Chapter 3-The wedding planner

"Have you thought about the wedding details yet?" Bridgette asked, cutting her pancake.

"Well, I talked to Trent and we agreed on some things." Gwen replied. "First of all, we'll keep it simple, no super fancy stuff."

"Why, girl? I think you should definitely go all out." Leshawna said between bites. "You only get married once. Well, unless you're my aunt Sheena who's on hubby number five at the moment."

"I want something simple, traditional, and memorable. And so does Trent." Gwen added, poking the yolk of her fried egg with her fork.

"Either way, I think you should hire a wedding planner." Bridgette affirmed. "My best friend contacted one before her wedding, and she did an amazing job. I swear, it was a fairytale wedding."

"A fairytale?" Leshawna laughed. "Sounds cheesier than a quattro formaggi pizza."

"She had a long white dress and a tiara, and arrived at the ceremony in a carriage. Then she and her husband said their vows surrounded by white doves. It was wonderful!" Bridgette said wistfully.

"A fairytale wedding…" Gwen murmured, trying to picture how she would fit in such a scenario.

"I agree with Bridge's idea. Except for the doves, that'd be too much for me." Leshawna added. "But I'm sure your wedding planner can arrange a simple wedding for you."

"Just hurry up and find a good wedding planner before they're all booked!" Bridgette said.

Gwen nodded, and made a mental note to tell Trent about the idea.


"You know, a wedding doesn't plan by itself. Do you have at least a general idea about the organisation?" Noah asked Trent.

Trent put down his half-empty glass of ice tea, and shrugged.

"Gwen and I talked about general ideas for the wedding, but didn't go into details. She wants to design the invitations, and I can easily book a live band. The rest should be manageable."

"Duuuude, you should totally get a singer like in The Wedding Singer! I love that movie!" Cody exclaimed, his speech slightly slurred.

"Cody, are you okay?" Trent asked a bit worried.

"Dude, I'm cool. I'm feeling awesome. Super awesome!" Cody replied, a huge grin spread across his face.

Noah sighed heavily, and Trent turned towards him.

"Trent, he obviously can't have a normal conversation with us right now." Noah said as he arranged the empty glasses from Cody's side of the table.

"Oh geez, I got so caught up in our conversation I didn't realise how many drinks he had." Trent admitted, glancing at Cody who was staring at his phone and giggling.

"Well, let's count. He had a gin tonic, a Long Island Ice Tea and three mojitos. And it's barely noon!" Noah said.

"Okay, so I guess asking him for suggestions about the wedding would be useless right now." Trent said before finishing his ice tea.

"I'd be more concerned about what we're going to do with him for the rest of the day. But yeah, back to your wedding planning. Trent, even though you have the best intentions, I'm not convinced that you can plan a wedding by yourself. Seriously, how much do you know about weddings?" Noah asked, earning an honest shrug from his friend. "My point exactly. And I don't think Gwen has too much experience in this field either. So here's what I suggest. Why don't you hire a wedding planner?"

"A wedding planner?" Trent echoed thoughtfully.

"Hah, these memes are hilarious." Cody chuckled.

"Yes," Noah continued, electing to ignore drunk Cody who decided to rest his head on the table. "A wedding planner is paid to think about every detail and struggle to attain perfection. This way you and the bride to-be can relax and avoid all the unnecessary stress."

"You're a genius, man!" Trent said excitedly.

"I've been told before." Noah replied proudly.

"But if he's a genius, what am I?" Cody asked, raising his head from the table.

"You're drunk. Go back to sleep!" Noah replied, pushing his head back on the table.

"I can't wait to tell Gwen about this idea!" Trent said, glancing at his watch. "I'd better head off, I need to be at work this afternoon."

Trent rose from his seat and left a $20 bill on the table.

"I'll see you guys soon." He said with a smile.

"Hey, what am I supposed to do with him?" Noah asked irritated, pointing at Cody.

"You'll figure something out. You're a genius, aren't you?" Trent shouted before leaving the bar.

Noah looked at his drunk friend, who had fallen asleep and was mumbling something about cheese.

"There's no way I'm taking care of this intoxicated piece of meat. I'm a book critic, not a nanny!" Noah complained, but there was nobody around anymore to listen to him.


That evening, after Trent finished his work at the studio, he came back to his and Gwen's apartment with Chinese takeaway. As they were eating their dinner on the living room floor, the couple discussed the idea of hiring a wedding planner, and agreed on giving it a try.

"So where do we start our research?" Gwen asked, neatly folding the empty takeaway boxes.

"Well I bought some bridal magazines on my way home. I figured it would be best to consult themed resources."

Gwen scowled, making Trent feel confused.

"Did I say something wrong?" He asked.

"No, but...Ugh, I hate glossy magazines in general, and now you want me to look through one." She muttered.

"Several." He corrected as he walked towards their small hallway to bring back a stack of magazines.

"Even worse!" Gwen whined.

When Trent returned to the living room, Gwen groaned dramatically, but he just shook his head and stacked the magazines on the carpet. Then, he sat down, and leaned to softly kiss her on the forehead. She wanted to pout, but couldn't contain her grin.

"The things I do for you..." She mumbled.

"I know, I know." Trent chuckled, then slowly pushed a few magazines closer to Gwen's hand. Without breaking eye contact, she reluctantly grabbed an issue. Only after Trent pulled back from her personal space did she finally give in to reading it.

"Oh God, how did they manage to fit in so much vanity between these pages?" She asked, but Trent didn't humour her.

"Keep looking, honey. Maybe you'll eventually like it." He said, not looking up from the magazine he was flicking through.

Gwen glared at him, but gave up after seeing she wasn't getting any attention. She turned pages that analysed handbags, until something caught her eye.

"Oh, I found something." She said pointing at an ad in the corner of the page. "If you want a truly memorable wedding, don't settle for anything less than excellence. Our agency can offer you a dream wedding with minimal effort on your behalf. With an award-winning wedding planner in charge, every detail of your special day is guaranteed to be perfect."

"I didn't realise wedding planners got awards." Trent said. "Sounds really promising."

"Hmm, I guess we could give it a try. I'm not really in the mood to waste more time searching for alternatives." Gwen commented. And to emphasise her point, she picked up the magazine from one corner and dangled it around as if it were a smelly fish.

"I get it, I get it." Trent said, as he took the magazine from her hand, and placed it neatly on top of the others. "How about we visit this agency first thing in the morning?"

"Sounds like a plan. But can we please go to bed now?" Gwen pleaded.

Trent smiled, got up, then extended his arm to pull her up from the floor.

"How could I ever refuse an invitation to go to bed?" He grinned.

She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer, then buried her nose in the crook of his neck. She stayed like that for a bit, not saying anything, a sign Trent learned to interpret as her being tired. He stroked her hair gently, until she looked up at him. There was a trace of concern in her eyes.

"You won't regret this, will you?" she asked, her voice slightly shaky. "Marrying me, I mean."

Trent's brow furrowed.

"Of course not! Why would you think that?"

Gwen lowered her gaze, and shrugged. Trent gently kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, okay? And I'm absolutely certain that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So enough with these unnecessary worries, okay?"

"Okay." She replied, smiling against the soft fabric of Trent's shirt.


The next morning, Gwen and Trent arrived at the address featured the ad. The building was large, painted white, and in a style that Gwen recognised as being Victorian. Trent simply agreed that it looked nice. The interior was decorated in a minimalist way using neutral colours, yet all the pieces of furniture had been tastefully chosen. A soft piano tune was playing in the background.

"Welcome to Dreams in white!" A young woman greeted them. She was wearing a light pink dress, and her brown hair was pinned up. "Please take a seat. Our wedding planner will see you in a few minutes."

The couple sat on a long peach-coloured sofa.

"This place looks really nice." Gwen said while looking around.

"I hope the services are as impeccable as their reception." Trent commented, as he watched the receptionist arrange fresh flowers in the vase on her desk.

There was a chime coming from a device on her desk, so she put the flowers aside, and turned to Gwen and Trent.

"The wedding planner will see you now. Please follow me!"

The two were guided into a large office with white walls, lots of vases containing pink and white flowers, white curtains, and wooden furniture.

"They sure like the colour white." Trent whispered to his fiance, but Gwen was too busy staring at the woman standing behind the desk and looking out the window. She was tall, with dark hair reaching her mid-back, and was wearing a beige dress. There was something about her that Gwen found disturbingly familiar.

When she heard them come in, she turned around with a million dollar smile prepared to greet them. But her smile faded once she recognised the pair. Trent gasped, and Gwen clenched her fists, uttering a single word: "Heather!"


Edited 2016