Here it is...the wedding chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what you think!
"Hanna, this dress is amazing" Ali says as she unzips the large white dress bag that hangs on the bathroom door of the room turned into a bridal suite for the girls. She gently runs her fingers over the lace detail down the front of the dress "It's so you…I would never be able to pull off a high-low wedding dress."
Hanna sits in the bathroom in front of a mirror while Aria touches up her makeup "Thanks." she calls out "It's part of Claudia's new collection. It's not out yet so we have had to keep in super under wraps…which is why no one has seen it yet. As soon as I saw it, I fell in love." she smiles.
"Your mom hasn't seen it?" Aria asks as she brushes some more blush on Hanna's cheeks.
"Nope." she sighs
"She's gonna fall apart you know, when she sees you." Emily says as she steps into her dress.
"Yeah…which is why I am going to do a first look with her and dad before the ceremony…so we can get all tears out of the way and I can pep talk myself into not ugly crying out there." she laughs as Aria finishes up with her touch ups
Hanna spins around in the chair "Well, what do you think? Good as new?"
"You look amazing Han." Spencer says as she zips up the back of Emily's dress
Hanna walks over to them and pulls her dress off the door. Slipping off her robe and stepping into her dress she turns back to the girls who all watch her in awe. She stops and looks at them "What? Does it look funny?" she says as she turns back to the full length mirror in horror.
"No, you look…" Ali starts
"Beautiful" Emily finishes as she smiles with tears in her eyes.
Hanna's eyes begin to tear up and she points at Emily "No! Don't you dare!" she says as they threaten to fall. Emily laughs and turns her head to wipe her eyes before she turns back around. Hanna turns back around to the mirror and looks at her reflection "Can one of you zip me up?"
Spencer steps forward and zips the back of the dress up and then hooks the buttons over the zipper "Upside to seeing your dirty texts is knowing that Caleb will have a hard time trying to fulfill his threats with all these buttons." she laughs
"Don't underestimate him…I'm just saying..."
"Oh my-"a knock at the door cuts Spencer off and she mumbles "thank god."
Ali walks over to the door and cracks it "Hey, come on in…she's just gotten into her dress." she says as she moves out of the doorway and lets Ashley and Tom in.
"You girls look amazing. These dresses are adorable!" she says as she grabs the skirt portion of Ali's dress "Very cute."
She turns the corner and gasps as she sees Hanna standing at the mirror. Tom follows behind her and when Ashley stops he walks around beside her "Wow. Han, you look so beautiful honey." he says as he walks up and kisses her cheek.
"We uh…we will just give you guys some privacy" Aria says as she picks up her bouquet and opens the door and the other girls follow suit and walk out behind her, shutting the door behind them.
They venture down the hall to where all the guys are standing around in the hallway. Caleb spots them and walks towards them "Everything okay?"
"Yeah…." Aria looks around to the other girls and then back to him "Why wouldn't it be?"
He lets out a breath "I just…you guys have been in there with her all day…I just…"
"She's just in there with her parents so we let them have a moment." Ali says to him.
"Are you nervous or something?" Spencer throws out from the back of the group.
"No…I just…yeah, maybe a little. Not nervous as much as anxious…I'm just ready…ready to be a married man."
"Well it's not long now…maybe an hour." Aria says again as she leans forward and whispers "You just wait until you see her…she looks absolutely amazing."
He chuckles "I know she does…she always does." He turns and walks back down the hallway towards the guys, leaving the girls in silence.
"Okay, I am officially jealous." Spencer says.
An hour later the girls bust back into the suite to find Hanna pacing the floor in front of the mirror.
"Where have you guys been?" she squeals "I've been freaking out for the last…I don't know 20 minutes."
"Hanna, why are you freaking out?" Emily says as she rushes into the room to stand beside her friend.
"How many people are out there?"
"How many did you invite?" Spencer asks "Look Hanna, just calm down. Everything out there looks great, you look great, and Caleb looks so handsome. It's not long now and you will be his wife. This is what you have always wanted…and it's about to come true. So just slow down and enjoy the moment."
"Can you get him?"
"What?"
"Caleb. Can you go get him? I know its bad luck but I really need to see him. I need him to calm me down…I just…I need him Spence. Please, just go get him." She says as her eyes begin to tear
"Okay…okay." Spencer answers "I will go get him, just calm down." she says as turns and swings the door open. She walks down the hall to the room where all the guys are supposed to be and knocks on the door.
Toby swings the door open "Spence…what are you doing here?"
"I need the groom."
"What? Why?"
"I just need him Toby. I have a bride on the verge of tears so I just need Caleb. Where is he?"
Toby opens the door wider and lets Spencer in the room. She looks over in the corner and sees Caleb in deep conversation with Tom. He looks up when he sees her enter the room and motions her over. Tom turns his head when he sees her walk up.
"Everything okay Spencer?" Tom asks
"Yeah Mr. Marin…uh…I just…Hanna is having a little freak out and she needs to see you pronto." she says to Caleb.
"What? Is she okay? She has been so set on not seeing each other because- "
"its bad luck…yeah I know but she insisted that she needs you."
"Okay. I will be right there. Tell her I will be right there." he says to her and she shakes her head before turning back to Tom "I'm so sorry To-Mr. Marin"
"No…go…" he says as he motions towards the door.
Caleb smiles at him and turns to head out the door. He heads down the hall to the door of the bridal suit. When he reaches the door he hesitates before he knocks on the door. "Han?"
"Come in" she calls out from the spot where she still paces the floor.
He slowly opens the door and the sight of Hanna in her wedding gown makes him stop right inside the door. She paces from side to side directly in front of the door. He swallows deep as he looks her up and down, drinking in the sight of her. She stops and half smiles at him and he can feel the hair on his neck stand on end.
She keeps pacing and starts to ramble "Caleb, I I I don't know what is wrong with me…I know I am normally not this nervous but I want this day to go perfect and I can't keep my vows straight. I mean I have them down I just keep going over them in my head and I mess them up. I could carry my paper down the aisle but I have almost a full box of tissue in my bra in case I start to ugly cry…and I am not sure that the girls can fit much else in their cleavage because I am afraid that I will vomit or pee so they have supplies for that and I just love you so much… it makes me nervous about getting everything perfect so I just need you to look at me like you do and do that rubby thing with your thumb on my hands that make everything okay…please?" she finally stops and takes a breath as she looks up at him and holds her hand out "God, you look amazingly handsome by the way….that just makes me more nervous. Oh my god."
He stands there looking at her in complete silence, his heart beating in his ears.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
A smile creeps onto his face "Because you're beautiful."
Tears being to well up in her eyes and he takes a few quick steps forward, grabbing her outstretched hand and rubs his thumb over her knuckles. They both can immediately feel the tension in their bodies evaporate "And as much as I want everything to go perfectly today, I just want to marry you Han…so who cares if you say your vows in the wrong order, or if you ugly cry..? Because as long as I can call you my wife…I don't. Nothing else matters today but you and me. So forget about all the people, when they open those doors…it is just you and me, okay?"
"God, I love you so much." She whispers
He leans over and kisses her forehead "I love you too…and I cannot wait to marry you. So if you are done freaking out I need to get out there because this wedding is about to start."
She looks at him "Yeah…okay…go on." she says as he kisses her forehead again as he turns to walk back out the door.
"Caleb?" she calls out and he turns back around to look in her direction "Could you forget all about this and look at me when I walk down the aisle the same way you looked at me when you came in here? Because it really made me feel beautiful"
He smiles at her "You are beautiful." he simply says as he walks back out the door to this room.
Hanna turns to the mirror and adjusts her veil as she takes a few deep breathes. Picking up her bouquet and opens the door to find the girls. She walks down the hallway and out the back door of the church to head around to the front as the music begins to play.
"You good?" Ali asks as Hanna walk up to them.
She smiles "Yeah…I am. Just had a moment…but I am ready to go now."
"You sure?" Emily asks
"Positive. I don't care what happens…I just want to marry the man inside waiting on me." she says with a smile. "Where's my dad?"
"I'm here sweetheart" he calls out as he rounds the corner, walking up to Hanna and kissing her cheek "You look beautiful."
"Thank you dad."
As they line up behind the girls, Hanna laces her arm through her dads as they walk up the stairs. When they reach the doors he turns to her "Han, I just want you to know that your mother and I love you very much as we are so proud of the woman you have become…"
"Dad, please don't make me cry…"
He holds his finger up "And I also want to tell you that…Caleb is a good man, and even though we haven't always seen eye to eye…I couldn't ask for a better man to take care of my baby girl…and when I went to tell him that he left me standing there…because he had to come to you…and that is how I know that you'll always be taken care of. He is a good man, and he deserves the very best. That's why I am giving you away today."
As the doors swing open the father and daughter stand in the doorway looking at each other. They turn to the crowd and Hanna smiles "Yeah, he is" she whispers back to Tom as they start to walk down and she sees the look on his face.
"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?" Pastor Ted asks
"Her mother and I" Tom answers as he grabs her hand and places it by her side. He turns to Caleb and shakes his head "Take care of my girl."
Caleb clears his throat "Yes sir. Always."
Tom turns back to Hanna and kisses her cheek before turning and taking his spot on the front row between Ashley and Isabelle.
"We are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's most cherished moments, the joining of two hearts in love – in life and in this ceremony today we will witness the joining Caleb and Hanna in marriage." Pastor Ted begins "Earlier today Caleb came by to see me and we sat down had a conversation. This isn't unusual…I do talk to most of my grooms the day of the wedding, however today's meeting was a little different. You see, Hanna is my soon to be step-daughter, but when I first her she and Caleb had already been together for some time. Well, he came by today and we got to talking and I asked him about how he and Hanna first met. He told me about how they met and after he was done he finished it up with 'She saved my life…and I am just so ready to marry her' and that my friends is what we are gathered here to witness, so I am going to do Caleb a favor and get this done as quickly as possible." he says and everybody laughs.
As he begins the ceremony, his voice becomes muted in the background as Hanna watches Caleb, looking into his eyes. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles and it makes her suck in a deep breath. She looks down at their hands and then back to him. He smiles and his eyes shine with love – it makes Hanna smile and all her nerves wash from her body.
"Hanna…" she hears in the distance but she cannot take her eyes off of Caleb.
God, I could not be any happier than I am in this moment…right now…I am getting married…to Caleb…I am going to be Mrs. Caleb Rivers.
She thinks as she has to fight the ecstatic giggle that wants to escape her mouth.
"Hanna…?" she hears again and it pulls her out of her thoughts as she turns to look at him.
"Vows?"
"Me first?" she asks Pastor Ted who shakes his head yes and it makes everybody laugh "Okay" she says before she takes a deep breath and looks back at Caleb "A good friend told me once 'Someday someone will love you for exactly who you are'. She told me that...during a time in my life when I was...okay, everybody here pretty much knows...I was a lot...bigger.." she giggles and everybody laughs with her "and I had a hard time dealing with my flaws"
"And in this moment...right now, I have to tell her she was right because I know without a doubt that person is you. I uh, I know how tough it is to love me sometimes...I mean how could it not be? I can be so hard to handle. I am hard headed and refuse to back down, like...ever." he quietly chuckles and looks down at their hands before returning his eyes to hers "I don't listen to anything I am told, and I seem to always get myself into something I shouldn't be into. But you...you've stood beside me during times when any other person would've ran. You've seen me laugh, and you've seen me cry...and you've done both with me. You've seen me struggle and you never let me struggle alone. You put my dreams first and made sacrifices so that they could come true. In the end, that dream you worked so hard for so that I could see it come true is what I put before us, and for that I am so sorry..." she stops and takes a deep breath
"So if I never make it any farther than this...if I never touch another piece of fabric, or design another dress - Caleb, please know that every dream I have ever dreamt has come true, because of you. You make my dream come true every day when you look at me, with those brown eyes that see me like no one else ever will...for loving me exactly as I am. For knowing all of my my flaws, and choosing to look past them. For being patient with me, and always being the rock in my life full of chaos and for always being on my team, even when you probably shouldn't. I don't know what this life will bring us, or where we will go from here, but I do know that with you is the only place I want to be….and now I am going to cry…" she laughs and chokes back a sob before continuing "I love you so much."
She smiles back at him with tears in her eyes. He returns her smile and rubs his thumb across the knuckles on her left hand, making her heart skip a beat. He clears his throat before he starts his own vows.
"When I uh...when I was 17 I moved here...to Rosewood...at the time I thought this place would just be another stop on my list before moving onto the next town…then I met you, and I knew then that my life would never be the same. Sure you're stubborn and strong willed...you absolutely never listen, and you do tend to get yourself in messes...you are all those things...but those things, are what makes you - you. And those things are just some of the things I love about you. But you are also encouraging- you encourage me...you make me a better person...you make me want to be a better person, for you. You are feisty and challenging, and you challenge me to be someone that deserves you and all of your many sides. You are loving, and giving...you took the chance at loving me and you've given me so much throughout the years. I owe everything good I have in my life, to you because without you - there would be nothing good in my life. I put your dreams first because I want to give you back the world in return, for everything you've given me since the day you gave me just a couch in a basement to sleep on...because it was the first of many things. I've spent so much time running...running from one place to the other and never really looking back because no place ever really felt like home...until I came here...until I met you. Hanna, you feel like home to me...and even though I have ran from you, from this day on I promise to only run to you...I know I've said that before, and I mean it. I will only run to you, because I never want to spend another day without you...for the rest of my life."
She can feel as a tear runs down her cheek and she reaches up to wipe it away as she hears a sniffle coming from behind her.
I feel ya…he's too sweet…and he's all mine…forever.
"Caleb, do you have a ring?" Pastor Ted asks and Caleb shakes his head and he turns to Jamie and grabs Hanna's band. "As you place this ring on Hanna's finger, please repeat after me"
Caleb reaches down and grabs her left hand
"Hanna, with this ring I give to you my promise that my heart is yours today, tomorrow and all the days to come."
Caleb starts to slide the ring down onto her finger and whispers "Hanna, with this ring, I give to you my promise that my heart is yours today, tomorrow and all the days to come." He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses her ring finger and it makes shivers run down her spine.
"Hanna, ring?" Pastor Ted
Hanna turns to Aria who stands behind her and takes the ring from her hand as she turns back to Caleb.
"As you place this ring on Hanna's finger, please repeat after me. Caleb, with this ring I give to you my promise that my heart is yours today, tomorrow and all the days to come"
"Hold please." Hanna whispers as she turns around to Aria "Tissue please?"
Everybody laughs and Aria hands her a tissue from her hand. She wipes her eyes and hands it back to Aria before turning back to Caleb. She grabs his hand and starts to slide the band down on his finger
"Caleb, with this ring I give to you my promise that my heart is yours today, tomorrow and all the days to come." She says then turns back to Ted "Was that right?"
He laughs "Yes."
"Okay, now the moment I know you've both been waiting for…you may now seal your vows with a kiss. Caleb…kiss your bride."
"Finally" he whispers as she giggles. He brings his hands to cup her face and plants his lips on hers. She wraps her arms around his waist as the butterflies in her stomach erupt.
When they pull away from each other neither can contain the smiles on their faces.
"Ladies and gentleman I know present to you, for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Rivers."
Everybody stands and claps as Hanna turns to Spencer and grabs her bouquet. As they walk back down the aisle they smile and wave to everyone. When they walk out the doors and down the stairs to the sidewalk he turns to her.
"Well, how does it feel to be a Rivers?"
She looks at him and smiles "It feels like the best day ever." She whispers as she pulls him into a deep, passionate kiss.
THEEEEEEEEEE END!
