Chapter 51:

Wedding

Suddenly, it was only the pressure of Will's hand on mine that kept me from sprinting headlong down the aisle.

"Just relax" he murmured as he felt my body wanting to move forward faster.

The march was too slow as I struggled to pace my steps to its rhythm. Mercifully, the aisle was very short. And then, at last, at last, I was there. Edward held out his hand. Will took my hand and, in a symbol as old as the world, placed it in Edward's.

I touched the miracle of his skin, and I was home. Our vows were the simple, traditional words that had been spoken a million times, though never by a couple quite like us. It was different though since Emmett was the priest.

It made keeping a straight face harder, especially when he emphasized certain lines but I managed. We of course traded the line "till death do us part" for the more appropriate "as long as we both shall live."

In that moment, as Emmett said his part, my world, which had been upside down for so long now, seemed to settle into its proper position. I looked into Edward's shining, triumphant eyes and could feel my own happiness climbing beyond the scales. Because nothing else mattered but that I could stay with him.

Then it came time to say the words.

"I do," I said, my voice ringing like bells.

When it was his turn to speak, the words rang clear and victorious.

"I do," he vowed.

Emmett declared us husband and wife, and then Edward's hands reached up to cradle my face, carefully, as if it were as delicate as the white petals swaying above our heads. I tried to comprehend, the surreal fact that this amazing person was finally mine.

His golden eyes looked as if they would have tears, if such a thing were not impossible. He bent his head toward mine, and I stretched up on the tips of my toes, throwing my arms— bouquet and all—around his neck.

He kissed me tenderly, adoringly; I forgot the crowd, the place, the time, the reason…only remembering that he loved me, that he wanted me, that I was his forever. He began the kiss, and he had to end it.

I clung to him, ignoring the titters and the throat-clearing coming from a certain minister named Emmett and part of my family. Finally, his hands restrained my face and he pulled back—too soon—to look at me. On the surface his sudden smile was amused, almost a smirk.

But underneath his momentary entertainment at my public exhibition was a deep joy that echoed my own. The crowd erupted into applause, and he turned our bodies to face our friends and family. I couldn't look away from his face to see them.

It wasn't until my family began enveloping me in hugs that I tore my eyes away from him to face them. First up came Nessie, with a huge smile on her face.

"I told you it would be perfect" she said as she hugged me.

Then came Sophie and Mel, their bridesmaid dresses beyond beautiful.

"Congratulations Bella. You finally found love again" she said as the hugged me tightly.

Alex came next and finally Will.

"I really am happy for you Bells" he said sincerely. "But of course, as always, if you ever hurt her, well, then you'll have to deal with me" he said to Edward and I smacked his arm, embarrassed.

He just laughed as he let the Cullens and the rest of the guests congratulate us. Emmett had a huge smile on his face, wiggling his eyebrows as he whispered:

"Now you're free to have all the fun you want" in my ear.

I rolled my eyes as Rosalie smacked him and everyone else chuckled. Rosalie, Esme and Alice al enveloped me in hugs. The guys congratulated me as well. Behind them, came all the other vampire guests, all unknown to me.

The first ones were golden eyed so I immediately knew they were the Denali's

I realized I was holding my breath as the vampire in front—Tanya, I assumed from the strawberry tint in her blond curls—reached out to embrace Edward. I held back a small growl at her eagerness to hug him.

Next to her, three other vampires with golden eyes stared at me with open curiosity. One woman had long, pale blond hair, straight as corn silk. The other woman and the man beside her were both black-haired, with a hint of an olive tone to their chalky complexions.

Tanya was still holding Edward.

"Ah, Edward," she said. "I've missed you."

Edward chuckled and deftly maneuvered out of the hug, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder and stepping back, as if to get a better look at her. "It's been too long, Tanya. You look well."

"So do you."

"Let me introduce you to my wife."

It was the first time Edward had said that word since it was officially true; he seemed like he would explode with satisfaction saying it now, I knew I was at hearing it.

The Denali's all laughed lightly in response. "Tanya, this is my Bella."

She eyed me with a look that was much more speculative than it was resigned, and then reached out to take my hand.

"Welcome to the family, Bella." She smiled, a little rueful.

"The Cullens are all evened up in numbers now. Perhaps it will be our turn next, eh, Kate?" She grinned at the blonde.

"Keep the dream alive," Kate said with a roll of her golden eyes. She took my hand from Tanya's and squeezed it gently. "Welcome, Bella."

The dark-haired woman put her hand on top of Kate's. "I'm Carmen, this is Eleazar. We're all so very pleased to finally meet you."

"Me, too," I said with a smile.

"Well, there's a line so we'll talk later" Kate said as they moved away.

Everyone else behind them was complete strangers. Edward gave me a brief description as they came up. They all greeted us and congratulated us but it really didn't go past that. What amazed me the most was how far Alice sent invitations? I mean, Egypt, Romania . . . that was just . . .

First up came the Amazon Coven. It was composed of Kachiri, Senna and Zafrina. Kachiri is tall and muscular with wild dark hair and long limbs while Senna is tall and long bodied with dark hair and finally, Zafrina, who is tall with dark hair and a long face.

Then up came the Egyptian Coven. It was composed of Amun, his mate Kebi, Benjamin and his mate, Tia. Amun and Kebi both had dark hair and an olive pallor. Benjamin was a young, boyish looking vampire with midnight hair, olive pallor, and an oddly cheerful look. Tia an olive tone of skin and midnight-colored hair

Next was the Irish Coven; Maggie, Liam and Siobhan. Maggie was small with bouncy red curls. Liam was hard face and physically imposing, sort of like Emmett. Siobhan had a huge body that moved in smooth undulations and was both beautiful and mesmerizing to watch.

After them was the Romanian coven which included Stefan and Vladimir. They both dressed in black but Vladimir had blond hair and Stefan had white.

Last but not least, came all the nomads, Peter and Charlotte (American) and Alistair (European). Peter is almost as tall as Jasper, with long, white blond hair. Charlotte is Alice-sized with white blond hair. Alistair is tall and dark haired.

The wedding flowed into the reception party smoothly—proof of Alice's and Nessie's flawless planning. It was just twilight over the river; the ceremony had lasted exactly the right amount of time, allowing the sun to set behind the trees.

The lights in the trees glimmered as Edward led me through the glass back doors, making the white flowers glow. There were another ten thousand flowers out here, serving as a fragrant, airy tent over the dance floor set up on the grass under two of the ancient cedars.

All the vampires started trickling out, sprouting conversations with the unfamiliar vampires. All the standard traditions were kept, well, some of them. The cake was there but of course, no one even wanted to think about eating it.

I threw my bouquet with a typical skill, right into Nessie's surprised hands. Our whole family laughter as she blushed. Emmett and Jasper howled with laughter while Edward removed my borrowed garter—which I'd shimmied down nearly to my ankle—with his teeth.

It was sort of awkward since they weren't that many single men so he just tossed it in a random place . . . which ended up being Will's hand.

"Ew! Yuk!" Nessie said as she tossed the bouquet that she caught to Mel. "Have fun"

(Let me explain Nessie's reaction. The bride first throws her bouquet to the single women. Then, the groom removes the garter from the bride's leg; sometimes he removes it with his teeth or his hands. After the garter is removed, he then throws it to the single male guests.

The male guest then takes the garter and places it on the leg of the single female guest who has caught the bouquet. Those that catch either item are said to be the next to marry. In some instances, it is said that they will marry each other. Now you understand)

We all laughed at the scene, watching Nessie's face turn crimson. And when the music started, Edward pulled me into his arms for the customary first dance; we twirled effortlessly under the glow of a canopy of lights.

"Enjoying the party, Mrs. Cullen?" he whispered in my ear.

I laughed. "That will take a while to get used to."

"We have a while," he reminded me, his voice exultant, and he leaned down to kiss me while we danced. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and I stopped, confused. Who in the world could that be?

"I'll get it" Nessie said as she danced off


A/N

Hey Guys! I know, It's late and it's a tad bit short. I'm sorry. I wrote everything on my dads laptop because my computer was malfunctioning and then my dad went ona buisness trip OUT OF THE COUNTRY! I didn't have any of my files, at all or internet. Anyway, what did you think? This story is practically at its end. The next chapter will be the Epilogue. *sniffle, sniffle* I know, it's practically over. No worries though, the sequel will come right after. Well, the wedding was pulled off . . . with a nice twist coming though, will answer a very curious question. So . . . who's seen eclipse? I saw it and thought it was amazing! They stuck to the book a lot ans that made me happy. They even got the good parts, like talking in the campsite while Bella sleeps and graduation and . . . everything! I loved it. Well, I hope to have more steady update now, you know, with summer and all.

Happy 4th of July! (for those who celebrate it)

Luv Ya!

JMFanficQueen