Hope you enjoy the reception chapter!
An hour later, Lorelai and Luke pulled up in their white limo in front of an outdoor banquet facility about fifteen minutes away from Stars Hollow. As the limo came to a stop, Luke reached for Lorelai's champagne glass, which had been filled with sparkling apple cider, and set it aside with his. He kissed her on the lips, then reached for her hand.
"You ready?" he asked.
Lorelai nodded, an excited smile playing over her lips. "I still can't believe that you did this," she said.
Luke smiled at her, then turned to open the door. He was met by clapping and cheering as he turned and reached for Lorelai's hand. As he pulled her out of the car and onto her feet, the cheers got louder and Lorelai smiled, holding onto Luke's hand tightly. They walked through the crowd of their friends, smiling as they accepted more praise and congratulations.
When they were seated at the main table along with Rory, Jess, and Liz, Luke turned to Lorelai and said, "Maybe we should get up, and you know, thank them now."
Lorelai smiled as she stood, raising her champagne glass above her head. As she tapped it with a knife, the guests all quieted down and looked up at her expectantly. Lorelai smiled and said, "I'm so glad that you were all here to help us celebrate this day with us. I know you've all been waiting for this for a long time, and I'm glad that it's finally here. I'm also very glad that I married a man who was willing to plan the wedding completely by himself, just to prove how much he loves me. I can't imagine anyone I would rather be doing this with. I love you, Luke, and I'm so glad that you've never given up on us, even when I thought that there was no hope. You're my rock, and I can't imagine ever living without you ever again." She pulled Luke to his feet and kissed him softly before she said, "now it's your turn."
"I want to thank everyone who helped me out with this," Luke started. "They did an amazing job keeping this a secret, and for that I am eternally grateful. Thanks for the town for being as nosy as they are, so that we could have wedding guests. But mostly, I want to thank my bride…She's the best thing that ever happened to me, and I'm so glad that you said yes." The crowd cheered and clapped as Lorelai looked down at the table, blushing slightly.
They sat back down, Luke leaned in and kissed Lorelai softly. She smiled at him for a moment, but their gaze was broken when the waiters began placing their salads in front of them.
When the dinner was cleared, the deejay finished the song that was playing and announced, "Alright, it's time to welcome to the dance floor Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes for their first dance as husband and wife."
Luke led Lorelai to the dance floor and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her tightly against him. As Wonderful Tonight began to play through the speakers, Luke held her close to him and whispered into her hair, "I love you so much. Thank you for today."
Lorelai rested her head on Luke's shoulder, feeling safe and protected in his arms. "I'm the one who should be thanking you," she whispered. "God, I love you more than I can say."
They danced in silence for the rest of the song, glad to be in the haven of each other's arms and cherishing their first dance together as a married couple.
When they returned to their table, Lorelai smiled as she sat down next to Rory. The two of them began to talk in whispers, and Luke sat down next to Lorelai and watched as the wedding guests danced.
When the caterers wheeled their wedding cake onto the dance floor, Luke smiled and tapped Lorelai on the shoulder. When she turned to smile at him, he pointed to the cake and said, "Look." He smiled as he watched Lorelai's eyes light up as she turned back to look at him.
"Are you really going to eat cake?" Lorelai asked Luke as she stared at the large cake that was being prepared for them to cut.
Luke shrugged as he took Lorelai's hand, leading her to the center of the dance floor where the cake was sitting. "Well, I'm only going to have one wedding cake," he said. "So I figured that I might as well enjoy it."
Lorelai smiled and looked up at him. "Does that mean that I can shove cake in your face?" she asked eagerly.
"No," Luke replied immediately. "That's a ridiculous wedding tradition," Luke began ranting, much to Lorelai's delight. "There's no point to it, and it ruins the expensive and fancy clothes."
Lorelai pouted. "Please," she said, resting her free hand on her belly. "Your baby wants me to."
"Stop that, someone's going to hear you," Luke whispered harshly. "You don't want anyone to find out about the baby right now, do you?"
"Fine," Lorelai said, turning to face away from him. Luke gave her hand a squeeze, wanting to make sure that she was okay, but she didn't look at him.
They stepped in front of their wedding cake, and Luke took the knife from the caterer offering it to him, then turned to Lorelai. She smiled up at him and placed a hand with his on the knife. Luke smiled and placed his other hand on the small of her back. They smiled and posed for the photographer before they actually cut the cake. After they'd cut their first two pieces, the caterers took over and began distributing the cake to the guests.
Luke looked over at Lorelai, who was standing in front of their table, eating her cake quietly. He thought for a moment before he reached down to his plate and scooped up a piece of frosting onto his finger. His gaze rested on Lorelai once again, and he reached out to swipe her cheek with the frosting covered finger.
"Hey!" Lorelai cried, surprised. "You said you thought that you this was a stupid wedding tradition! What gives?"
Luke shrugged. "I changed my mind," he replied with a shrug.
Lorelai stared at him for a moment before she reached down and grabbed the rest of her cake, throwing it at him. Luke responded by covering her face in more frosting, and soon both of their faces were covered in cake crumbs and frosting.
After their cake fight, Luke took Lorelai's hand and led her inside and into a bathroom. He smiled at her as he ran a paper towel under the sink and gently began to clear the cake from Lorelai's face. She closed her eyes, relishing the feeling of Luke taking control of her. After a moment, she opened her eyes and whispered, "Luke?"
"Hmm?" Luke asked, concentrating on wiping the mess from her face.
"When do you want to start telling people about the baby?" Lorelai asked.
Luke pulled back and looked at her for a moment. "What's bringing this on?" he asked.
"Well, you didn't seem to thrilled about people knowing that we're having a baby," Lorelai replied.
"Lorelai, you know that's not true and you know it," Luke said sternly.
"I know," Lorelai replied. "But I want to know when we should start telling people. We're not going to be able to hide it for much longer."
Luke sighed. "Can't we just enjoy today as our wedding day?" he asked softly. "I promise, tomorrow even, we can talk about announcing the baby. But I want to have today be about our wedding."
"Okay," Lorelai replied.
Luke looked at her in surprise. "Okay?" he said. "That's it?"
"Yeah," Lorelai replied. "I think that's a good idea."
Luke nodded and reached out to her. He kissed her softly. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too," Lorelai whispered back.
"Should we get back?" Luke asked reluctantly.
"I guess so," Lorelai replied. "Although I like it just being the two of us."
Luke smiled and kissed her forehead. "Trust me, we'll have plenty of time for that over the next few days," he said.
Lorelai grinned as she led him out of the bathroom and back outside. Rory saw the two of them walk outside holding hands and walked over to them, narrowing her eyes. "Were you two doing something dirty?" she asked.
Lorelai smiled innocently at Rory, and Luke's mouth dropped open. Rory laughed. "Come on, Luke, I was kidding," she said. "Come dance with me."
Luke was given little chance to protest as Rory took his hand and led him onto the dance floor. As they began to dance, Rory smiled up at him. "I'm really glad that you did this, Luke," she said. "Mom's never happier than she is when she's with you, and now you're going to be together for the rest of your lives."
Luke smiled. "Yeah, it's a good arrangement," he replied.
Rory nodded. "And I know that I'm pretty much grown up and everything," she continued. "But…I still need you to be my dad. I really wish that things could have worked out between you and Mom a long time ago so I could legally be your daughter. But now I'm twenty, and I don't need a legal guardian anymore, so you can't adopt you. But I was just wondering if, even if it's not legal or anything…well, you would consider me your daughter?"
Luke looked down at her for a moment before he kissed her forehead. "Already there, kid," he said.
Rory nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "Thanks…Dad," she said, testing the word.
After the dance was over, they walked back to Lorelai. She smiled at them and said, "Wow, I'm pretty sure that was one of the best things I've ever seen. I'm so glad that you guys love each other so much."
Luke and Rory exchanged a look, then Rory smiled at her mother. "Actually, Mom, Luke just adopted me," she said.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes and looked at them. "What?"
Luke smiled as he wrapped an arm around Rory's shoulders. "We decided that even if it can't be legal, we still want to be considered a father and daughter, so I adopted her," he explained.
Lorelai smiled brightly. "That's great," she said. She hugged Luke first, then Rory, clinging to her for an extra minute. "I love you kid," she said.
"I love you too, Mom," she said. "I'm so glad that you've got this."
When Lorelai pulled apart, she looked around. "Well, it looks like things are dying down a little bit," she said.
Luke nodded in agreement. The crowd had dispersed somewhat, though there were still some people dancing and some mingling. He turned to Lorelai and asked, "Are you ready to go home?"
Lorelai raised her eyebrows suggestively. "Baby, with you I'm ready to home," she said.
"Aw, Mom, must you do that while I'm here," Rory cried. "Every time you imply something like that I lose about twenty seconds of my life."
Lorelai shrugged as she looped her arm through Luke's and rested her head on his shoulder. "Well, how do you think this sibling of yours landed a home inside of my stomach?" she asked.
"Okay, I'm just going to stop you there by saying good night, congratulations, and I love you," Rory said. She stepped forward and hugged Luke, then Lorelai. "Have fun guys, I'll see you in a week or so."
"Bye babe," Lorelai said. "Be careful at school."
Rory rolled her eyes. "Okay, Mom," she said.
"Hey, it's a mother's reflex," Lorelai replied. "I'll still be telling you to be careful when you're my age."
Rory rolled her eyes at Luke. "Good luck with her," she said.
"I'm sure I can handle her," Luke replied, smiling down at Lorelai. "Bye, Rory."
Rory smiled at them before she turned and walked out of the banquet area. Lorelai turned to Luke and smiled up at him. "So, husband of mine, what do you propose that we do now?"
Luke smiled down at her. "I can think of a few things," he replied, leaning down to kiss her gently.
After a moment, Lorelai pulled back and took his hand. "Let's say thanks to everyone who's still here, then we'll go home," she said.
Luke followed her as she spoke to the rest of the thirty or so guests who were still there. A half an hour later, they walked outside hand in hand and waited for their limo. When Luke saw Lorelai shiver and wrap her free arm over her chest to protect herself from the cool spring night air, he slid his hand out of her and took off his jacket. Lorelai smiled up at him as he wrapped it around her shoulder.
"Thanks," she said.
Luke smiled and kissed the top of her head. "No problem," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and Lorelai leaned against him, looking up at the stars. They stood together, watching the sky as they waited for their new life together to begin.
Next chapter: On their wedding night, Luke and Lorelai have a long talk