Even though Jesse was a jerk in the beginning of the series, I'm happy that Rachel ended up with him. Of course I would have preferred Finn, but Jesse is my next best option.
Rachel stood in front of the mirror in the room that the church had given her to get ready in. She felt like a princess in her white dress. The sweetheart neckline on the strapless dress showed just enough cleavage to be tasteful, and the tight bodice hugged her figure nicely. At the waist the skirt started to loosen around her body. The skirt wasn't big and poufy, but it wasn't form fitting either. A beautiful lace covered the whole dress, and there was a band of crystals along her waist where the skirt started. This had been the eighth dress she had tried on. At that point, everyone had been tired and ready to go home after the long day of dress shopping they had had, but as soon as Rachel walked out of the dressing room in this dress, everyone knew that they didn't have to look for any more.
Shelby stood behind Rachel, fixing the veil into Rachel's curled hair. After Rachel had graduated from NYADA when she was 25, Shelby and Rachel had reconnected and now had a strong relationship. Beth sat in the chair of the beauty desk while Santana put some light make-up on the girl. Just like Shelby and Rachel's relationship had grown, so had Rachel and Beth's, and now the 11 year old was Rachel's flower girl, while Jesse's nephew was the ring bearer.
Sitting on the couches that were in the room were Rachel's bridesmaids, Mercedes, Quinn, Tina, and Britney. Santana was Rachel's maid of honor. After Rachel went back to NYADA and Santana and Britney moved to New York, Santana and Rachel had grown very close. Her fathers were their also, already crying at the sight of their only daughter on her wedding day. Kurt and Blaine stood in the corner. Kurt had denied Rachel's request of being a bridesmaid, having flashbacks of Junior Prom, but Rachel still wanted him to be there with her every step of the way.
Once the veil was safely secured into Rachel's hair, Shelby stepped back and everyone admired the way that Rachel seemed to glow with happiness. There was a knock on the door, and Kurt went to grab it. A moment later, Carole walked into the room. She took one look at Rachel, and tears came to her eyes. Rachel saw the look that Carole was giving her, and asked everyone to leave the room. They all happily agreed, knowing that the conversation that was about to happen was going to be very emotional and they wanted to give the women their privacy.
As soon as everyone left, Carole walked over to Rachel and gave her a bone crushing hug. Rachel felt Carole's tears begin to drop on her shoulder, and began to tear up herself.
"You look so beautiful," Carole said as she stepped back and took a good look at Rachel. "Jesse is a very, very lucky man."
Rachel smiled and felt a tear roll down her cheek. She wiped it away, thankful that she had thought to wear waterproof makeup, but still didn't want to take any chances at messing it up. "I can feel him. It started this morning when I woke up. I've always felt like Finn was near me, but today it just feels…different. Stronger, even. I know that he is here, and that he is supporting me, and that just makes today even better than it already is."
Carole smiled sadly at Rachel. "I always imagined that on your wedding day, Finn would be waiting for you at the end of the isle. From the minute he told me he proposed I had been planning the speech I would give you on your wedding day, but I guess that's not important now. I'm just so happy that you found somebody who makes you feel as loved and happy as Finn did."
"Jesse does make me feel very loved and happy. It's different from the way Finn made me feel. Not better, not worse, just… different. A good different. I'm glad you stopped by, I was hoping I would get to talk to you before all the craziness happened. I've been a wreck all day and talking to you always calms me down."
"Well I'm glad. I meant what I said all those years ago at Kurt's wedding. You are the daughter that I never had and I couldn't let you walk down the aisle without seeing you first. I just wanted to come in and say that I love you and I wish you all the happiness in the world."
Rachel felt another tear roll down her cheek when she heard that. "Thank you so much, Carole. It means a lot. I'm going to let everyone back in. The wedding is going to start soon, but you can hang out here for a little bit if you want," Rachel offered.
"Thank you, but I need to go find Burt and our seats. I just wanted to stop by, but I'm sure I'll see you later."
After one final hug, Rachel let everyone back in the room as Carole left to go find Burt.
Fifteen minutes later, when Rachel walked down the aisle and saw the man that was waiting for her at the end, she knew she had no worries or regrets for what was about to happen, and in the moment when she joined Jesse at the altar, she knew that this was right and that she couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life with this man.
After they had been pronounced Mr. and Mrs. St. James, Rachel and Jesse walked back down the aisle to the car that was waiting outside the church to take them to the venue where their reception was being held. They passed Carole and Burt on their way down, and the older couple was giving Rachel a very proud smile.
At that moment, Rachel knew that nothing would ever feel more right in her life and she sent a quick thank you up to Finn for teaching her how to love and for bringing some pretty wonderful people into her life.