The Imperfectly Perfect Wedding (Part 1)

It is finally here. My wedding day. I am going to be called Denise Moray instead of Miss Lovett. How strange it sounds, yet I can't help but marvel at the smoothness of the pronunciation, it's as if we were meant to be together and we are.

My uncle Edmund is going to walk me down the aisle and I couldn't have chosen a better person myself. John's best man is Dudley, his loyal best friend whom we both adore. Although John and I consider ourselves to be modern, we still chose to get married in a quaint little church just on the outskirts of the town.

It's surrounded by a beautiful meadow filled by lavender plants and the purple hues alongside the white daisies make such a beautiful sight. A gust of wind brings everything to life, it's as if the flowers are preforming their own little dance, and their conductor is the sun.

I suppose getting married in the summer does have its advantages. First of all, I don't have to worry about wearing twenty different layers of clothes to keep me warm, so I've chosen quite an elegant lace dress, which creates a perfect silhouette, and funnily enough I ditched the corset! Well I did say I was a modern woman. I want my wedding day to be joyful and not stressful!

The meadow too will come in handy for the reception. John and I decided to opt for an outdoor reception, as it would be a shame to overlook the peaceful field and who needs to conform to societal expectations and hold your reception in a stuffy old house? My gown is perfect for a game of sardines and perhaps even a bit of running around…but do not worry, we have not forgotten The Paradise.

We are planning to do an after-party the next day (Sunday) just for all the workers that we couldn't fit onto the guest list. Speaking of guest lists, you may be wondering if we invited Katherine Weston and co. and we did but they graciously declined, which was expected but I really don't hold much against them now; they seem happy with their newborn son and daughter, Flora. I guess time does heal all wounds.

All this excitement makes me smile, which leads to me getting funny looks from my bridesmaids. I gently lift my veil up to drink a glass of water and Clara does not look very happy about that.

"Denise! I spent thirty minutes setting your veil, now look what you've done!" Clara is always the perfectionist.

"Sorry! I hardly think you should be telling off the bride on her wedding day. I've got enough nerves to deal with already," I say with a slight smile. Nothing can upset my mood, not even the fact that the wedding cake had a little accident in the wee hours of the morning and lets just say that right now it's going through a complete reconstruction. I don't even know if John knows about this, but oh well, who cares about wedding cakes. Actually Myrtle does, she did spend two days making it, and it wasn't even her fault that the cake got pushed over. I'm not going to blame anyone but Arthur was feeling very energetic.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm feeling a bit tetchy too" Clara says as she comes over and gives me a hug, being careful to not ruin my dress. That follows onto a hugging session from all my other bridesmaids which are: Pauline, who came from Scotland* to join us, Susan, Dudley's 2 little daughters Bridget and Linda, Clara of course, Lizzy, Colette and Cathy. The last three are my good friends from John's social circle, which you may think to be haughty, but they are all very welcoming and sweet.

"You look so beautiful", Linda says to me, which is so sweet of her. She too looks like an angel with her white little dress and a flower crown on top of her head. Both little sisters look absolutely adorable. I decided that all my bridesmaids should have their hair half-up and down so it creates a sense of flow and freedom. I too have nearly the same style but it had to be altered of course to fit in the veil.

We keep talking for a few minutes and then it's time to go to the church! After quickly rushing into the carriage, which by the way is not a good idea if you have a delicate lace dress which is prone to get caught easily around sharp edges. My hands start to shake a bit, as I'm so close to marrying the love of my life! I've never felt so complete, or so happy ever. Sure starting my own business and watching it grow has brought immense elation, but without John I would definitely be unhappy.

The journey itself is very enjoyable. The girls try and make jokes to distract me, and it works to a certain extent but as soon as the carriage starts to slow down my hands start shaking again, the butterflies in my stomach only flutter faster.

Two seconds later, I'm already out of the carriage and my hand is resting in the nook of my uncles' arm and we are standing at the entrance of the church. I look at him and he smiles encouragingly, and his hand squeezes mine slightly. I feel more composed as I know he will keep me secure so I'm less likely to fall flat on my face. The doors of the church are wide open and I'm standing near it, taking in the view.

The sun is shining bright, illuminating my dress and it makes me feel so special. The church itself looks so rustic, the faded green doors make it look even prettier and the simple yet elegant interior adds to the beauty of it. I smile wider with each step I take…I'm getting closer to John, I wonder what he will think when he first see's me.

Finally I see him. He looks even more magnificent than before, if that's even possible. He is smiling wide, which of course make his dimples appear and I cherish this moment even more because I know he's only smiling for me. How great it is to be in love. My uncle leads me to him and he puts my hand in John. I look up at him, our gaze's lock and I feel more confident.

"Take care of her", my uncle says.

"With all my heart, Edmund" John replies as he looks at me with an intense look of love.

I lift off my veil with the slight help of John, which garners multiple "awwws" from the guests, which is quite sweet.

The rest of the ceremony goes to plan apart from the fact that Arthur the great ring bearer nearly manages to drop the rings when he's coming up to the alter, but as I love Arthur and am not one of those over the top brides I didn't get angry and besides Moray and I couldn't stop looking at each other.

"Now I pronounce you husband and wife," The preacher says.

As modern as we are, we also sneak in a little kiss. Most of the people cheer for us, but there are some gasps, which I'm guessing are from the old reserved aunts. Who cares, when you are in love?

* I'm just making up the fact that Pauline is travelling all the way from Scotland, as there was not plausible theory as to why Pauline disappeared.

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this one-shot and as you have guessed by the title, this is going to be in 2 to 3 parts depending on my mood. This was the wedding and the next one is going to be based upon the outdoor reception in the meadow and the last one, if I don't put them in one, will be about the totally crazy after-party, which may feature some unexpected guests…

Anyways this was based upon a request by 'Nicolax' on Tumblr and I hope you enjoy it!