In the blink of an eye, October 31st was upon them. Standing in front of the floor length mirror in the dressing room of the venue they had booked, Olivia felt like a kaleidoscope of butterflies were fluttering around her stomach. For what felt like the thousandth time, she leaned in close to inspect her makeup. Of course it was flawless. Neutral, natural. Everything she had told her makeup artist she had wanted. The white tips of her nails glinted in the light when she raised them to the lacy veil covering her simple, slicked back bun, delicate daffodils embroidered around the edge.
"You look beautiful."
She twisted her head, smiling at Alice. The corset of her white, strapless ball gown trimmed in emerald green was a little tight despite all the modifications it had been through. She would suffer through it, though.
"I suppose it's almost time to go out there."
The light caught the dangling, diamond cross earrings - her something borrowed from Mama Deborah, when she turned her attention back to the mirror. The thin, delicate gold chain around her wrist with a golden daisy was her something new - a wedding day present from her father. Their something old would be their wedding bands and her something blue? That was for Fitz's eyes only.
"I suppose it is."
Twirling around, Olivia took in the sight of her bridesmaids and flower girl. Audrey, her little flower girl, was dressed in a lace and satin ball gown. Her full skirt was black and the lacy top was a brilliant white, complete with a sash around her waist. Isa, Viti, Alice, and Mellie wore one-shoulder, emerald gowns with full skirts. They looked beautiful.
Alice handed Olivia her bouquet, tied with black and green ribbons. The bouquet was untraditional with its white and black roses. The bridesmaids' bouquets would alternate colours, each bouquet chosen with meaning. Viti's orange bouquet of roses symbolised passion while Mellie's red, traditional roses were for love. Isa carried lavender roses for love at first sight and Alice carried peach roses - a subtle way of Olivia showing her thanks both to her stepmother and future husband.
A knock on the door drew their attention. Alice moved quickly to the door, opening it just a crack and peeking out. It had been almost impossible to get Fitz to adhere to not seeing his bride until she walked down the aisle. With relief, Alice opened the door to allow Eli to step into the room, his hands buried in the pockets of his black tux.
"Can I have a moment with Olivia?"
Alice nodded, shooing the girls from the room and following them to the doors of the main hall. Olivia turned to her father, a smile on her lips.
"I can't believe I'm getting ready to walk my baby girl down the aisle," Eli whispered, "Or that I'm getting ready to hand her off to my best friend."
"I can't believe I'm getting ready to marry my best friend," Olivia grinned. She was still nervous. Boy was she nervous. But the closer she got to walking down the aisle, the more the giddy happiness overtook her.
"I'm glad you found someone you love, Liv. I'm happy it's someone I can trust with you, too."
Biting her bottom lip and crossing the room as fast as she could in the cumbersome gown, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for letting us be us, daddy."
Eli cleared his throat, blinking his eyes. He would never let his daughter know just how close he was to crying in front of her. Patting her back and placing a kiss on her cheek, he turned to his side, holding his arm out of her.
"We better not keep Fitz waiting. He'll think you ran off."
"That will never happen."
Laying her hand atop her father's arm, Olivia allowed him to lead her from the room. In the hallway, she watched as Audrey began walking down the aisle, throwing rose petals as she went. Next, her bridesmaids filed down the aisle one after another. Before she knew it, Eli had placed her veil over her face and was leading her down the aisle. She gripped her flowers hard, heart thumping with each step. Fitz stood at the aisle in a classic black tux, his hair as unruly as ever - that one adorable curl wouldn't stay put even for their day.
After Eli had placed her hand on top of Fitz's, he patted the other man's back, whispering in his ear before finding his seat in the front row. Smiling through her tears, Olivia walked with Fitz to the makeshift altar. Dozing in and out throughout the priest's long winded speech, she kept her eyes focused on her groom. When it came time to repeat their vows, she grinned - knowing that they had been tweaked just enough to be unique for them while still holding some of their tradition.
"Do you take Fitzgerald to be your husband,
to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better or for worse,
for richer or for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish until death or zombies do you part?"
Smiling at the light laughing that was going through the ranks of their guests, Olivia, eyes focused on Fitz's, stated:
"I do."
Turning toward Fitz, the priest repeated their vows - asking the same question of him.
"I do."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife."
In one step, Fitz was lifting Olivia's veil, tossing it over her head and dipping her as he placed his lips on hers - sealing the deal.
/
"Did you make sure -"
"It's taken care of, Olivia. Relax and enjoy yourself." Alice patted her stepdaughter's back. Olivia nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. One less thing for her to worry about although with the amount of people at the reception, she was a little hesitant with the catering company's ability to keep Alice's request. Heading back to Fitz's side, she wrapped her hand in his, admiring the way their wedding bands looked together.
"All good now?" He asked, eyes twinkling.
"Yes," she giggled. "I just wanted to talk to Alice for a second."
He nodded, yanking her toward the dance floor. They shared their first dance before she shared one with her father and he one with his mother. He took the opportunity to smother cake over her face when they cut their cake - despite a previous agreement not to do that. The dancing, drinking, and fast-paced evening had them both exhausted by the time they were on their flight to Hawaii.
