Chapter 20 Always and Forever
You are cordially invited to join
Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes
As they marry on December first at four o'clock in the afternoon
At The Historic Dragonfly Inn in Stars Hollow
Reception to immediately follow the ceremony
In the days before the wedding, all of the finishing touches were being put on the wedding. While Lorelai and Rory were busy with the extra details for the ceremony and reception, Jess and Luke were busy doing other things. They were moving Jess back Stars Hollow and preparing for Luke to move into the Gilmore house with Lorelai when they got back from their two-week-long honeymoon to Hawaii. Jess and Rory were going to temporarily move into Luke's apartment until they found someplace to live in New York. Since he and Rory would be moving themselves into the apartment, Jess agreed to move Luke's stuff into the house while they were gone.
Luke had struggled to keep their honeymoon destination a secret from Lorelai, but he realized it was easier because he didn't tell anyone. By not telling Jess, he didn't risk Jess telling Rory and then Lorelai couldn't weasel anything out of Rory. Luke packed a suitcase of summer dresses and bathing suits for Lorelai and put in a second empty duffle bag for the clothes and souvenirs she would buy. He let Lorelai pack her own case with make-up and other toiletries, making sure he had plenty of sunscreen.
The day before the wedding, Emily, Sookie, Rory, April, and Lorelai spent the day at a fancy spa in Hartford, which was a special bridal party treat from Emily. Everyone spent some time in the sauna and in the hot tub before they got manicures, pedicures, and massages. That evening, they had a wedding rehearsal at the inn. Michel was in his glory as the wedding coordinator. Everything was perfect, but there was a lot of attitude as well. Michel enjoyed being in charge and Lorelai just let the wedding happen. After the rehearsal, there was the dinner. Everyone had a lot of great food and just spent the night relaxing before the big day.
April and Sookie spent the night with Lorelai and Rory at the inn so they could all get ready the next day. The ceremony was at four o'clock in the afternoon, but Lorelai wanted to have some fun with the girls before the wedding. The morning of the wedding, Sookie made a huge breakfast and everyone showered before heading to the salon to get their hair styled. Lorelai had her hair set into beautiful long ringlets. April's hair was curled with a curling iron and pulled back with a red ribbon that matched her dress. Sookie and Rory both wore their hair up. Sookie's hair was pulled into a French twist and Rory's hair was pulled into a high ponytail with ringlets pinned up and falling loose. Another gift from Emily was a makeup artist who came to the inn to apply all the girls' makeup for the wedding.
Sookie had made a fabulous lunch of delicious sandwiches and salads the night before and the girls ate, laughed, and gossiped for an hour until it was time to get dressed. The photographer was going to be there in an hour. He was going to meet with the guys first before taking the pictures of the girls. Then, after the ceremony, they would take the rest of the pictures.
While the ladies were putting the finishing touches on themselves, Luke and Jess were walking around in their tuxedos in a combination of boredom and nervousness.
"We're outnumbered," Luke said quietly as he felt a rant coming on. "There are just too many women in this wedding! Why did I ever agree to this?" Luke asked hypothetically. "We could have eloped. There's is too much fluff, too much estrogen, way too much fanciness!"
"Hmm?" Jess mumbled absently-mindedly.
"Huh?" Luke said. "Jess!"
"What? Oh, sorry," Jess said as soon as he came back into reality.
"Come on, Jess! What the hell are you so nervous about?" Luke asked Jess. "I'm the one who's getting married today!"
"Just thinking," Jess replied absent-mindedly.
"About what?"
"I don't know, stuff I guess."
"What kind of stuff? You're not backing out of the best man gig, are you? You're not backing out on Rory, are you?"
"What? God, Luke, no! Nothing like that, I promise."
"Then what? What's got you so worked up?"
"Just life," Jess said. "Our lives and how much things have changed and how much they will change."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, after today, you'll be Rory's step-father. So, if Rory and I get married, you'll be my uncle and you'll be my step-father-in-law! That's sort of crazy, isn't it?"
"Just a little," Luke said. "But it's the good kind of crazy. It's the Gilmore kind of crazy, you know?"
"Yeah, I know. I know just what you mean," Jess replied.
"So, Jess," Luke said, "you're thinking about marrying Rory? When did this happen?"
"I said nothing of the sort," Jess said defensively.
"Okay," Luke said. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Upstairs at the inn, the ladies of the bridal party were putting the finishing touches on themselves in preparation for the wedding. There was about an hour before the ceremony and there was still something important left to do.
"Okay, Mom," Rory said. "Are you ready for your something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue?"
"Yes," Lorelai said excitedly. She had asked Rory to collect these required elements for her wedding day. "Gimme!"
"First, here is your something old." Rory handed her mother a small blue velvet bag.
"I don't get it," Lorelai said after she emptied the bag, fingering the delicate lace. "A lace pocket?"
"That's a piece of lace from Gran's wedding gown. Gran wanted you to have it on your wedding day, so Grandpa saved it for you."
"Are you serious?" Lorelai said. "This is from Gran's wedding gown?"
"Yes," Rory said. "There's a note in the pocket. I'm not sure if the note's from Grandpa or from Gran, but it's a note for you on your wedding day."
"Here," Sookie said. "I've got a pin. Lorelai, hike up your skirt!"
"What? Why?" Lorelai asked, more than a hint of surprise in her voice.
"I'm going to pin the lace to the hem of your dress. Come on, Lorelai! Hike up your skirt! Lemme see those legs!"
"I get the lace, but why the pocket?"
"The pocket is for your something new," Rory said, handing her another velvet bag.
"It's a penny," Lorelai said, her voice sounding unimpressed.
"This is not just any ordinary penny," Rory said with a smile. "It's a brand new, never been circulated 2007 penny that was minted in Philadelphia."
"Oh, wow," Lorelai said. "I now know that I have Jess to thank for this one."
"Give it to me," Sookie said from the floor. "I'll put it in the pocket."
"Your something borrowed," Rory said, giving her mother a velvet box.
"I know what this is," Lorelai said with a smile as she opened the box. It was the tiara her mother had worn when she and her father were married. "I have always wanted to wear this."
"And I have always wanted to see you wear it on your wedding day," Emily said from the doorway. "That's why I am letting you borrow it."
"Mom, thank you," Lorelai said. "I love it."
"You're welcome," Emily said. "Here, let me pin it in."
Lorelai sat down and Emily carefully pinned the tiara into her hair and arranged her ringlets.
"You look beautiful," Emily said. "Just how I knew you would look on your wedding day. The tiara is the perfect finishing touch."
"Now, last but not least," Rory said, "it's your something blue." Rory handed her mother a pink striped Victoria's Secret bag.
Lorelai pulled the pink tissue paper out of the bag to find an ivory lace and blue satin garter with a tiny silver heart charm dangling from it.
"Ooh, sweetie, this is so cute!" Lorelai said.
"Come on," Sookie said from her place on the floor. "Let me have a leg."
"I was wondering why you didn't stand up," Lorelai said as she lifted her foot and let Sookie slip the garter up her leg.
"Figured it was easier this way," Sookie said as she struggled to stand up. "Now you look absolutely perfect!"
"Really?" Lorelai said, glancing at her reflection in the mirror. She smoothed her hands over her dress self-consciously.
"I have never seen a more beautiful bride," Emily said proudly.
"I couldn't agree with you more," Richard Gilmore said from the doorway. "You are beautiful, Lorelai. Are we ready to go downstairs?" he asked. "The guests have started to arrive."
"I think so," Rory said, glancing at her mother. She was anxious to see Jess in his tuxedo.
"I just want a few minutes by myself," Lorelai said. "I want to take in this moment so I can remember it forever."
"We'll head downstairs," Rory said, referring to her, Sookie, April, and Emily.
"I'll bring her downstairs in a few minutes," Richard said. "I promise. Lorelai, I will be right outside." He shut the door behind him, leaving Lorelai alone in the room with her thoughts. She looked at herself in the full-length mirror and spun to study her reflection from every angle. She smiled at herself and did a little happy dance.
"I'm going to be Mrs. Luke Danes," Lorelai said to herself. "Lorelai Danes. Lorelai Gilmore-Danes. Oh, God, my life is finally going to be perfect!" With one last private smile to herself in the mirror, Lorelai turned on her heel to leave the room. "I'm ready, Dad."
The inn looked beautiful inside and out. The windows were lightly frosted and snow was lightly falling outside. Soft piano music filtered throughout the room. Luke and Jess were standing at the alter in front of the blazing fire and the beautiful red rose topiaries at the end of the long ivory aisle. On either side of the aisle sat the most important people in their lives, their family and friends. The photographer was walking around snapping pictures before he arranged himself to take photos of the wedding party as they walked down the aisle.
"Are you ready?" Michel asked. His voice was giddy with the excitement of his power as wedding coordinator.
"I'm ready, Michel," Lorelai said with a smile.
"Okay, Mrs. Gilmore, first it's you as mother of the bride." Emily walked down the aisle smiling and took her place in the first row.
"April, then Sookie, Davey and Martha. Down the aisle," Michel said. "Make sure you walk in time with the music," Michel called after April as she started down the aisle. "Sookie, here is Davey's pillow. Don't worry, Jess has the real ring. Remember, Martha has to sprinkle the rose petals. Sprinkle them. Here's her basket. Make sure she doesn't drop them all in one place."
"The rose petals don't mean anything," Lorelai said.
"Lorelai, this is my wedding!" Michel snapped.
"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked, her tone twice as snappy as Michel's had been.
"You misunderstand me, Lorelai. It's my wedding to coordinate," Michel said, correcting himself, flushing with embarrassment, emphasizing the word coordinate. "Let me worry about the details, Lorelai, and you just worry about being the beautiful blushing bride that you are."
"Okay, we're off," Sookie said, taking Martha's and Davey's hands and leading them down the aisle. "We'll see you down there," she said to Lorelai.
"Now, Rory," Michel said. "It's your turn."
"I love you, Mom," Rory said with a smile and a hug before walking down the aisle.
"I love you more," Lorelai said, blowing her daughter a kiss.
Lorelai watched as Rory walked down the aisle. She smiled watching the expressions on the faces of the men in their lives from the end of the aisle. Luke smiled like a man proud of a girl he had always thought of as a daughter. Jess stared in amazement at the woman he was in so much love with. Lorelai looked at the little girl all grown up, much as she had looked at herself in the mirror. They weren't the Gilmore girls anymore, and she had never been happier.
"Okay, Lorelai," Michel said. "It's your turn." Michel cued the pianist to change to playing the wedding march.
"Come on," Richard said, offering his arm. "Your future awaits."
Everyone rose to their feet and turned to watch as Lorelai walked down the aisle on her father's arm. Lorelai smiled to herself as she watched Luke's expression change to one resembling the face Jess had been making a few short moments earlier. When the reached the alter, Richard kissed Lorelai on the cheek and shook Luke's hand before sitting beside Emily.
Rev. Skinner began as the wedding guests sat. "We're gathered here today to celebrate the love affair and witness the marriage of Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes. It is said that marriage should not be entered into lightly, and no one in this room would ever think that this union is something the bride and groom have entered into hastily. I am blessed to be the minister to preside over this ceremony and I am going to boogie down with you all at the reception."
Rev. Skinner paused to open the Bible to the first marked passage. "First, a reading that was chosen by the bride and groom from Ecclesiastes: 'Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.' Amen."
"Amen," the guests and wedding party murmured in reply.
"Now, a special reading, an excerpt from The Bridge Across Forever by Richard Bach: 'A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life.' Amen."
"Amen."
"And now for the vows," Rev. Skinner said, smiling. "Luke and Lorelai, will you please join hands." Rory took Lorelai's bouquet from her and held it while Luke and Lorelai held each other's hands. "Luke and Lorelai have written their own vows. Luke, you can start whenever you are ready."
"Lorelai, my friend, partner, and lover forever and always," Luke began, looking deeply into Lorelai's eyes as he spoke. "I adore what I already know about you and I want to learn everything about what I don't. I want to be a father to Rory and to our children, and to fall in love with you a little more every day. I want to grow old with you. I love you, Lorelai, and I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us, always and forever."
"It's your turn, Lorelai," Rev. Skinner said, smiling.
"Luke, you are the love of my life. You have been my friend and my lover, and now you will be my partner and husband as well." Lorelai paused to take a deep breath, struggling to hold back tears. "I am blessed to finally stand here, in front of our family and friends, and vow to love you forever, be there for you through thick and thin, be a mother to April and to children of our own. I love you, Luke, always and forever."
"Now, the rings," Rev. Skinner said. Jess handed both wedding bands to him. "Luke, place this ring on Lorelai's finger and repeat after me: I give you this ring as my promise of love, trust, and pride that you are my wife. You will wear this ring and the world will know that I am yours and you are mine." Luke did as requested, followed by Lorelai, who did the same thing.
"By the power invested in me by the great state of Connecticut and before God and these witnesses, I pronounce you husband and wife. Luke, you may kiss the bride."
"Finally!" Luke grabbed Lorelai and kissed his new wife deeply. The guests all clapped and cheered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes!"