A/N This is the final chapter of The Lighthouse before the epilogue. Thank you all who read and reviewed this story for making my first fanfic so memorable. You are all incredible! XOXO Enjoy the chapter and please please please let me know what you think! Thanks again!

Chapter 71 - The Big Day

Everything went seamlessly at the courthouse. They were able to pick up their marriage license quickly and head back home. Edward was getting really excited. This was really happening. In a few short hours, he would take Bella as his wife. Today was the first day of their forever together and he couldn't be happier.

When they got back home, they went to check on the other girls. All the flowers were done and Alice and Rosalie were getting ready. "Oh Bella! You're back just in time!" Alice exclaimed and she bounced up and down on her toes. "Edward, what time do we have to leave? Rosie and I want to do Bella's hair and makeup if that's okay with her."

He glanced at Bella and noticed that she was tearing up beside him. Pulling her into a tight hug, he whispered in her ear. "Are you okay, Love? You don't have to let them play barbie if you don't want to."

Bella hugged him back fiercely. "It's not that, Edward. I'd actually love it if they would help me get ready. It's just that I've never felt like such a part of a family before. It's a little overwhelming to feel this loved. I'm sorry if I'm a little emotional."

He couldn't help but smile at her before bringing his lips down to meet hers in a very sweet kiss. "Get used to it, Baby," he whispered against her lips. "You're one of us now and we all take care of each other. Ali, I want to leave by two-thirty at the latest. That will put us up there by around four-thirty and give Bella plenty of time to get into her dress while we make sure everything else is ready. Em and I should have plenty of time to change too. Rose, are you bringing the dress up in your car, or should I put it in mine?"

"I've already got it in my trunk along with yours and Emmett's tuxes and the flowers. We should be all set. Now get out so we can beautify your fiance!" She laughed and winked at him as she grabbed Bella out of his arms and pulled her toward the bed. Alice had already laid out all sorts of make up and accessories.

Edward couldn't help but growl at his sister. "She's already beautiful, Rosie. Nothing you can do to her will make her more so," he said as he walked over to where she had pulled Bella. "I love you, Beautiful. I'll just be making sure we don't forget anything we need to do; I want this day to be absolutely perfect for you." With a final kiss to her inviting lips, Edward walked out the door and down the hall to find Esme.

...

"Oh my god, Bella! Are you excited?" Alice was being Alice, jumping up and down as she tried to decide what to do with Bella's make up. Rosalie was going to do her hair while Alice worked on her face.

She couldn't help but smile widely at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. "Of course I'm excited, Alice. I love Edward more than I can even express, and for some unknown reason, he loves me too. My life is complete now; marrying him today only solidifies it more."

Rosalie finally spoke up. "Alright you two, we only have an hour to get ready before we leave, so let's get working. We can talk while we beautify." She had a huge grin on her face and Bella realized just how pretty she was when she wasn't acting snobbish or bitchy. It was obvious that she was really sorry for what she said before, and that she was trying to make Bella feel welcomed into the family.

As Alice worked on her face, Rosalie curled and styled her hair. When her face was done, Alice grabbed her hands and started to give her a manicure. "Alice, you really don't have to do all this," Bella told her. She tried to use her head to gesture toward her hands, which were soaking in a small bowl in front of her, but Rosalie had a death grip on her hair.

"Don't move Bella, or I'll have to start all over!" Rosalie exclaimed as she tightened her grip even more. What the hell was she doing, anyway?

"We want to do it Bella. It's really the only way we can be involved today and we want to do our part to make it special for you both." Alice lifted her hands out of the water and patted them dry with a hand towel before attacking her nails with a nail file and cuticle trimmer. Bella had to admit that she kind of liked being pampered. "I would give you a pedi, too, but I don't think we'll have time." Bella couldn't help but laugh at that. Alice was definitely a force of nature that would take some getting used to.

Forty-five minutes after they started, Alice was done with her makeup and nails and Rosalie had finished her hair. She even added some baby's breath to it and Bella was curious to see how it looked. "Okay Bella, come look and tell us what you think!" Rosalie sounded just as excited as Alice had earlier and Bella couldn't wait to see it.

When she stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of Alice's bedroom door, she gasped. The brown eyed beauty in front of her was almost a stranger. Her eyes were bright, brought out by perfect make-up application. Her cheeks were rosy but still looked natural and she was positively glowing. "I love it, Alice! Thank you so much!" She knew she had to say something because Alice was looking at her with wide, waiting eyes.

Her eyes then travelled from her face to her hair and her breath caught in her throat. "Wow, Rosalie, it's beautiful," she whispered in awe. Rosalie had managed to put her hair up in a series of twists and curls, weaving the baby's breath all through it. It was going to look amazing with her dress and she was even more excited now than an hour ago.

"You look beautiful, Bella. Edward isn't going to know what to do with himself tonight," Rosalie said with a wink. With her makeover complete, Bella knew it was time to go find Edward so they could load up and leave. In just over two hours, they would be arriving in Port Townsend and in just over three, she would be walking down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams.

...

Edward found Esme in her room, so he knocked softly on the open door. She was already dressed and appeared to be ready to walk out the door. Upon closer examination, he saw that she was sitting on the bed with a photo in her hand. She waved him into the room and patted the bed beside where she was sitting. When Edward took a seat beside her, he noticed that she had been crying.

"Mom? Why are you crying?" he asked even though he thought he already knew the answer.

Esme wiped at her eyes and smiled softly at him. "I'm just so happy for you Edward. When you came to us two years ago, you were so lost. I didn't know what to do or how to help you, and that's my job; that's what I do for a living. I felt like a failure for the first time in my career, knowing you had so much potential to be happy but you refused.

"When Bella walked into my office two months ago, I just knew that you were meant for each other. When I noticed her staring at this picture," she held up the frame to show the same picture she keeps in her office of the entire Cullen family, "I saw that she was drawn to you. It's almost as if she knew it then too, without ever having met you."

Edward smiled and pulled Esme into a hug. "I think you're right, mom. Bella told me about a dream she had last night and I think my mom and dad played a part in us meeting. They're happy for me."

Esme squeezed him back before replying. "We're all happy for you, too, Edward. You may not be blood, but we love you as if you are. Now, I'm assuming you didn't come here to reminisce?"

"Wow, you're good mom," Edward smirked. "Actually, I was hoping you'd help me keep my head on straight while Rosie and Ali are giving Bella a makeover. I don't want to forget anything for tonight. I want to make this perfect for Bella."

"Of course, Edward. Tell me what you need me to do and I'll do it."

For the next thirty minutes, Edward and his mom made a list to make sure everything was taken care of. They checked everything off as they went and the only thing left was to call and see if Charlie wanted to ride up with Edward's parents. Esme, obviously trying to take some of the burden off of Edward, offered to make that call and disappeared into the study. When she came back out, she confirmed that Charlie would be here in about fifteen minutes and that Carlisle was on his way home from the hospital and should be walking through the door any minute. "What about Em or Jazz? Have you seen them?"

Esme laughed. "Where are they ever? I think they're downstairs playing video games or something."

"Thanks mom," he said as he headed toward the stairs. He needed to make sure his brothers were ready to go and if they weren't he was seriously going to kill them.

...

This was it. Bella was sitting beside Edward on the way to Port Townsend. Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, and Emmett were all riding in Rosalie's Spyder, following behind them, and Carlisle, Charlie, and Esme were in Carlisle's Mercedes behind that. Pastor Webber and Angela were meeting them at Point Wilson at five pm and the ceremony would be held at sunset, which would be around six.

For the two hour car ride, Bella held Edward's hand tightly. Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and she had butterflies in her stomach. She wasn't nervous though, she was excited. She couldn't believe this was actually happening.

If you would have told her six months ago that she'd be beside the man of her dreams, on the way to her wedding, she would have laughed. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, but it was all for the better.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" Edward asked, squeezing her hand in his.

She looked over at him, drawn from her thoughts, and smiled. "This is really happening, isn't it? It just seems so surreal."

He glanced sideways for a moment, meeting her eyes with a wide smile on his face. "It really is, Baby. Are you nervous?"

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p.' "Just really excited!"

When they arrived at the lighthouse, Sam came out to greet them, offering Edward a hearty handshake and then pulling Bella into a quick hug. "Congratulations you two," he said as he pulled back. "I'm sure you've already heard about how young you are and how fast you're moving, so I'm not going to say any of that. I can see that you're head over heels in love with each other and that's all that matters to me."

Edward thanked him and then introduced him to his family and Bella's dad. They all shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before Sam led them into the building and showed them which rooms they would have access too. Bella was in shock for a minute that Sam had given up his own room for her so that she could get ready. She could feel her eyes well up with tears but she blinked them back. She knew she couldn't cry yet. She didn't want to ruin all of Alice's hard work. "Thank you, Sam. You have no idea what this means to us," Edward said, squeezing Bella's hand. He must have known what she was thinking just by the look on her face.

Turning to her, he pulled her face up and kissed her lips. "I love you, Bella. I'm going to go with the boys to get everything set up and then get changed. Rosie will bring in the flowers and Em will bring in your dress. Is there anything else you're going to need before I go?"

Bella thought for a minute but couldn't come up with anything. "You're amazing, Edward. Thank you for everything you've done so far, but I think I'm good now. I love you!" She stood on the tips of her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss before letting him go. As he walked off, she noticed a bounce to his steps and had to smile. He was more like Alice than he would ever admit.

A few minutes after Edward left, Rose came in carrying a box with the flowers in it, followed by Emmett, who had her dress and bag of accessories in his hands. He set everything down on the bed, gave Bella a tight hug, kissed Rosie fully on the lips, and then left. Alice came bounding in a second later and closed the door behind her. "Alright Bella, let's get you ready!"

Angela showed up while Alice and Rose were fastening up her dress. When Bella turned around, Angela squealed in delight. "Oh my gosh, Bella! You look absolutely gorgeous! Who did your hair and makeup?"

Bella smiled, looking at Rose and Alice before turning back to Angela. "My new sisters. Rose did my hair and Alice did my makeup. They did a great job, don't you think?" Bella did a little spin so her friend could get the full effect and then pulled her into a hug.

"Definitely!"

Alice helped Angela slip into her dress while Rose helped Bella put her shoes on. "Alright, Bella. I think you're ready! I'm going to take these boutonnières to the men and mom, and then come back to check on you, okay?"

"Okay, Rose. Thank you for everything you've done these last two days. I couldn't have done this without you, Alice, and Esme." Bella pulled her into a tight hug before watching her leave the room with the flowers.

While Rose was gone, Alice helped Bella with her jewelry, first fastening the beautiful necklace around her neck and then moving on to the intricate bracelet. Once those pieces were on, Bella slipped the earrings into her ears and then looked at herself in the mirror. The woman looking back at her looked so happy. It was almost as if she was looked at a fairytale princess set to marry her prince charming, and in a way she was. Edward was her prince. In the short time she'd known him, he'd swept her off her feet and shown her what it meant to be loved unconditionally.

Bella was lost in her thoughts for a while. She thought about everything; marrying Edward, having her mom and his parents there in spirit, starting a family. A knock on the door pulled her out of her reverie and she spun around as Alice opened it.

"Baby, you look absolutely beautiful," Charlie whispered around a lump in his throat as he smiled at her.

Bella quickly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her father. "Thank you, Daddy," she whispered in response as she felt the tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Oh no you don't, Bells. You're not allowed to cry for another few minutes," he tells her. His attempt at humor works and she feels her lips pull up into a smile. "There, that's better!" He nods, satisfied. "Alice, you'd better get upstairs and take a seat. Angela, Emmett is waiting for you at the top. Bella and I will be up in just a momenr, I just need a minute with her alone, okay?"

Both ladies nod before going to the box of flowers. Angela grabs the smaller bouquet and Alice grabs the larger one and brings it to Bella. "Good luck, Bella. You really do look beautiful," she said before following Angela out the door.

Bella turned back to her father and smiled at him. "Are you okay, Daddy?" she questioned. She saw that his eyes were red and glassy and she knew he was holding back his tears, trying to be strong for her.

"I'm okay, Bells. I'm just really going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too, Daddy, but its not like I'm moving across the country. Edward and I have decided we want to stay in Forks. Carlisle and Esme are buying us a house as a wedding present, too. Daddy, I just got you back; there's no way I can leave you again so soon, okay?"

Charlie hugged her tight, speaking into the top of her head. "Okay, Bells. I'm glad you're not leaving, but I really just want you to be happy. I love you, Honey."

"I love you, too, Daddy." She squeezed him back for a minute before pulling away. "Is it time?" Charlie looked at his watch and nodded, offering Bella his arm. "Don't let me fall down the stairs, okay?" she joked halfheartedly. She was actually terrified of slipping and falling on her way up.

"I wont, I promise," he said as he led her to the stairs.

This was it.

...

Edward stood at the makeshift altar next to Pastor Webber. To say he was anxious would be an understatement. In just moments, Bella would come down the aisle and become his wife and he couldn't wait. Sam was sitting with Edward's family in folding chairs on the observation deck, waiting for the ceremony to start. There was a little aisle between the chairs where Angela and Emmett would walk, followed by Bella and her dad. Any moment now.

Just when he thought he was going to go crazy from waiting, he saw Angela and Emmett approaching. Angela was in a beautiful green dress with a wrap covering her shoulders. She had a wide smile on her face as they approached him. Seconds later, Bella came into view, holding onto her father's arm, and his breath hitched. She was a vision of beauty.

His eyes travel from her toes to her face slowly, memorizing every inch of her. She was in a beautiful white silk gown, fitted to the top half of her body perfectly before flaring out slightly just under her breasts. There was intricate beadwork covering the bodice and intermittent spots along the skirt. The sleeves went just past her shoulders and then left the rest of her beautiful arms bare. The top of the dress was cut so it showed just the right amount of cleavage and his mouth started to water as he thought about taking it off of her.

As his eyes moved to her face, he saw the smile she offered him as they approached. He had never seen so much excitement in her eyes or happiness on her face. If he had any worry about her having doubts, it would have been doused with the look on her face in that moment. She was absolutely, breathtakingly beautiful, and she was here for him: to marry him.

When they finally reached him, Charlie took her right hand in his own and kissed her cheek before turning and offering her hand to Edward. The moment he took it, the whole world ceased to exist. It was just Bella and him, in their own private moment as they gazed into each others eyes. The sun was setting and they were finally ready to start the ceremony.

Pastor Webber began speaking, but Edward couldn't hear the words. Bella was still the only thing that existed in his world and he looked into her warm, chocolate brown eyes. When it came time for them to speak their vows, Bella went first. As the tears streamed down her face, she told Edward exactly what he meant to her and how grateful she was to have found him. "You are my lover, my soulmate, my other half. I will love you for every day of forever, Edward. We were meant to spend our lives with each other, brought together by a force more powerful than anything on this earth, blessed by those no longer with us. You have my heart, my mind, my body, and my soul. It is now and will always be yours."

Her words brought tears to his eyes just in time for him to speak his vows to her. "Bella Swan, I don't know what I ever did to deserve an amazing woman like you, but I am so grateful to have you in my life. When my parents died, I was left lost, floating at sea with no sign of the shore, no light to guide me in. For two years I was adrift and I lost all hope of ever finding happiness.

"Two months ago when I first saw you, you took over my every thought. Still, I didn't think I deserved happiness, so I did my best to forget you, to distance myself from you. When I heard about your attempt to end your life, my heart broke into a thousand pieces and I couldn't understand why. Perhaps it was because I myself attempted it once too, I don't know. All I know is that I ached to go to you, to hold you, to love you before it was too late.

"When my mom sent me to the meadow that day, she didn't tell why. She said I'd know when I got there, and Bella, she was right. I couldn't stay away from you anymore. I was afraid if I did, I would lose you forever. I couldn't let that happen, even if it meant opening myself up for the first time in two years. Bella, you healed me, and for that I will always be indebted to you. I promise to love and cherish you everyday for the rest of my life. Together, we can accomplish anything. I love you, Bella, now and forever and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life proving to you just how much. You are my rock, my light, my beacon."

The tears were streaming down both of their faces by the time the words were spoken, and Pastor Webber continued with the ceremony. He instructed Bella to place the ring on Edward's left hand and she did so as her hands shook.

"Isabella Marie Swan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love and to hold, to honor and cherish, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

Bella looked into Edward's eyes and smiled through her tears. "I do," she said in a strong, sure voice.

The pastor then turned to Edward and instructed him to place the ring on Bella's left hand. With confident movements, he slipped the ring on her finger, where it would presumably stay for the rest of their lives.

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love and to hold, to honor and cherish, through good times and bad, in sickness and in health, as long as you both shall live?"

With joy in his heart and in his voice, Edward answered, "Absolutely, I do!"

"With the power vested in me by the great State of Washington, and in front of God and these witnesses, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Edward didn't hesitate to pull Bella into his arms and kiss her with everything in him. He was so incredibly happy that he thought he would explode as his lips attacked her. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the cheers and clapping from his family, but he didn't care; he was lost in all that was Bella, his wife.