YAY! Bella gets the ultimate wedding she deserves!!
BPOV
June 20th
"BELLA? You're still in bed? It's 8 in the morning, for crying out loud! And you're getting married today!"
I felt the covers being tugged off of me and groaned as my future sister-in-law ran about my room barking orders at me. She had spent the night so she would be able to get me up and ready in the morning. At least she's an efficient maid of honor.
"The wedding isn't until 5 o'clock," I explained, emphasizing each word very slowly in my tired state. "Please let me sleep a little longer?"
"Absolutely not! I am not going to have you being a lazy-ass all day! The sooner you get up, the sooner we can start preparations and you won't look like a tired, old hag!"
Man, but she has a way with words, "You really know how to make a person feel motivated, Al."
"Get. Up," she said one last time as I threw my legs over the side of the bed and slid to the floor.
I guess Alice really does have her work cut out for her today—I certainly don't feel pretty. And this is the day when I'm supposed to feel my most beautiful, right? I passed the mirror on my closet door and grimaced—I look just like I feel, too.
Alice grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me into the bathroom where she had filled the tub with what looked like flower petals. It smelled divine, so I had no problem stepping in and soaking for a few minutes.
"I put some lavender scented bath salts that should relax all your muscles," she explained as she brought in a whole suitcase full of makeup. "No need to feel tense on your wedding day, right?"
"Um-Hm," I agreed as I let the warm water caress all my soreness away.
"You know, you seemed to be having some pretty awful dreams last night," she said as she sat on the edge of the tub. "Have you been having a lot of those lately?"
"Kind of," I admitted. "I guess it's just nerves. Every bride gets nervous about her wedding, right?"
"I suppose," she replied as she started rubbing my shoulders. "But all that tossing and turning is making you stressed out. Geez, your shoulders are in knots right now!"
She dug into my upper back so hard, I actually felt a tear come to my eye from the pain. But, it was better to feel some pain now so I'd feel relief later. After I had soaked in the water for a while, Alice had me shower and wash my hair so she could put it all up in rollers.
Once she was done with that, she put a shower cap over my head to hold it all in. I walked around looking like a grandma for the better part of the morning.
Speaking of grandmas, mine showed up around 1 p.m. and made a late lunch for Dad, Alice, Rosalie – who showed up to help with the makeup portion of the day – and me.
After we ate, Grandma took me aside for a talk.
"So, how do you feel?"
"Nervous and excited," I replied.
"That's to be expected," she laughed. "So, what's this hair going to look like when Alice is done with it?"
"Soft waves, I think. Alice said she's going to have my hair half up. And, I have a little head piece to wear over it, so I guess it doesn't matter what it looks like."
"Oh...you have something to wear on your head already?" She asked, her face dropping a bit.
"Grandma, what's wrong?"
She turned to a bag she brought with her and pulled out a very beautiful tiara. It looked antique, and was covered in rhinestones and pearls.
"Oh, Grandma, it's so pretty," I said as she handed it to me.
"This has been passed down through three generations of Swan women," she said. "My mother-in-law gave it for me to wear on my wedding, and since I never had a daughter, I've always wanted you to wear it."
"Really?"
She nodded, "I'm sorry I didn't get it to you sooner, I understand if you don't want to wear it."
"Are you kidding?" I asked incredulously. "That little headpiece I got can stay in the box! I'm wearing this!"
I took the tiara over to where my dress was hanging against my closet door and unzipped the canvas bag. I held the tiara up to the dress—it would look perfect!
"See," I said to Grandma, "I was meant to wear this!"
"Looks that way, doesn't it?" She replied.
Just then, Alice walked in, "Ready to do your hair?"
"Look, Alice," I said, showing her the tiara. "Grandma brought me this. I'm definitely not going with the headpiece, now!"
She took the tiara and smiled, "It's beautiful, Bells. Come on, let's see how it looks on you."
It took Alice a good hour to get my hair done, while Rosalie put on my makeup. By the time they were done, it was almost time to get to the church.
"Oh my God!" I cried as I began grabbing my things and making my way out to the car. "We're going to be late."
Alice and Rosalie, who were both busy doing their own hair and makeup, rolled their eyes at me.
"It only takes ten minutes to get there, Bells," Alice said. "And it's only 3 o'clock now, chill!"
"Hey," I snapped a little harsher than I had intended, "You're not the one getting married today, are you? No, so no one will be telling me to chill today, got it?"
"Got it," Rose and Alice replied.
EPOV
I'm still not sure how and when I got to sleep last night. I just kept thinking about the next day—it was finally here, and yet so very far away.
And I was lost in thoughts of my beautiful bride-to-be. She is my world, my heart, my soul. And these past two weeks without physical intimacy have made me yearn for her like mad. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, I guess.
Although, I wanted to be with her so bad right now that not even taking care of my situation in the shower was going to do anything. It sure as hell didn't last night.
I crawled out of bed around 9 a.m. on the day of my wedding and gazed at my haggard exterior in the mirror. It certainly reflected how I was feeling inside right now. I couldn't tell what was worse—the nerves or the sleep-deprivation.
Probably the nerves.
It's weird, how can I be nervous when I'm marrying the most beautiful woman in the world? That's when it hit me, I'm not nervous about marrying her, I'm nervous because I have this deep-seeded fear that she'll somehow finally see she's too good for me and run away.
The terrible nightmares she's been experiencing haven't been doing much to help my fears.
I showered and went downstairs to find my mother making breakfast for my dad and my two best friends.
"Hello, sweetie," Mom greeted as she dished some scrambled eggs out to Jasper and Emmett. "Look who decided to come over to help you get ready this morning."
I rolled my eyes, "Sure they did. They just came over to get free breakfast from the best cook in Forks."
"True," Jasper admitted, chewing on a piece of bacon.
I sat down for my own breakfast, which Mom promptly got onto my plate. Only, I suddenly felt as if I couldn't eat it—my stomach started to tell me it wasn't prepared to keep any food down at this time.
"Maybe I'll eat later," I said as I stood back up.
"What's wrong, son?" Dad asked over the top of his paper. "Got some pre-wedding jitters?"
"A little," I said, "I don't know why, though."
"It's normal," Dad continued, "I was nervous on my wedding day. It really doesn't mean anything other than you're excited about getting to spend the rest of your life with an amazing woman."
Jasper, Emmett and I stared at my dad in awe as he spoke. He glanced lovingly at my mom, and that helped relieve much of my tension. He was right, I'm just anxious. That's it. I'm more excited than I've ever been in my life.
I went back upstairs and started getting things ready for tonight. I set out my tux and made sure there was nothing wrong with it—no stains or tears I might have missed before today. I even shined my shoes a bit to make sure they looked extra nice.
Then I went back in the bathroom to shave and fix my hair. Just as I took one last stroke of the razor, my dad knocked on the door gently.
"Edward, can I come in?"
"Sure," I said as I splashed some water on my face.
He opened the door and walked in with a small, black jewelry box in his hand. He held it up for me to take without an explanation.
"Hate to break this to you, Dad, but I'm already spoken for," I joked.
He smirked at me, "They're cufflinks. I wore them when I got married, your grandfather gave them to me as a gift. I felt compelled to pass them down."
I took the box, "Thank you, Dad. That's really thoughtful."
"I've been known to be that from time to time," he replied.
I opened the box and revealed a pair of cufflinks shaped like bulldogs. They made me laugh a little.
"Cute," I said.
"They're Dunhill," he said, as if I should know what that meant. "Just to remind us of our British heritage."
"OK," I replied.
I took them into my room and set them on the tux before walking back into the bathroom to put a bit of gel in my hair. Just enough to set it, but not enough so Bella wouldn't be able to run her fingers through it later.
"You look good, son," Dad said as he leaned against the doorframe. "You look happier than I've ever seen you."
I didn't even realize I was smiling until it grew even brighter. Being with Bella seems to do that to me – the whole being unaware of everything else around me thing. Before I knew it, 3:30 rolled around and Jasper, Emmett and I were on our way to the church.
We went directly to the room provided for us to get ready, even though everything inside of me wanted to sneak over to where the girls were. Forget tradition and superstition, I was only interested in being with Bella today. The wedding was more for her, so she could have a day to look even more amazing than usual (if that's possible), be celebrated by her friends and family and dance with her father.
Me? I'd rather go to Vegas and elope. However we make this marriage legal isn't as important to me as being married to Bella. And besides, going to Vegas and staying in a nice, fancy hotel room sounds like the best honeymoon ever.
Well…maybe not the best ever. Bella did decide on a rather awesome destination, I must say. Costa Rica is going to be a lot of fun.
I got into my tux and Dad helped me with the tie. He then showed me how to put the cufflinks on while we waited for the ceremony to begin. Someone knocked on the door and the wedding coordinator stuck her head in to tell us it was time to take our places at the alter.
I took a deep breath and started out the door with Dad, Jasper, Emmett and my two cousins in tow. All of our friends and family were seated and smiling at me as I took my place next to the pastor at the alter. I looked over to the bridal side to see a tiny woman with white hair sitting in a nice, lavender suit. It must be Bella's grandmother – the one she fought so hard with Charlie to bring here today. I was going to have to introduce myself later.
The door at the front of the church opened and the bridesmaids began to walk towards us. When I saw Alice walk into the room, I began to hold my breath. Bella would be next; I've never felt my heart beat so fast in my life.
She appeared and I felt my knees go weak. That dress hugged her beautiful curves and made her appear to float towards me. An angel – that term of endearment has never been more apt than at this moment.
Charlie handed her over to me and I felt goose bumps race up my arm as she touched my hand. She was mine for the rest of our lives. How did this happen?
The pastor went through the typical ritual – to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, etc. I didn't pay much attention, but was still able to say "I do" at the right moment. That was the most important part, after all.
Well, except for kissing my bride. Not too passionately – I didn't want Charlie to have to come break us up by punching me in the jaw; but, I still put quite a bit of eagerness behind it. I wanted to let her know what she had in store when we got to the hotel tonight.
BPOV
At exactly 5 p.m., Dad took me by the hand and led me down to the front of the church. My bridesmaids each gave me a hug before walking down to stand in line at the end of the aisle. When it was Alice's turn, she touched her forehead to mine and nuzzled my nose in lieu of a kiss on the cheek. "Here we go, sister."
I still hadn't looked inside of the room, so it took my breath away a bit to see how Alice and Esme had decorated the place in beautiful lavender cloths and an assortment of flowers – mostly lilies – adorned the ends of the pews and dotted the alter.
But, what had me most in awe was my groom. Edward looked like heaven on earth and I wanted more than anything to run to him. But, I kept my cool and slowly approached him. I felt an electric shock run up my arm when he took my hand. I looked deep into his eyes and got lost there until he leaned forward and gently touched his lips to mine. His tongue traced my lips discreetly, and I was immediately hit with the urge to skip the reception and go straight to the honeymoon suite.
But, I knew I couldn't do that to my friends and family. After all, once we left tomorrow morning for Costa Rica, we wouldn't see anyone again for three weeks. We headed over to the Misty Valley Inn were the reception was held. Edward and I sat in the back of a limo all by ourselves and, as soon as the door closed behind him, I grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled his face close to mine.
I didn't even care if I messed up my makeup; I needed a deeper kiss with him right now.
"Oh man," he moaned against my lips, "I'm been wanting to do this since I woke up this morning."
"Mmmm, been thinking about what you're going to get tonight?"
"Ha!" He laughed, "You have no idea."
We got to the inn and everybody was already there, waiting for the guests of honor to drive up. Alice pulled the door open and gave me an exasperated sigh as she saw what I had done to my perfectly applied lipstick.
"Geez, you two just couldn't keep your hands off each other, could you?"
"Nope," Edward replied as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
Alice took me by the wrist and attempted to drag me away, "Come on, let me fix it."
But, Edward wouldn't budge, "No way! I finally get to be with my wife, and I am not letting her go until that father-daughter dance."
"Edward," Alice whined, "There are still pictures to take, and I wouldn't be much of a maid-of-honor if I let Bella be seen with lipstick all over her face!"
"It can't be that bad," I retorted.
Alice help up a compact and I saw the damage I had done. She was right, there was red stuff smeared all over my face. Alice managed to get me away on her second try.
"And besides," she shot over her shoulder to Edward, "You don't want to walk in there looking like you do, either."
Alice got me to the bathroom and cleaned my face up. She had, thankfully, brought all of the powders and such Rosalie had used on me before. I looked picture perfect in no time.
"Thanks Al," I said. "Now, can I get back to my husband?"
She grinned giddily at me, "Yes…gosh, I can't believe you two are married. It's so amazing."
A little tear rolled down Alice's cheek, but I caught it before it hit her chin. "Don't cry, Al."
"I'm just so happy," she replied as she pulled me in for a hug. "You two are so perfect for each other. And I can't believe I get to have you for a sister in law!"
"You're going to be the best sister ever, Al," I said as we pulled apart.
"Thanks," she laughed. "So, let's go let Edward shove some cake in your face, shall we?"
The reception was actually worth waiting around for. The food was excellent, the toasts were so great – who knew Jasper was funny? – and the best part was the dancing. Edward even asked my grandma to dance – it was too cute. Dad got a bit choked up as we danced to this Paul Simon song I love. I reveled in the moment until I finally had to let him go and dance with my husband again.
I'll never get tired of saying that – my husband. Edward is MY husband! Yes, I'd like you to meet MY husband, Edward Cullen. Um, excuse me, ma'am, could you please quit staring at MY husband? OK, maybe that last one was a stretch.
And I am Mrs. Cullen. These realizations just keep blowing my mind.
As the night began to wind down, Edward and I swayed softly on the dance floor to a sweet, slow song. I took my head off of his shoulder and looked into his eyes again.
"I love you forever, Mr. Cullen."
He chuckled, "I love you longer, Mrs. Cullen."
You know I couldn't let there be any drama on the wedding day! Though, I'm saving the wedding night and honeymoon for the next chapter…I'm just that evil! And, the chapter after that will be the last for this story. I'll, hopefully, start the sequel when I'm done with "While you're busy making other plans…"