Here it is, finally! The big day! Thank you very much to my awesome reviewers, Jo, Hollie, Aileen and Meg, you guys rock! Anyway, on to the wedding :D
Everyone turned around as they saw Jess walking down the aisle. She could see all her colleagues and friends smiling at her encouragingly, and then she looked to the altar where Callum was standing. His mouth was open in shock, and as he saw her looking at him, a blinding smile appeared on his face, mirroring hers. Beth and Sally reached the altar and stood to the side, Sally taking Jess' bouquet as Robert gently kissed Jess' hand and placed it into Callum's firm grasp. Callum leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Jess' lips.
"You look even better than I could ever imagine." he whispered to her.
"You look pretty yummy yourself." Jess replied cheekily.
The priest smiled at them, and said to their friends and family, " Good afternoon everyone. Today we are here to celebrate the wedding of Callum Stone to Jessica Grace Hunter. Now, we shall begin."
"Callum, if you could take both of Jessica's hands in your own. Could the best man bring the rings up please?" The priest nodded at Smithy, who got up and passed the delicate white wedding band, which had a small diamond at the centre, to Callum.
"When you're ready, you can say your vows." The priest smiled encouragingly at Callum, who nervously cleared his throat and looked into Jess' beautiful green eyes.
"I, Callum Stone, take you, Jessica Grace Hunter, to be my lawful wedded wife. From the moment I met you, I knew that I wanted, no I needed, to love you and protect you. I waited for you, waited until you were ready, and when you were, I couldn't believe that someone as beautiful, tender, funny and compassionate would want me, the gruff sergeant. But you did, and here we are today, showing everyone our love. I couldn't and will never love anyone as much as I love you. You are my best friend, my present and my future, and we will never be separated. Words can't describe my love for you, so I give you this ring as a sign of my everlasting love to you." Callum slipped the wedding band onto Jess' finger. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, praying that her voice wouldn't shake when she said her vows.
"Thank you Callum. Now Jessica, it is your turn." Smithy handed Jess Callum's wedding band, a simple white band to match Jess'.
"I, Jessica Grace Hunter, take you, Callum Stone, to be my lawful wedded husband. Until I met you, there wasn't much love in my life, but as soon as I met you, I knew that you would be a special man in my life. And I wasn't wrong. You loved me when I didn't think anyone could, you cared for me when I was at my worst, you encouraged me when I didn't feel like doing anything, and most of all, you saved me. Without you I wouldn't be here, we wouldn't be here, our baby wouldn't be here. So with this ring, I commit myself to you for eternity. I love you, and will continue loving you, long after death." Jess' voice shook slightly as she said the last bit, but she smiled at Callum as she slid the ring onto his finger. They grinned at each other and turned to face the priest.
"That was beautiful. Thank you to both of you. Now, for the part you have been waiting for. I now pronounce you, husband and wife. Callum, you may kiss your new bride." The priest clapped a long with everyone else as Jess stood up on her tiptoes to reach Callum. Callum closed the gap between him and his new wife, then kissed her with as much love as he had in them.
Everyone stood up clapping and headed towards the front of the church where they would throw confetti over the newlyweds. The song "Everything I do, I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams was playing on the way out. The congregation slowly made their way out of the Church. Nate took Sally's hand firmly in his as they walked out, followed by Beth and Carly, then Will and Smithy, and finally Michelle and Robert. Before they walked out, Michelle turned a blew a kiss at her daughter. Jess laid her head on Callum's chest, watching everyone walk out.
"We did it! We really did it! I'm now Jessica Stone." Jess said excitedly.
"I can't believe it. God I love you so much! And I can't believe how beautiful you look. I really don't deserve you." Callum said, taking Jess' hand as they walked back up the aisle towards the Church doors.
"Of course you do. We were meant to be, you can't argue with fate." Jess said with a smile.
"No, you're right, we can't. Right, lets go get covered in confetti." Callum said, kissing his wife as they walked through the doors.
Everyone broke into applause as Will shouted, "The new Mr and Mrs Stone!"
Two hours later, after the many photographs and congratulations, everyone had finally made their way to Bexley Manor which was where the reception was being held. The hall which had been booked was covered in beautiful vibrant flowers, and each table had a big champagne glass filled with tumbling flowers. Dotted on the tables were candles placed in jewel coloured glasses, casting the room in different vibrant colours. A big DJ booth stood at one end of the hall, with a karaoke machine set up next to it. At the end of the hall, as promised to Andy by Jess and Callum, some French doors opened up onto a grand patio, and down some steps was a little gravel path which led round the grounds. All the bushes had little fairy lights in them, which twinkled against the darkening sky. As everyone trooped into the hall, they all remarked how beautiful it was, and how romantic the wedding was. By the time Jess and Callum arrived at the reception, everyone had already taken advantage of the free bar.
Three hours later, everyone had eaten their meals and were loosening their waistbands and chatting happily. People were coming up to the top table to congratulate the couple, giving them cards and taking pictures with them to put into a book to mark the big day and who was there. Then it was time for the speeches. Jess was a bit wary of what Will would say, as knowing him it would either be highly embarrassing or...actually, just highly embarrassing. Only Will and Smithy were to do speeches, as Callum and Jess wanted to get on to the dancing and karaoke, and knew that the speeches were normally seen as the boring bit. Smithy cleared his throat and tapped his knife against the side of his glass. Slowly the room started to quieten down, and everyone turned to the top table expectantly. Smithy stood up, and smiled at the room.
"Evening everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Smithy, Callum's best man. I've known Callum for about three years now, and I can safely say that we did not get on at all when he started. We both had big egos, and different ways of managing our team, so we certainly clashed a few times. Callum was the gruff sergeant, the one who didn't seem to care, but he did deep down...and I mean really deep down. When Jess first started working at the station, over 15 months ago now, that began to change. Callum started to let down the gruff sergeant act he had going on, and started to become fun to work with, actually having a laugh with his officers. No-one could figure out why Callum had suddenly changed, but after a few months it evidently became clear that Jess was the reason for his new personality. Jess, on behalf of all your colleagues, I'd like to thank you for making Callum a pleasant man to work with." Smithy paused as everyone started laughing, and from across the room someone shouted, "Hear, hear!". Smithy continued, "Honestly though, Callum has become a completely different man to the one who he was when he started, and that is all down to you Jess. Now, I'd like you to join me in toasting the newly-weds. To Jess and Callum!" As Smithy raised his glass, everyone joined him, clapping as they did so. When all the clapping died down, it was Will's turn.
"Hello to you all. I'm Jess' best man, weird I know, but what Jess wants Jess gets. Like Smithy, I've known Callum for three years, and Jess for a year and a bit. When I first met Jess, she wasn't the confidant, funny woman she is today. She had a rough time of it, but when her and Callum started to date, things started looking up. That was also thanks to my charm, naturally." Will smiled as the audience laughed. "And now look at them, married with a baby already on the way. I think you did it backwards, aren't you supposed to get married, then get pregnant on the honeymoon? But this couple isn't the most conventional I know, but that is who they are. I just have one question for you though. Many people say that your wedding day is the best day of your life, so is it all downhill for them from here?" Jess smacked Will playfully as he sat down, raising his glass from his seat in a toast.
Callum then stood up, "I haven't got a lot to say, just thank you for coming here today and supporting us, it means a lot. Now, I hope you enjoy the free bar, and of course the karaoke that will no doubt be in demand later. Now, me and Jess are going to take to the floor for our first dance. Everyone is welcome to join us." Callum offered a hand to Jess and said, "Care to dance, Mrs Stone?"
"Why I don't mind if I do Mr Stone."
Callum led Jess to the middle of the dancefloor. He placed one hand on the small of her back, and took the other in his hand, his wedding ring glinting in the light. As the song, which was "Amazed" by Lonestar, they slowly rotated on the spot, then Callum twirled Jess round the dance floor. He scooped her up into his arms at the end of the song, kissing her passionately as he slowly spun round.. Everyone started to wolf whistle, and when they finally surfaced for air, Callum gently placing Jess back on her feet, Callum said, "Who can blame me? I just got married!"
With that everyone cheered and joined them on the dance floor. Jess danced with her father while Callum danced with Michelle, and Nate and Sally danced together as well, looking completely loved up, they had obviously sorted through their problems. As Jess looked around at everyone and saw Nate and Sally, she thought that it wouldn't be long until it was them having their first dance.
Andy pulled Alyssa away from all his sisters friends and slowly led her out to the now dark patio. The moon was high in the sky and the stars twinkled above them. The fairy lights in the bushes and trees created a romantic atmosphere, almost ethereal, it was exactly as Jess and Callum said it would be. Andy walked over to a bench, and Alyssa came and sat next to him. He smiled at her, trying to memorize her perfect face, her big expressive eyes, the way her mouth turned up at the corners slightly as if she was always smiling. She shivered, and Andy shrugged out of his jacket and placed it round her shoulders. She smiled gratefully and placed her head on his shoulder.
"I don't want to place any pressure on you or anything, but I really, really like you. So I was wondering, if you wanted to of course, if you might wanna go out with me. You know, like officially. I know we haven't known each other long, but I feel like this is for real..." he was about to carry on when Alyssa placed her finger on his lips.
"You babble when you're nervous. You shouldn't be nervous, I would love for us to make this official. I'm so happy that you invited me to this wedding. I never thought I'd get a chance with you, and look at us now." Alyssa bit her lip, waiting for Andy to say something.
"You're cute when you do that." And then he smothered her lips with his own.
As the time approached midnight, most people were drunk, except for Jess and Callum of course. Nate and Sally had already gone to their room, Will was belting out "Sex Bomb" on the karaoke, trying to impress an old friend of Jess', and Beth and Carly were showing everyone their moves. Callum returned from the bar with a drink, and led Jess outside into the cool night. They went and sat on the bench which Andy and Alyssa had been sitting on a few hours earlier. They had a sip of their drinks, and then Jess burst into tears. Alarmed, Callum pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back.
"Hey, shhh its ok. What's the matter?" he asked, pulling her away from him so he could see her face.
Jess sniffled and wiped her eyes. "I don't know. I think I'm just a bit over-emotional at the minute. This wedding has been the most fantastic wedding ever, better than I thought it would be. I'm just so blessed to have found you, to have you love me, and to be able to spend the rest of my life with you. God, I hate coming out with all the lovey dovey crap which sounds like it should be in those sentimental cards, but its how I feel. I never felt like this on my wedding day with Dan. He spent most of it talking to his smart university friends while I sat with my mum and a few friends, just drinking. But this, this is perfect. It really is a dream come true." Jess smiled at Callum.
Callum took Jess' face in her hands and kissed her, if Jess had been standing up she would have swooned. "I rather like the lovey dovey crap if you don't mind. Wow, who would have thought that I would say something like that." Callum said with a laugh.
Jess laughed as well, but then stopped. "The only thing with dreams which come true is that sooner or later they go wrong. What if Dan comes back? What if there's something wrong with the baby? What if we drift apart?" Jess asked worriedly.
"Jess, please stop with the what ifs. Things aren't going to go wrong. Dan won't be out of jail for a long time yet. We can move away if you really want. The baby will be beautiful liker her mum, and strong like the both of us. And we'll never drift apart, I won't let it. So please stop worrying. Lets enjoy our drink, and then go and enjoy the rest of our wedding, and gather some good blackmail material from our drunken friends for future reference." Callum said with a twinkle in his eye.
They sipped their drinks slowly, and then they could hear the opening notes of "Kiss From a Rose" by Seal. Callum took Jess' glass out of her hand and placed it on the ground next to his own drink. He looked into her eyes which were sparkling with love, with happiness, and with contentment. He took her left hand in his, looking at the new ring on her finger, and gently kissed it. Then he pulled her slowly to her feet, and brought her close to him so that she was tucked under his chin, fitting perfectly even with a six month baby bump trying to get between them. They slowly spun round the patio, the fairy lights lighting them up in soft shades. Callum kissed the top of Jess' head, taking in the smell of her, the feel of her tucked into his body, the sound of her breathing. It was his, no-one else's. They would be together forever, he just knew it.
As the song ended, Jess took Callum's hand and they walked back into the reception hall, just in time to see Beth being led by someone who suspiciously looked like Max Carter out of the hall towards where all the bedrooms were, where Beth had a room booked.
"Do you think they're gonna...?" Jess began to ask, looking to where her friend had now stopped to take off her heels, and then start to stumble blindly after Max.
"No, he wouldn't, she wouldn't, would they?" Callum asked, a surprised look on his face.
"Well not normally no, but you Beth likes the jerks, and they've both had a lot to drink, so, yes is the answer I think. They are going to regret it so much in the morning." Jess said, with a giggle.
"That's their problem, not ours. Are you all ready for our honeymoon tomorrow?" Callum asked her.
"Oui. It's going to be so beautiful, and so romantic! I can't wait." Jess said with a big smile.
"Ah, been learning your French have we? See if you can work this out." Callum spun Jess round so that she was facing him. "Je t'aime du fond de mon coeur."
Jess looked at him questioningly. Callum laughed and said, "It means, I love you from the bottom of my heart."
Jess' face lit up. "That's beautiful! When did you learn French?"
"I learnt it a while ago so that I could use it on my new wife." Callum said, a twinkle of laughter in his eye.
"Wow, I have to get used to the whole wife thing." Jess said, examining her wedding ring.
"And I bet that as soon as you get used to being a wife the baby will come along, and then you'll have to get used to being a mum as well. But you'll be able to do it, you're amazing after all." Callum said, whispering in her ear.
"You really need to stop seducing me by complimenting me, my head will get really big and then there'll be no action for you." Jess teased.
"Well you should get used to compliments, cause they're not gonna stop anytime soon." Callum said, leading Jess back to the dance floor.