The Biltmore Estate was opened to his friends and family by George Vanderbilt in 1895 as a country escape. It sits on 8,000 acres in romantic Asheville, North Carolina and is a thriving winery, environmental conservation, tourist attraction, and wedding venue.
This is where Alice and Jasper were getting married. A black tie affair on the South Terrace, followed by cocktail hour on the Library Terrace, and then dinner in the Stable Loft for 200 guests. I was overwhelmed, and I wasn't the one getting married.
A block of rooms had been booked at The Village Hotel on the estate, and Edward and I immediately took a nap after we checked in. A couple hours later, we're up and dressed and exploring the grounds.
"It's gorgeous here," I murmur as Edward and I walk through a conservatory garden with a miniature railway display. "I can't believe people actually get married here."
"Alice's family is loaded," he says nonchalantly. They'd have to be in order to afford this place. I googled it. We're talking somewhere in the 300 grand range … minimum. Edward and I were aghast. That was the only word for it. We spoke about it on the plane and quietly agreed that whenever the time came, we'd never. We couldn't.
We made our way to the winery and were surprised to find the McCartys, Newtons, Crowleys, and the bride and groom of the weekend in the tasting room.
"Hey, when did you get in?" Lauren asks me as she grabs me in a quick, fierce hug.
Edward and I get passed around as we explain that we got here a few hours ago, but we took a nap and had just been wandering around. "Well, we're getting wine drunk," Alice announces, and everyone looks at her. "What?"
"Babe, you can't really get drunk at a wine tasting," Jasper tells her. Alice juts her bottom lip out, and I would swear that she's about to throw a tantrum, except that she's an adult.
"Sounds like a challenge I'm willing to take on," Alice says as she steps up to the counter.
Jasper sighs and looks on helplessly. "What's going here?" I ask as Alice samples a sparkling wine.
"Apparently, there's a storm coming. But, the weather service isn't calling it, just the locals. Alice thinks it's just superstition or something. I don't even know." He rolls his eyes. "But the planners have no contingency plan if the weather suddenly changes."
"Isn't it good luck if it rains on your wedding day?" Edward asks, and several of us nod.
"Sure." Jasper chuckles dryly. "If your wedding isn't in a garden and you have a tent."
Alice, who is maybe one hundred pounds soaking wet, is easily drunk within forty-five minutes. The girls and I offer to take her back to the room she's sharing with Jasper to get her to bed. Afterall, tomorrow is going to be a big day for her.
"You guys, you guys." Alice is hanging off of Rose and Lauren's shoulders and suspended about a foot off the ground. "I'm getting married tomorrow."
"Well, you won't if we don't get into your room," I tell her, patting her down for her key card.
"Bella, if you wanted to feel me up, you just had to ask." She giggles and hiccups, and I swear the three of us roll our eyes simultaneously.
We manage to get Alice inside, a bottle of water in her, and at least stripped of her shoes and jeans.
When we exit the room, we're all a little sweaty and breathing hard. "I'm waiting another year for kids." Rosalie laughs at Jessica's announcement, and we all make our way back out of the hotel. Finding the men is easy, but I feel for Jasper, who looks worried.
"What're you thinking, Jasper?" I ask as I sidle up to him as he looks out over the gardens.
He sighs. "Everything. It's been a wild few weeks with the Maggie thing." He gives me a sympathetic smile, but I just shrug.
"It's no skin off my back."
"Jacob isn't coming, and I'm disappointed about that," he tells me, and I can understand that. He wants his friends, his brothers there, but Jacob needs to get his head right. "I'm so worried about what's going to happen if there actually is a storm tomorrow."
"Look, all that matters is that by this time tomorrow, you and Alice will be husband and wife."
"It's just a piece of paper." He's quiet, and I laugh.
"If it was just a piece of paper, you two wouldn't be going through all of this." I poke his shoulder. "Look, I'm obviously not the prime example of great relationships, but I can see what you two have; what you've always had. So, take the great with the awful. Get married and screw everything else."
"You're sorta wise, you know that?"
"It's a gift." I say goodnight, and we all part for the evening.
"What were you and Jasper talking about?" Edward asks me as we're getting ready for bed.
"Just imparting my wisdom about love to him," I say as I press a kiss to his lips and crawl under the covers.
Humming, he wraps his arms around me. "Wanna educate me a little?"
We woke to beautiful blue skies and a clear weather forecast, and my little heart sang for the bride and groom as I kept an eye on the forecast during the day until it was time to get dressed for the late afternoon wedding.
As Edward and I make our way to the South Terrace—him in his tux and me in my lace dress—we get looks from visitors to the estate. I keep glancing at the sky, but when Edward tells me to relax, I try. The 200 chairs are set up in perfect rows with beautiful flowers and greenery adorning them, and the aisle is as long as Alice is short.
There's a chill in the air as the sun lowers itself in the sky, and I'm lost in the ambiance, the string quartet, and the moment when Edward nudges me. "They're starting." I look up to see Jasper and his groomsmen lined up at the front and their officiant greeting him.
When the quartet begins a rendition of "Beautiful Crazy", Alice's bridesmaids make their way down the aisle before the bride herself appears on her father's arm. I can see Jasper's eyes widen, even from this distance, and the lyrics to the song drift into my mind.
She's unpredictable, unforgettable
It's unusual, unbelievable
How I'm such a fool
Yeah, I'm such a fool for her
Just as everyone is seated and Alice passes off her bouquet to her maid of honor, we hear the distinct roll of thunder and a nervous murmur ripples through the crowd, and then cackling laughter.
Alice and Jasper are all but doubled over, laughing hysterically. "Better get this show on the road," the officiant says, and everyone laughs.
Just as they're exchanging "I dos" the first fat raindrops fall. Some of the women shriek quietly and try to use their programs to shield themselves against the onslaught. Edward whips off his jacket and throws it over our heads just as the skies open up and the deluge hits.
Several people run off to seek refuge inside while we sit and watch as our friends beam at each other and slip their wedding bands on, drenched to the skin. The officiant presents them, and when they kiss, Jasper dips her so far that they slip and fall to ground. The whole wedding party becomes a slipping, dirty mess while they try to get the newlyweds up.
Edward and I, along with our friends, just laugh. Maybe it is just a piece of paper, maybe it's more. Whatever it really is, no one will forget the Whitlocks' wedding day.