJ Detweiler and Ashley Spinelli. There will be five chapters each detailing a specific wedding event - the rehearsal dinner, the bride getting ready, the groom getting ready, the actual wedding ceremony, and the reception. Enjoy!

This story can be read stand-alone, but technically exists in the same universe as The Santa Claus and Bringing in a Brand New Year - so if you've read those and wanted to know about TJ and Spinelli's wedding, which is teased in Bringing in a Brand New Year, this is it. However, like I said, this can read as a stand-alone so, if you haven't read those, you'll still be set to read this.

The gang is about 25.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

...

I Take You

July 2017

The Rehearsal Dinner

"If you don't quit looking at your phone, I'm calling best man duties and taking it away from you," Vince says, shaking his head. I blacken the screen and lower it sheepishly while Mikey, Gus, and my college roommate laugh. "Seriously, dude, this is how we've all felt for years – waiting on your dumbass to get places."

I fiddle with my tie. My hat is sitting in my suitcase at the hotel, my mother having forbid me to put it on. Fiddling with my hat has been my nervous habit since I was eight, or maybe even younger, but the tie will have to do for now.

"I know," I groan. "But I've never been the early one."

"And he's never been late to something as momentous as the beginning of the wedding weekend," Mikey adds. "Oh, I can only imagine his veins, fluttering with both nerves and excitement, and it can only be the most overwhelming experience."

I could hug him. Instead I just smirk at Vince. "See, I'm allowed to be antsy."

"Yeah, but you're making me antsy, too," he says. Then he reaches forward and smacks my hand away from my tie. "You're going to strangle yourself."

"And then your whole week of worrying will have been for nothing," Gus says. He puts his hand on my shoulder and I don't miss the irony in our role reversal. "She'll be here any minute."

Today is Friday and I haven't seen Spin since Tuesday, when Gretchen and her other bridesmaids whisked her off for her bachelorette adventure. That was the plan, that she would spend Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday morning with the girls, while Vince and the guys kept me occupied with a camping trip, just like old times. But, I hadn't realized she'd be so far away. We stayed in Northwest Arkansas. The girls took Spin on a four-and-a-half hour road trip to Memphis.

Not that I would have seen her anyway. According to Becky – although I'm not sure why all my buddies decided to listen to my sister now but whatever – the bachelor and bachelorette parties should be separate, despite Spin and I having the idea to do them joint. But, it gave her a chance to hang out with her college friends, who she hasn't seen much of in the last year since she moved in with me in DC, and hanging out with the guys is never bad. I just miss her. We spent six years mostly apart while I stayed in Arkansas for undergrad and she went to Boston, then she stayed there for her master's and I took an opportunity on Capitol Hill I couldn't refuse. It was hard, but we did it. However, when you've spent six years in a long distance relationship and you get a taste of what it's like to live together and see each other every day, it's hard to go back.

Spin texted me earlier this afternoon, saying they hit some nasty traffic and that they'd be a little late getting to the church for our rehearsal. I could just imagine her fuming in the front passenger seat as Gretchen drove at a snail's pace, obeying all the traffic laws and commenting on the rates of vehicular fatalities at different speeds when Spin tells her to hurry up. She stopped texting me about twenty minutes ago, when they finally got to the hotel we're all staying at tonight to check in. They were going to quickly drop their things, change, and then race over.

I keep looking at my phone for the time. The hotel is about a ten minute drive from the church so hopefully they'll be here any minute like Gus said.

"Yeah, Teej, it's not like you have to worry about her getting cold feet," Vince says. He nudges my arm with his. "If she hasn't dumped you to the curb in a decade, I think you're good."

Sometimes it's hard to believe that Spin and I have been together for nine-and-a-half years, but time certainly has flown. We're no longer the shy fifteen-year-olds who confessed our mutual feelings to each other on Christmas Eve. She's starting her second year as a fourth grade teacher this fall and I'm starting my first year of law school at GW. If Ms. Finster could see us now – well, she will, actually. Tomorrow.

I smile. Tomorrow I am marrying Ashley Spinelli.

Finally, there's commotion in the front entry area of the church and I can hear the girls talking as they walk in. My heart rate seems to suddenly return to normal and I put my phone back in my pocket. As soon as Spin walks through the doors, her eyes search out mine, and the scowl drops off her face as soon as she finds me. She takes off, nearly running the down the aisle to where I stand with the rest of the boys about four pews from the back. I step away from them and catch her in my arms, swinging her around.

When I set her back down, we don't look away. I press my forehead to hers and look into her eyes. Nothing else around us even matters.

"Hi," I say.

"Hi."

"We're getting married."

She smiles and leans up to give me a kiss.

"Ashley, come on!" We both break away to see Joey holding his hands up. "You're already late – you can kiss him later. Let's get a move on."

"Shut up, Joey!" she yells back at her brother. Her mom looks like she's going to kill them both.

The priest just laughs though, not concerned with the fact that we're running more than a half hour behind or that the now-grown Spinelli siblings are battling it out in his church. I know Father Lawrence Vicario well at this point in my relationship with Spin. He's the priest at the Catholic church her family has been going to forever and good friends of her grandparents. Back in college, when we started talking about marriage as a concrete idea rather than some far off hypothetical, I spent a little time with Father Lawrence, and he was one of the priests who taught the classes I took in order to convert. I wasn't raised with any religion, and if anything I guess I'm kind of Jewish, but we never practiced anything. However, I know faith means a lot to Spin's family – and to her too although she would never make me convert. But, to get married in her family's parish, we both needed to be Catholic and so, by the time I proposed, we both were.

Father Lawrence begins to run through what the ceremony will look like. We pick exact words and phrases to use when there are multiple options we can choose. Then the day-of coordinator insists on a dry run of all the movements. We practice the processional. Vince and myself will just come in the side to start, while the other three groomsmen will walk Spin's three bridesmaids. Then Gretchen, as maid of honor, will walk down by herself before the doors close again to prepare for Spin's entrance. They all practice their speed down a small portion of the aisle before walking normally the rest of the way to the front to take their place, then Spin and both her parents practice behind them. The day-of coordinator tells everyone exactly how to sit, how to stand, instructs Gretchen that her one job the entire ceremony is to make sure Spin's dress and veil are smooth. Father Lawrence tells us the order of the Mass, when certain parts happen. It's all very overwhelming and I take Spin's hand. She squeezes back.

"And, if we mess something up, everyone laugh like it's a joke," I say, pointing to our wedding party. Everyone chuckles and I take it as practice for tomorrow.

While Father Lawrence takes us to do our pre-wedding confessions, Gus and Joey practice the readings they'll do tomorrow during the Mass. Then we practice processing out, Spin and I arm-in-arm, then Vince and Gretchen, who are followed by the others in pairs pre-matched together by height.

"The photographer will probably take a few pictures and then we'll rush you four over to sign the marriage certificate," the coordinator says, gesturing to me, Spin, Gretch, and Vince. She turns to the others. "At that point, y'all can hop in the limo and get out of the heat."

It's July in Arkansas. Luckily our suits are light in color. The girls, on the other hand, are wearing navy dresses. But, they're short dresses and our reception is indoors so they'll only be outside for pictures. Spin's the only one in a big heavy dress tomorrow, but she's always cold, accustomed to wearing her leather jacket in even the hottest weather.

"Anyone have any questions?" No one does. "Perfect. I'll see you all tomorrow."

Every time someone says the word tomorrow I get this excited jolt of energy that floods through me. I give Spin's hand a squeeze and she puts her other hand on my arm, a wordless signal that she feels the same thing.

I lean down and whisper in her ear. "Why can't tomorrow be today?"

"Because they like seeing us suffer." I steal a kiss.

"Hey, lovebirds!" We turn to see our wedding party waving us over. "We gotta go!"

Oh, right. The rehearsal dinner. Our parents ditched midway through the practicing to go over to the restaurant to try and beat all of our extended family and out-of-town guests, who, despite the girls being late, were still going to get there on time. It seems like I'm never going to get a long enough minute alone with Spin.

I wrap my arms around her as the girls wave her toward their car. "Don't leave me."

"Teej, it's a twenty minute car ride." She rolls her eyes when I groan. "Oh, you big baby, you haven't seen me for a week, you can go twenty more minutes," she teases.

But I can see in her eyes that she doesn't want to leave me either.

"You can go with the boys if you'd prefer," Gretchen says. "We can bring one of them instead."

Spin shakes her head and grabs my face with her hands. "I will see you at the restaurant."

"You're so mean," I joke.

She kisses me and then backs away.

"Well, you knew that when you asked me to marry you, so that's not my problem." She winks and prances off, the other four girls squealing about something as they head to the car.

That car ride feels like the longest twenty minutes of my life.

The banquet room of the restaurant where the dinner is happening is already packed with people when we arrive. Our families are all mingling together, our parents actively introducing the different sides to each other. It'll also be a good chance for our wedding party to get to know each other better. While obviously our gang knows each other well, this is the first time that everyone in our party has been in the same room, although some know each other better than others. We all toss our stuff at a big circle table near the front before Spin and I leave them to start making the rounds – introducing each other to members of our families we might not have already met or only met a few times as well as getting pulled away by our closer family members who know us both well.

Then, what seems like hours later, dinner is served, followed by dessert. And while we're all finishing off the last of that, my father stands and clinks his glass.

Now, Sam Detweiler is not a speechmaker, but I know Becky probably played a huge hand in the writing of this toast. I'm sure she wouldn't want to see him embarrass himself, or her by association, in front of a crowd this size like he had at her wedding.

"Good evening, everyone," he starts. He holds a piece of paper and I can see it shaking in his hand despite the even tone of his voice. "I want to welcome everyone and thank you for being here. I think I met all of you, but if I didn't or you can't remember, I'm Sam and–" he gestures to my mother "–this is my wife, Jan, and we're TJ's parents. Now he's the speechmaker in our family and, the Detweiler side learned that the hard way at my daughter's wedding, so I'm going to keep this brief."

He's not doing so bad. He takes a look over at us and I give him a thumbs up. That seems to work a little.

"Before I go any further, I first want to thank Bob and Flo. They've become more than just our neighbors over the years. I speak for both Jan and myself in that we consider them great friends and I can't imagine my son marrying into a greater family."

The crowd claps and once it dies down my father starts again.

"They've put in a lot of time and effort into planning for tomorrow. It's going to be great, really. We were over there today and it looks better than we could have imagined," he tells the crowd. Then he turns to Spin's parents, addressing them directly. "But, on top of that, Jan and I both really want to thank you for raising the daughter that you did. It's been a joy to watch her grow up alongside our son and she's been a wonderful addition underfoot at our house for nearly twenty years now. She has grown into just an amazing young woman, as fiery and strong as she is beautiful, and the way she loves our son is quite extraordinary." Then he turns to Spin, nods at her to show that while he's thanking her parents he's also thanking her.

Then he adds, still looking at her, "And, on top of that, we know she'll keep TJ in line."

I don't know if he meant it as a joke or if he's actually serious – I'm inclined to believe he's serious, my dad was not always the biggest fan of getting calls from the principal for my pranks – but regardless of how he meant it, the crowd bursts into laughter. It takes him aback for a moment, but he recovers.

"That being said, I should probably say something about my son now."

The crowd laughs again. I think that was a planned joke because I see Becky nodding and my dad looks less surprised.

"Every father comes up here during his rehearsal dinner speech and says he has the greatest son in the world. Of course. But tonight's my night to say it and I really do have the greatest son in the world," he turns to me as he continues addressing the crowd. "A little over twenty-five years ago when TJ was born, I didn't realize I could be as proud as I am now of him and his many attributes. He has integrity and a lively spirit. He's a great friend. A great son. And I know he'll be a great husband and, one day, a great father."

Oh, man, he's gonna make me cry. Vince notices and from his spot beside me throws an arm around my shoulder and makes a "whoot, whoot" that gets the whole table cheering. That helps.

"You're going to hear a lot more speeches tomorrow, so I'm going to end mine here with another thank you to everyone for coming and supporting our children tonight and tomorrow as they start this next journey. So, please, raise your glass in honor of the bride and groom."

Everyone clinks glasses.

"And, now, I'd like to hand this microphone off to Vince LaSalle, the best man, who has a little something to share from the wedding party."

He walks over, my mother following him, to hand off the microphone. Spin and I both stand as they hand off, hugging my parents and thanking them for everything. After they sit down in their seats, Vince lifts the microphone and I share a look with Spin to see she has her eyebrow raised, just as confused as I am. I hadn't realized Vince was doing anything tonight. He's got his best man's speech tomorrow. He does realize that's said tomorrow, right?

Spin retakes my hand as Vince starts talking.

"Hi, everyone, like Mr. Detweiler said, my name is Vince and I'm the best man, which means I'm the one who had Becky in my ear for the last year telling me that if anything went wrong at her little brother's wedding, it was all on me."

My side of the family knows Becky's bossiness, so they laugh at his little jab at her. My sister shakes her head at him. Spin's side catches on quick though and the whole room is reacting to Vince's joke and once it's quiet again he starts back up.

"One thing that Becky told me repeatedly for the last few months was that there's this sort of unofficial requirement for the rehearsal dinner to have some sort of slideshow detailing their life story or whatnot. But, as Gretchen, the maid of honor, and I were putting it together, it was too boring and too vanilla and that's just not Teej and Spin – as individuals or as a couple. But half of the wedding party has known them since elementary school, and the other half was around when we weren't during college, so we figured you don't need a slideshow to learn their story; between the eight of us, we could just tell you." He motions to the table. "Gus, get up here and help me out."

"What are they doing?" Spin whispers, her eyes focused on Gus and Vince as they turn around, backs to the audience.

Mikey stands at this point too and hands each of them sunglasses. Then he heads to what looks like a karaoke machine.

I shake my head at her. "I have no idea."

Our friend presses play and the familiar opening of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song. The two of them, backs still turned, start shifting from foot to foot in unison to the beat and everyone in the room is excitedly getting into it and the two haven't even started talking.

"I can pull off a convincing Will Smith, can't I?" Vince mouths to me. I can't respond before he turns to face the audience and starts rapping.

"Now this is a story all about how,
We're seeing Ashley Spinelli in a wedding gown,
And we'd like to take a minute, so just sit right there,
To tell you all about these two, cause they're the perfect pair."

What even...? I love it but how did they pull this off? Gus turns around and the two of them are now both facing the crowd, Vince looking every bit the Fresh Prince and Gus pulling together a decent Carlton dance. When they start again, they rap together, alternating between lines of verse.

"In Bentonville, Arkansas, born and raised,
On the playground is where they spent most of their days,
Spin was real tough, took charge of the school,
TJ was trouble, never followed the rules,
K through 9, their friendship was good,
Together causing trouble in the neighborhood,
Then sparks started flying and they both got scared
But they get a happy ending so don't you despair."

I'm dying. I have tears running down my face I'm laughing so hard. Spin has her face in my shoulder, her whole body shaking with amusement from watching the two of them.

"Then finally. Christmas Eve, 2007,
They acted on feelings they had since age eleven,
So, Teej grew a pair, gave her a mistletoe kiss
Which started them on this last decade of bliss.
Yo, first year – ha, they were bad,
Kissing and flirting in the halls between class,
They thought, 'is this what dating's gonna be like?
Hmm, then that's more than alright.'
But wait, graduation, right around the corner,
Will their long distance work or will we be their mourners?
Teej stayed here, Spin moved there,
But distance can't ruin a love this rare."

They're really hitting their stride now. As the musical break goes, they just stand, dancing together in unison. How did they do this without me knowing? This looks so well practiced. They're not even reading off anything – it's all memorized and perfectly rapped to the beat.

"They grew together while being apart,
Both of them studied so they could follow their hearts,
Spin went into teaching, Teej chose law,
And then what happened next everybody foresaw
The ring got bought, TJ dropped to one knee
And asked, 'Will you spend the rest of your life with me?'
Spin said yes, and that's the tale,
Of how this epic love story finally prevails."

They finish up with one last verse.

"So, now we're all here, about seven or eight,
To celebrate the union of these two soulmates,
So, please, raise your glasses, and help us say cheers
To Teej and Spin; to many happy years."

They get a standing ovation. Vince has to settle them down before he can finish up. He lifts a glass.

"In all seriousness, on behalf of all of us we just want to say congratulations," he says to us. "You two are amazing friends to all of us and we're so excited to see you guys finally get married." He winks to the crowd. "This has been a long time coming. So, to the happy couple!"

Vince comes back over to the table to give us each a hug and Spin takes the microphone from him. We agreed that she would give a few words of thanks tonight and I'd say the big thank you tomorrow. She keeps it short and sweet, not one for gushing.

"TJ and I want to say thank you for coming out tonight and joining us. I know there's much more exciting things you can be doing on a Friday night besides coming to this, though the rap was an unexpected surprise," she says, smiling at our table. "But, instead, you're here with us as we get ready to get married tomorrow. We're really thankful to have such wonderful friends and family, and I personally would like to thank the Detweilers in particular for hosting tonight and for your kind words, not just tonight, but for years."

She smiles at my parents and sister and veers a little off script, turning to the crowd.

"When I was thirteen I got into this massive teenage argument with my mother, which in hindsight was probably about absolutely nothing important." She pauses while everyone chuckles, knowing Spin and her mom all too well. "But I ran down the street fuming. TJ wasn't even home, but I was welcomed into the house and I begged to be adopted. I got nothing but some laughs and a call went to my mom to tell her where I was, but–" she turns back to my parents and sister "–now I'm less than twenty-four hours away from being able to officially say that I'm part of your family. So, thank you for raising the love of my life and welcoming me with nothing but open arms, even when I was a bratty teenager. You guys are the best."

My mother is crying. She and Spin have always gotten along well. When we stop to hug Becky, I can hear her tell Spin that our mother had lots of practice with bratty teenage girls. They share a laugh, nothing anyone could have foreseen when we were younger and Becky was a bratty teenager herself.

With the toasting over for the night, we're back to mingling with our families, taking these last few moments to make the rounds and thanking everyone without the pressure of tomorrow on us yet. By the time we leave, it's already after nine and with the big day ahead I know I won't be able to spend too much time with Spin before we have to go to bed.

We all head up to the honeymoon suite when we arrive back to the hotel. We checked it out earlier while the girls were stuck in traffic, so we already know what to expect, but it's still a shock when we walk in. It's a huge room, the size of a small apartment. The door opens into a front living area with a couch and two armchairs. In the bay window along the wall, they have a table with two chairs. The living area opens up into the bedroom area, with a king bed and a large closet, and from there you walk into a large bath area with fancy tub, a shower, two vanity areas. It's massive. But, it's great when we try to get ten people in the room at the same time. All the girls sit together on the couch, Mikey taking one armchair while the other guys sit on the floor with their backs against the television console. Spin and I sit in the other chair, Spin on my lap with her head on my shoulder. I play with the hem of the white lace dress she wore to the rehearsal. I thought her mother was going to have a heart attack when she covered it with her leather jacket midway through, complaining that she was cold.

I can't focus on anything but her. She's so beautiful and finally having her in my arms is making my body crazy.

She presses her face into my neck as our friends talk around us. She's tired and they have to be awake a lot earlier than we do tomorrow so I know I can't stay too much longer. But I savor these last moments as the girls start moving and the guys begin to follow them. The rest of our rooms are right down the hallway from the suite and it already feels weird to know I'll be so close but so far.

Tonight, I'm rooming with Vince. We decided to book hotel rooms rather than stay with our parents solely for the reason that we didn't want to feel like we were having a giant sleepover. That, and Spin and I aren't leaving for our honeymoon until Sunday night and neither of us really wanted to spend out first night married under either of our parents' roofs. This way all ten of us are in the same place too, which makes coordination easier, and we're doing a brunch on Sunday for anyone whose staying at the hotel from out-of-town and our families, so it just made sense to be here.

But, tonight, per tradition, we can't stay together, so Gretchen is taking my side of the bed and I'm taking the full in the room she's sharing with Vince. I think she got the better end of the bargain tonight.

I wrap my arms around Spin after we stand, not wanting to let go. As we're kissing goodbye, I realize that this is our last kiss before we're married. I smile into the kiss and when we pull apart I rest my head on her forehead. She smiles up at me.

"The next time I see you, you're going to be walking down the aisle," I say.

Her eyes light up, sparkling with excitement. "I'm going to be your wife."

"I'm going to be your husband." I press a kiss to her temple. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I'll see you at the church."

"Going to the chapel and we're...gonna get ma-a-a-ried," I sing, and she rolls her eyes at me, slapping her hand on my chest.

"Oh my God, you're absurd," she teases. But I just wink at her and blow her a kiss, never turning around until the door shuts, separating us.

...

Notes

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air originally aired in the early to mid 1990s, though reruns continued into the 2000s/2010s.

There is a town called Bentonville in Northwest Arkansas, though I just liked the name and the location of where the town is for this fic, I'm not actually basing any descriptions of where they live/grew up on the actual Bentonville.

TJ mentions that he's starting at GW for law school - that's George Washington University in Washington, DC.

"Going to the chapel and we're...gonna get ma-a-a-ried" is from the song "Chapel of Love" by The Dixie Cups.

The chapters will alternate in point of view between TJ and Spinelli. My goal is to post the chapters every day/every other day over the next five to ten days.

Next up, we'll see Spinelli getting ready to go to the ceremony. Thanks for reading!