The box was nearly empty. The few things that remained were from an event that had happened just two weeks before; their wedding. She didn't have to think back to remember it; she had barely been able to get it out of her head since it happened. The day she had become Mrs. David Gordon had been the best day of her life. However, she did think back upon all the events and planning that led up to the big day.
Lizzie and Gordo had decided not to get married until each had graduated from UCLA. They chose an August afternoon almost exactly 18 months after they had gotten engaged. Because Gordo had been brought up Jewish and she had not, they opted to have a non-traditional ceremony, in the backyard of her parent's house.
After the initial decisions of where and when were made they allowed themselves to slip back into their routine and not spend too much time thinking about the wedding, after all they had 18 months to figure it all out. The rest of their junior year passed quickly and in January of their senior year Lizzie went into serious planning mode. She had asked Miranda, who was majoring in Spanish at the University of Arizona and Kate, who was majoring in drama at New York University, to be her bridesmaids. Gordo had asked Ethan, who had graduated from trade school and was now a successful mechanic and Michael, who was attending the University of Arizona with his girlfriend Miranda and majoring in engineering, to be his groomsmen. Gordo asked Matt and his best friend Brent, from film school, to be ushers.
Kate and Miranda had agreed to meet Lizzie back in Hillridge for a weekend in February to go shopping for her dress as well as the bridesmaid's dresses. The three girls and Jo had no problem deciding on a bridesmaid dress in pink that they all thought was perfect, but Lizzie tried on what seemed liked hundreds of dresses and was not convinced that any of them was 'The Dress.' After trying on and again rejecting some of the dresses that she hadn't thought were too bad Kate made an excellent suggestion. "Lizzie, you are going to school for fashion right? You keep saying what is wrong with all the dresses you've tried on, so why don't you design your own dress?" Lizzie, Jo and Miranda all wore identical expressions; it was the perfect solution. As a fashion major Lizzie did not have to write a thesis to graduate, but she did have to create a design and from that design put together a unique article of clothing. Lizzie would design and assemble her own wedding dress; it was perfect.
Lizzie had finalized the sketches and measurements for her dress by the end of February and in early March she started cutting the fabric and stitching pieces together. She had decided on kind of a 40's glam meets modern sophistication with little bits of Lizzie flair thrown in. Basically it was white, floor length and form fitting. It had the tiniest hint of a train and sheer capped sleeves. There was delicate hand embroidery in light pink along the train and the bodice. And for a little added sparkle and shine, some nearly un-dectable rhinestones dotted amongst the embroidery. She was designing her own veil as well and for that she went with a delicate rhinestone tiara with a layered veil, dotted with more tiny rhinestones that fell to the small of her back.
Lizzie and Gordo returned home many times the spring of their senior year to meet with photographers, florist, bakers and bands with their mothers. While all the decisions were ultimately up to Lizzie and Gordo, Jo and Roberta were helping to cover a lot of the smaller details from home as well as arranging meetings for the couple.
Their senior year came to a close quickly. With tests, papers and projects each was so busy they barely had time to think about the wedding and were glad they had done as much planning earlier in the spring as they had. Gordo was working night and day to finish the feature length film he had to submit as his final project and barely had time to see Lizzie. But Lizzie barely had time to see Gordo either. She was locked away working on her final project, her wedding dress. The time they had for one another were stolen moments and they both had to keep reminding each other of how much time they would have for one another as soon as graduation was over.
The McGuires and the Gordon's came to LA for graduation at the beginning of June. Gordo had received an A on his final film and his teacher was helping him to submit it to graduate film schools all over the county. Lizzie had yet to receive a final grade on her wedding dress. Part of her grade would be determined by the response the dress got at a fashion show that would be attended by famous fashion designers as well as buyers from all over the country. The fashion show would be on Saturday and the graduation ceremony would be on Sunday.
On Friday evening when their families arrived Lizzie and Gordo took them to dinner at their favorite restaurant. "So, what time is the fashion show tomorrow?" Jo asked.
"It's at 8:00 PM," Lizzie said nervously.
"So, the plan is that Jo and I will come to the fashion show and the guys will stay with Gordo since he can't come to the show," Roberta informed Lizzie.
"Yes," Jo said, "And Miranda and Kate are going to drive into LA tomorrow so they can see the show too."
"Really?" Lizzie asked excitedly.
"I still can't believe that I'm not allowed to come," Gordo said sulkily.
"Oh honey," Roberta said, "That would be bad luck if you saw Lizzie in her wedding dress before Sam walks her down the aisle at your wedding."
"I know, I know," Gordo said waving off the explanations.
The next evening Lizzie found herself in her wedding dress and veil waiting to catwalk for the most important people in the fashion community. As she stood in line with all the other models she felt a little queasy. Most of her classmates had chosen a model to display their creation for them, while they watched safely from the audience. Lizzie was a klutz; she didn't know why she hadn't chosen a model too. Except that she did know why. Lizzie had chosen to model the dress herself because she couldn't stand the thought of anyone else wearing her wedding dress. Lizzie loved her dress; it was everything that those dresses in the store weren't. She had put so much time and love into her dress that she didn't care what the fashion community thought, except that she did. Her whole fashion career would ride on this one garment. It was nearly her turn; she clutched the bouquet of pink roses and calla lilies that Gordo had given her for luck and as an obvious accessory to her dress. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that she did well. Before this evening she had gotten a little advice on how to model, but as she stepped out onto the runway she ditched all of it and smiled proudly and happily like the glowing bride that she would be in a few short months.
The response to Lizzie's wedding dress was much better than she had ever dreamed that it would be. After the show when the students had a chance to mingle with the buyers and designers she was approached several times and asked if she would consider doing an entire bridal line to be sold in bridal shops and boutiques across the county. She had several impressive offers for internships to work with some of the country's best-known designers. Best of all her professor whispered her grade to her, "A plus!"
Back at the apartment after the party Lizzie met up with everyone. "So, what did you think?" She asked as she closed the door behind her. She was surprised when she turned around and found her two best friends, her mother and her mother-in-law to be all tearing up.
"What?" She asked nervously.
"You are going to be the most beautiful bride," Jo sobbed.
"I can't believe you created such an amazing and perfect dress yourself," Roberta said, dabbing her eyes.
Miranda and Kate just hugged her proudly.
Graduation was the next afternoon and everything went as expected. After gradation and a celebratory dinner their families headed home and Gordo and Lizzie headed back to their apartments to start packing up, they had a week before their leases expired. The plan was to move everything to their parent's homes and see what would happen from there. They weren't sure yet where they would be next year. Lizzie had numerous offers for internships and designing jobs that she could choose from and Gordo was waiting to hear back from graduate schools. The move home was uneventful and they spent the next month and a half finalizing details for their upcoming wedding.
The wedding day arrived with endless dark clouds filling the sky above. They could just hope that the sky would clear before the ceremony at 4PM, but even if it didn't it was said that rain on your wedding day brought good luck. Miranda and Kate had spent the night at the McGuire's with Lizzie. Around ten they left from the house to get hair, make-up and nails done. They needed to be back to the house and ready for the photographer by 1PM. The girls were armed with umbrellas and headscarves, but they lucked out. Just as they returned to the house and closed the front door the sky let go with a torrential downpour. Upstairs while they dressed for the wedding they waited with baited breath for the rain to let up. When the photographer arrived she took photos of the girls getting ready together in Lizzie's room, but saved the more traditional shots until the rain let up and they could go outside.
It was 3:30PM and still it was raining. The girls waited upstairs in Lizzie's room and Gordo mingled with the guests in the living room. They were prepared to hold the wedding in the living room if the rain did not stop in time. Miraculously the rain started to slow and then stopped entirely just a few minutes before 4PM. The back yard was quickly transformed and the wedding started just ten minutes after originally scheduled. The rain, while inconvenient, had left a dewy sheen on everything in the yard and it lent the ceremony a magical quality. Everyone was in his or her place and the bridesmaids had just walked down the aisle. Lizzie stood with her father in the kitchen and waited a few minutes before making her grand entrance.
"Sweetie, you look beautiful," Sam said, "I am so proud of you and I couldn't be happier with your choice of groom."
"Thanks Dad," Lizzie said and she gave him a hug.
"Ready?" He asked her. She nodded and they proceeded toward the back yard. Everyone was standing as they descended the deck stairs into the yard and as Lizzie's eyes met Gordo's, they were both overcome with emotion. At this moment more than any other it seemed amazing to them both that what had started when they were only 14 years old could come to this. Sam walked her to the rose covered arbor where Gordo waited. He hugged her and lightly kissed her on the check and whispered, "I love you." Then he turned to Gordo, shook his hand and gave him a hug, "Take good care of her," he whispered, and then took his seat next to Jo. Gordo beamed at Lizzie as he led her toward the minister who was to marry them.
The ceremony was beautifully moving and everyone shed some tears. After they were pronounced husband and wife they kissed and rushed back toward the house with the sound of their friends and family's applause still echoing in their ears. In the kitchen they kissed happily until their attendants joined them in the kitchen to congratulate them. They went back out into the yard and let their guests congratulate them as well. The photographer quickly took all the traditional photos he needed, and then let the party begin. As Gordo and Lizzie danced to their first song as husband and wife he said, "I don't think I've had a chance to tell you yet, but your dress is amazing. You are going to have a very successful career Mrs. Gordon."
"Thank you," she said, "I like when you call me Mrs. Gordon."
They danced and partied until the wee hours of the morning when the newlyweds slipped away to the hotel room they'd reserved. Late the next afternoon they left on their two-week honeymoon to Hawaii. The honeymoon was a gift to the newlyweds from Gordo's parents.
Lizzie returned the considerable memorabilia she had from the wedding to the box. That was all there was besides the things from their honeymoon that she would add to the collection later. All of it fit rather nicely into one large hatbox. She still couldn't believe that this was the end.
Author's Note: Well, the next chapter will be the last for this story and I will finally reveal why Lizzie is going through the box and why it is so sad. Then, I promise, I will get back to work on Sweet 16 Autumn. Please review and tell me what you think of this latest chapter. Thanks!