Chapter 24
The day of a wedding was always stressful if you were the bride, groom, part of the wedding party, or family of the bride or groom. The day of Chelsea and Steve's wedding was stressful. All bride's maids and groom's men were accounted for. All family members were accounted for.
The wedding and reception were taking place at the Marriott hotel. The hotel set everything up for the wedding and reception. It was actually really awesome. Chelsea stayed away from them setting up. But she did look in to make sure everything was exactly how it was supposed to be when she and Steve met with the Marriott wedding planner. Everything was what it was supposed to be and where it was supposed to be. If it wasn't, Chelsea was going to bitch about it, the same with her parents and Steve.
Chelsea, me, and the other bride's maids got our hair professional done for the wedding. After that, we were all back at the Marriott in a hotel room, getting ready and waiting for the big event.
The wedding was scheduled to start at four o'clock. Chelsea made sure everyone was ready by 3:30. Then at 3:45, all of us made our way out of the hotel room and down to the wedding. Chelsea was smiling and glowing. I had seen Christie the same way right before it was time for her wedding to get underway. I made sure I had tissues like I had for Christie's wedding as well. I was a sucker for weddings.
John, Dan, Matt, Boog, and Chelsea's older brother, Tommy all stood outside the ballroom waiting. They had been given instructions to be outside waiting.
"And there she is, the beautiful bride," Tommy said.
Chelsea grinned. Tommy walked right up to her. He gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "This is it," He said.
"I know," Chelsea said.
"The rest of you ladies look beautiful as well," Tommy said to me and the other bride's maids.
We gave him our thanks.
Ally, Kourtney, and I were all happy to see our boyfriends and fiancée. It was the first time we had seen them all day.
"If this is what it is going to be like at our wedding then it is going to suck," John said as he hugged me.
I laughed. "It'll be worth it."
"Yeah, because it'll be you."
I smiled and kissed him.
"All right, everyone," Chelsea's dad said walking into the hallway. "We are just a few minutes away."
"Yay!" Chelsea said.
All of us lined up. Ally, Kourtney, and I got to walk with Dan, Matt, and John. Chelsea made it that way.
At four o'clock, the doors to the ballroom opened and the sound of Canon in D began to play. Rachel and Tommy made their way into the room. Matt and Kourtney followed them. Then it was Dan and Ally behind. John and I followed them. Boog and Kat, the best man and maid of honor, followed us.
The ballroom was huge. Half of the room was set up for the reception, while the other half was set up for the wedding. All the wedding guests were standing and looking at all of us. John made it all the way to the front for the wedding ceremony. We each took our spot where the bride and groom would be. I took a look upon the wedding guests. I spotted Amy, Phil, Torrie, Randy, and Melissa. They were sitting on the groom's side in the second room.
Kat stood next to me now. Boog stood between John and Steve. I looked in the direction of Chelsea and her dad. I smiled. The beautiful bride was making her last few steps to her groom.
Chelsea and her dad stopped. Her dad gave her a kiss. He then took his seat next to her mom. Chelsea handed her bouquet off to Kat. She then turned her attention to Steve. They both stood face to face. They both smiled at each other. He reached out his hands for hers. She quickly reached hers out toward his. They were both then holding hands. Steve smiled brightly at her. Chelsea beamed at him with her own smile. I smiled myself just watching them. The minister began the ceremony.
Throughout the ceremony, I smiled and cried. It was not hard crying. It was just tears falling. But I did not look at Chelsea, Steve, and the minister the whole time. I looked over at Chelsea's parents and sister-in-law. I looked over at John Sr. and Carol. I looked over at the groom's men. I also looked over at my friends and baby sister. I liked to see what all their expressions were. Everyone was smiling. Torrie, Melissa, and Amy were teary eyed like me. Before I knew it the minister was saying these words:
"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."
Steve and Chelsea then shared their kiss as husband and wife. Everyone burst into applause. Chelsea and Steve turned to face their wedding guests. Chelsea took her bouquet from Kat. She and Steve then made their way up the aisle and headed out of the ballroom. Kat and Boog followed them. John and I followed them. The rest of the wedding party filed in behind us all.
Once the whole wedding party was outside the ballroom, we all gave hugs and congratulations to the newlyweds. John Sr., Carol, and Chelsea's parents and sister-in-law came out to. It was all about the bride and groom with their wedding party and immediate family. We also were taking a couple minutes before the photographer called us back in to take pictures. Also all the wedding guests needed to take their seats at the tables. The chairs were being cleared away that had been set up for the wedding ceremony.
"All right, we're ready for pictures," The wedding photographer said.
Everyone made their way back into the ballroom. It took a half an hour to take pictures. This was the whole wedding package too. We had not taken any pictures before the ceremony. Pictures were taken of the bride and groom. Then individual pictures of them were taken. Pictures of the whole wedding party were taken, along with ones of the bride and groom with the bride's family, and then of the bride and groom with the groom's family. The groom took pictures with each of his groom's men and then as a whole groom. The bride took pictures with each of her bride's maids and then as a whole groom. Plus the bride and grooms took pictures with the groom's men alone. Then the bride and groom took pictures with the bride's maids alone.
Chelsea had individual pictures of couples taken together as well. It was pictures of all the groom's men taking pictures with their wife, fiancé, or girlfriend. Each couple took some cute and nice pictures. Then we took some fun pictures. Melissa was overjoyed to get to take nice pictures with Boog/Sean. He was the same.
After pictures, the whole wedding went back out of the ballroom. We were all going to be introduced. It was time for the reception to officially start. The bride and groom were ready for their reception now. They would have their first dance as soon as they walked in.
Rachel and Tommy were the first ones to be introduced and walked in. Then it was Kourtney with Matt, Ally with Dan, me with John, and Kat with Boog. Then the bride and groom themselves were introduced. As they walked into the room, everyone was cheering, clapping, and whistling for them. It was so much fun.
Chelsea and Steve each had their own wide range of favorite genres of music. One genre they both loved was country. And their first dance as husband and wife was to I Need You by Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill:
I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
I wanna smell that sweet addiction on my breath
I wanna ride across West Virginia in the backseat of a Cadillac
You know some cowboys like me go out like that so I need you
Like a needle needs a vein
Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs a rain
I need you like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son meet the holy ghost
I need you
I wanna get lost in some corner booth
Cantina Mexico
I wanna dance to the static of an a.m. radio
I wanna wrap the moon around us and lay beside you skin on skin
Make love 'til the sun comes up and the sun goes down again cause i need you
Like a needle needs a vein
Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs a rain
I need you like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son meet the holy ghost
I need you
Oh, I need you
I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
You know some cowboys like me go out like that
So I need you, oh, I need you
I need you, I need you, I need you, I need you
Oh, I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you
I need you, I need you, I need you, too
"Give it up for the bride and groom," The DJ said. Everyone burst into applause and/or cheers. "All right, the bride and groom would like to speak." He turned the microphone over to Chelsea.
"Thank you, everyone for coming and being here to celebrate this special day with us," She began. "I want to thank my parents, grandparents, my new father-in-law, and my new mother-in-law for making this day possible. There are a lot of people out there who know what I am talking about with all them making this day possible. Just ask all of my bride's maids and the groom's men, they'll all tell you."
Everyone laughed. It was true.
"Anyway, thank you again everyone for being here," Chelsea said. She handed the microphone over to Steve.
"Yes, thank you everyone who is here and who made this day possible," Steve said. "This is one of the happiest days of my life. I've had four other days that are the happiest of my life, and that was when my little brothers were born. I love you all. They will all actually be doing a toast later and not just my best man, who is my baby brother."
"Woo, best man and baby brother!" Boog shouted.
Everyone laughed. John and I were sitting at the same table as him. We were sitting with him, Melissa, Randy, Torrie, Phil, and Amy.
"You'll have more recognition later, Sean," Steve said. "Anyway, it's time for dinner, so I hope everyone enjoys." He gave the DJ the microphone back.
"All right, we are going to start with the bride and groom, their wedding party, and families. They we'll go table by table," The DJ said. Chelsea said something to him. "Oh, I am also being informed that the friends of the groom's brother, John, are part of the family group."
"Good," Amy said. "I'm hungry."
I chuckled. All of us at the table got up. Chelsea and Steve had gone with a buffet dinner. I walked over to the buffet table with Amy and Torrie, our men behind us.
"You and John need to decide on a date," Torrie said. "So you can look into places and book them."
"John and I were actually thinking about doing it here," I said.
"That's an idea," Amy said.
"I'm more worried about Baby Johnny right now, actually. He needs all sorts of stuff."
"Yes, he does."
We all got our food and then went back to our table. Dinner was really good and filling. It was really nice to be with my fiancé and best friends, especially after I had been with Chelsea and the other bride's maids all day long. Boog and Melissa were thinking the same thing. They were talking privately and then kissing. You could tell they were in love.
"Okay, Matt and I are both done eating," Dan said walking over to the table with Matt in tow.
"I am too," John said.
"Well, are we going to give our toast now or what?" Matt asked.
John looked at Boog. Boog was not even paying attention to his older brothers. He and Melissa were making out.
"Hey baby brother and best man of the groom," John said, throwing something at Boog.
"Hey," Boog said, turning to his brothers. "What?"
"We would like to give the toast now, baby bro," Dan said.
"Oh, right, sorry," Boog said. He stood up. "Let's do it." He grabbed his glass of water and tapped it with his silverware. John stood up. It got everyone's attention. "It's toast time!" Boog said.
John grabbed his glass of water. Dan and Matt grabbed theirs from their table. The three plus, Boog all walked over to the DJ stand. He had a few microphones ready for them.
"All right, for those of you who do not know us," Boog said. "We are the groom's younger brothers and four of the five of his groom's men. I am Sean, the baby brother and best man."
"I'm Matt," Matt said. "I am the third younger brother."
"I'm Dan and the second younger brother."
"I'm John and the first younger brother. I was the test run of how great of an older brother Steve would be and he is a great older brother."
"Instead of traditional toast of the best man," Boog said. "Steve asked all of us to give a toast. Last night at the rehearsal dinner, Steve addressed each of us individually and as whole. Now all of us are going to address Steve individual and then as a whole. I will be going first as I am the youngest and best man!"
"Holla!" Melissa shouted.
There was laughter from a portion of the wedding guests who knew what Melissa meant. My friends and I all chuckled.
"That was my girlfriend," Boog said.
"Who happens to be the baby sister of my fiancé and baby mama," John said.
"We're talking about Steve, not you two," Dan said.
Everyone laughed. This was actually a planned out thing that they were doing.
"Yes, Steve," Boog said. He nodded his head, thinking for a second. "Okay, so all of us as brothers each have our own special bonds with one another or all together. I am close to both Steve and John more so than I am to Dan and Matt. Sorry, Dan and Matt. But Steve is the oldest of all of us and I am the youngest of all us. That makes a special bond.
"Steve and I both want to be teachers. He just graduated with his master's. I am working on my bachelor's. We both are helping our dad out with his restaurant, while our other three brothers are working for the Boston PD or the Boston Fire Department. But growing up, I looked up to Steve the most. He was the oldest and usually the oldest is the leader of the pack, which is true. Steve was the leader of the pack, while John, Dan, and Matt were the bodyguards.
"However, Steve has always been my inspiration and role model. We spent a lot of time together growing up. We share a lot of the same interests and that goes with wanting to be teachers. We both want to teach high school, but different subjects. We both are working with our dad at his restaurant.
"But I just want to say thanks for the inspiration, Steve and thank you for being my older brother. Plus thank you for making me the best man and helping to show the world that I am a grown man!"
Matt said what he had to say about Steve. Then Dan said what he had to say about Steve. Then it was John's turn.
"Steve, you and Dad, besides Mom, have been the ones to teach me a lot since childhood. You taught me how to be a great older brother. You taught me how to be a great friend. You taught me how to treat girlfriends. Every girlfriend you had, you treated her with dignity and respect. You taught me to be myself when it came to girls and women, which I have done. Just ask Trish and our friends."
We all laughed.
"But when you found Chelsea and got serious with her, you taught me more. You taught me how to love and respect one woman. You gave me the inspiration to want to settle down in a serious relationship. I lived my life for awhile and looked for that one woman and I finally found her. We haven't even been together for a year and we are engaged and having a baby. Watching you with Chelsea, gave me the inspiration to keep going and having a good time in life, because the right person will come along and she did."
"All of us have the right person in our lives, actually," Dan said.
"Steve," Matt said. "Thank you for being our older brother and putting up with the four of us. God knows that Mom, Dad, and you wanted to ring our necks most of the time, because we were rough housing or fighting."
"Thank you, Steve," Boog said.
"Here's to the groom and our older brother," Dan said.
We all raised our glasses to Steve.
"All right, since I'm up here," Sean said. "All my brothers and my dad have inspired me do stuff and voiced their opinion on certain matters of my life. They did the same thing last night when we were all hanging out. I want my girlfriend, Melissa Stratigias to know something."
I looked over at my sister. She blushed, because she knew half the people were looking at her.
"I love you, Melissa!" Boog said.
I grinned and looked at Melissa. Melissa smiled. She stood up and shouted, "I love you too!"
I looked over at Boog. He smiled.
"All right, the best man/baby brother of the groom is in love," The DJ said. "I understand all the brothers are."
"Yep, we all are," Matt said.
"Good for you all. I'd be happy to DJ for your weddings."
"I'll keep you in mind," John said.
"All right, let's let the maid of honor come make her toast."
John and his brother all came back over to sit down. Kat was on her feet and headed over to the DJ stand. John and Boog both sat down at the table. Dan and Matt sat down at their table near by. As soon as Boog sat down, he told Melissa again that he loved her. She replied again with "I love you too" and then she kissed him.
John and I smiled at each other.
After Kat made her toast, the dance floor was open and the real fun could begin. John and I were out on the dance floor the whole time like we had been during Christie and Jake's wedding reception. John did have to dance a dance or two with his mom. Plus John's dad and his brothers wanted to dance with me too. It was friends and family all having a great time. It would be the same at John's and my wedding.
Dan proposed to Ally during her favorite song: Love Sex Magic by Ciara featuring Justin Timberlake. It wasn't a slow song. I was dancing with John when I suddenly heard a squeal. It came from Ally. The two stood in front of each other and Dan was holding a little box with a diamond ring in it. She said yes, of course.
I was so glad to go home and go to bed at the end of the night. It had been a long day for everyone.
"God, did I miss you last night," John said as we were both lying in bed.
"Yes, I missed you too. I forgot Melissa snores," I said.
John laughed. "You all came back here last night?"
"Yes. That's why I said I forgot Melissa snores. She slept with me."
John laughed again. "She's probably annoying Boog with her snores."
"Only after they've had sex."
"Yeah, let's not talk about my baby brother and your baby sister having sex," John said.
"How about a little less conversation and more trying to go to sleep?" I asked.
"I'm all for that. I have another day off tomorrow, so I am happy."
"What did you plan on doing on that day off?"
"Spending it with you," He said, kissing me.
"Sounds good. Maybe we could spend it in bed too."
"Oh, I love that idea."
"Good," I said, kissing him.
John and I then cuddled up. Being in his arms and having him our bed with me helped me fall asleep easily. I had not liked sleeping without him the night before. John had felt the same way. Luckily it would be awhile before we had to sleep apart again.