Author's Note: Most of these chapters will be based on printed media, but in most of these media Aurora is the protagonist. However, rest assured that Phillip will have his moments and even a chapter or two with him as the protagonist.
When they returned to the castle and annouced the news, the entire kingdom set off to prepare for the wedding. Phillip made sure Samson took a bath... after promising him some carrots, and Aurora letting Mirette bathe besides him. King Hubert & King Stefan busied themselves with tasting the delicacies to be served at the feast.
Prince Phillip busied himself by choosing his best formal wear for the wedding. Princess Aurora, meanwhile, was celebrating with her mother, Queen Leah, and the three good fairies – Flora, Fauna & Merryweather.
"I couldn't be more delighted that my daughter is home and getting married." The Queen annouced, pouring her beloved daughter a cup of milk tea.
"We're so happy for you, Rose." Fauna said happily. They still called her by her old nickname, Briar Rose, out of habit, and she still loved that nickname. Aurora was very glad that both Phillip and her mother approved of the nickname and used it from time to time.
"I'll leave you now, Aurora, so you can make all the royal decisions for your wedding. Good luck!" Queen Leah said.
"Thank you, Mother." She said, hugging her mother goodbye. As soon as the Queen exited, the dressmakers burst in with many dresses and gowns of various colors and styles. Aurora was spoilt for choice. "They're all so lovely... how on earth will I choose?"
Choosing the table settings were even more confusing. "Ugh... I just can't choose. Maybe...Nope, this won't do. I can't be a princess like this." She said, discouraged.
"Maybe I'm not ready to be a princess."
"Oh, fiddlesticks and nonsense. You'll be the finest princess this kingdom has ever seen." Merryweather encouraged her, but Aurora still wasn't certain.
After a mentally torturous two hours of selecting the table settings, she was back to selecting her dress when Prince Phillip walked in.
"Would you get to go for a walk to get away from the wedding planning a little while?"
Aurora's eyes lit up with delight. "Oh, that's a splendid idea!" Laughing along with Phillip, she gently placed her hand in his and exited the hall.
They both strolled together with their hands joined in each other's. "I'm not sure I know how to act like a princess! I can't even choose a dress! The gowns the dressmakers brought aren't what I imagined." She said, looking downcast.
Phillip cupped her chin to face him, gazing at her with the tenderest love. "My dear, you will be a wonderful princess. I also was as inept when I first started out this sort of thing as a prince. If you're worried, I know someone who can help."
Prince Phillip went off to find Queen Leah, who had been like a surrogate mother to him since he was a child after his own mother had passed away. It was also a contributing factor why Queen Leah supported Phillip & Aurora's marriage so much.
"You see, your Majesty – I mean, Leah," he corrected himself after she gave him a significant look. "I think she would appreciate some help – some reassurance from you, her mother." Leah and the three good fairies smiled. Phillip was indeed the perfect husband for their Briar Rose.
All together, they lead the Queen to Aurora.
"My dear Aurora, I understand that you are worried, but being a Princess isn't about what you do, fundamentally. Rather, it's about your character – that you are honest, compassionate, intelligent and kind. And there's no doubt that you are all those things. Once you have the right heart, everything will fall into place naturally." Queen Leah said kindly, placing her hand on her daughter's shoulder comfortingly.
"Oh, thank you, Mother!" Aurora exclaimed as she smiled and hugged her mother joyfully. "I just had an idea about a wedding dress. Could I wear yours, please?"
The Queen smiled. "I married your father in a simple but beautiful gown. I think it will fit you perfectly." And it did, when Aurora later tried it on.
On the day of the wedding, a week later, the entire kingdom celebrated with unprecedented fervor. Prince Phillip, clad in his finest formal wear, smiled as he saw his future bride walk down the aisle, accompanied by her father King Stefan. He beamed at her, and she smiled radiantly back. She looked every bit a princess in her mother's white wedding dress, and was beginning to feel like one, too.
King Stefan choked as he approached the altar with his daughter. "My dear Aurora, all safe and grown up and married already." He gazed down at his daughter with a mixture of joy & sorrow. "I couldn't have had a better princess as a daughter."
"Thank you, Father." Aurora smiled tenderly as she clasped her father's hand comfortingly, before letting go to join Phillip. Stefan went to join his wife and King Hubert.
The soon-to-be couple stood in front of the minister.
"Aurora," Phillip began, gazing into her eyes. "When I first saw you, you were only an infant, and I was only 4 and a half years old. My father and I came to your christening, and it was there our bethrothal was annouced. Admittedly, I was less than impressed, thinking, "This is who I'll be marrying? A baby?" Laughter rang throughout the entire hall, including from Aurora. Phillip chuckled and continued.
"I never saw you again for sixteen years, because of the curse Maleficent put on you, and you were forced to go into hiding with your three aunts. And then, sixteen years later, I met you, drawn by your beautiful singing. I had no idea you were the princess I was bethrothed to, but when I saw you, I knew you were the one for me, once upon a dream. It didn't matter that you were a peasant girl... no princess could ever be as beautiful and kind and caring as you, and I was prepared to defy my father's wishes in order to marry you." King Hubert laughed and nodded, remembering the time Phillip had told him about that 'peasant girl'. He thought he would die from a heart attack.
"As it turned out, though, I didn't need to. You were my bethrothed all along, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I, Prince Phillip, take Princess Aurora to be my dearly beloved wife." Aurora cried tears of joy as Phillip finished firmly, and the hall also erupted into applause. It was her turn to give her speech.
"Phillip, throughout my entire life, I have always wanted to find my dream prince, my one true love. I do not know why, but I did. And so it was, when I met you in the forest, I knew you were my dream prince, once upon a dream. I had been warned by my aunts not to ever talk to strangers, but I couldn't help it when I spoke to you and danced with you. When I learned I was a princess, and that I had been bethrothed to someone else and could never see you again, I was heartbroken. It didn't matter that I should feel thrilled that I was royalty... I would give that all up just to be with you. Even when Maleficent put me to sleep, all I could dream about was you. And then, I was overjoyed to find that my one true love and my bethrothed were one and the same, and I wouldn't have it any other way either. I, Princess Aurora, take Prince Phillip to be my dearly beloved husband."
Their speeches finished, the minister declared proudly, "You may now kiss the bride."
Phillip wrapped his arms lovingly around Aurora's waist as she gently but firmly grasped his broad shoulders with her delicate hands. They sealed the marriage with a heated kiss that poured all of their undying love into it, from now until death do them apart.
Queen Leah surreptitiously wiped a tear with her handkerchief, and the hall erupted into applause again.
After the ceremony, the couple greeted all the guests at the reception, and fed each other pieces of the magnificent wedding cake. Then, when the ball started, Phillip and Aurora danced happily with each other, never taking their eyes off one another. It was all just perfect.
At the end of the wedding, as Phillip and Aurora drove off for their honeymoon in a carriage pulled by both Samson and Mirette, Aurora reflected that the wedding was exactly as she had imagined... once upon a dream.