5th May 2013. So here is their wedding... Enjoy!

Chapter 33.

Max led Lauren out of the front door and down the stairs. She looked towards the gardens and saw a small crowd of people gathered there. She walked to the entrance of the gardens with her father and then she saw Joey standing at the far end and the sight of him took her breath away and she could only see him from behind. He was all she could look at as she moved closer. He turned his head and their eyes met. He smiled at her and she fell in love with him all over again. When she was near the front she noticed the person standing at her fiancé's side and his presence there made her smile. He was dressed in a suit just like Joey and her dad. He smiled at her broadly and waved.

Lauren reached the front of the garden and stood at Joey's side. Max kissed Lauren softly on the cheek and then moved to his wife's side. "Love your choice of best man..." Lauren whispered to Joey.

"Best little man for the job," he said with a smile. Joey took her hand in his, his other holding Oscar's as he stood the other side of him. "You ready for this?" Joey whispered.

"Absolutely..." She squeezed her hand as she spoke.

*JL*JL*

They were at the vow part of the ceremony and it was Joey's turn first. He turned to face Lauren, her hands grasped in both of his. He cleared his throat, "I chose to write my own vows for today because the traditional vows didn't seem to cover everything I wanted to say." He winked at her and she smiled. "I knew I loved you the first moment I looked into your eyes... and I didn't even really know what it meant to love someone at that time. You captured my heart that day and have owned an ever-increasing part of it ever since. I fell in love with you a little more each time I spoke to you and saw you and I still do, every day. Things changed a year ago today and I thought I'd lost you from my life. I hurt you in a way I never intended to and I wish I could take back all of the pain I caused. We both were in a lot of pain after that and then I had to tell you the reason why it happened. You amazed me again and said you didn't care; you still wanted to be with me despite everything." He squeezed her hands. "I couldn't have got through everything I faced at the beginning of this year without you. You grounded me and kept me sane at a time when I know I would've fallen apart if you hadn't been there. I wouldn't be here now if you hadn't helped me through that time and you gave me the strength to believe I could get better. When we were told of the illnesses you face, I wanted to be there for you like you had me. I wanted to be there to comfort you and help you through it. I promise to be with you every step of the way, baby girl, holding your hand when you're in pain and making sure you know every day how much I love and cherish you. A very wise little man once asked me if we were going to get married. I asked him why he would ask that and he told me how his parents loved each other and they got married. Then he said that me and you loved each other so it must mean we should too and he was right. He wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know but it was the first time we seriously talked about it. I love you more than I thought it was possible to love someone and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together; creating a future together." He leant forward and kissed Lauren's forehead.

Both Tanya and Lesley were in floods of tears from the words Joey had said to Lauren, both of them knowing how unlike Joey it was to show his emotions so openly. They wiped away their tears as Lauren began to speak.

"I wish I could say I've planned what I'm going to say because I'm really not good at public speaking but seeing as how I found out this was happening just over an hour ago, I didn't know I had anything to plan... so this is going to have to be a bit off the cuff." She paused and looked down at the ground. "You were the first person I've ever loved and I know you'll be the last one too." Joey squeezed her hands again at those words, "You gave me a stability I didn't realise I needed or wanted. You made me want to get through every day, without turning to alcohol. You were the thing I started to turn to instead and you're all I will ever want to turn to. I told you last summer that you were my haven and when you held me in your arms, I felt safe, loved and protected and I know you'll always make me feel that way. I promise to you that I will love you for the whole of my life... however long or short that may be." She whispered the last words to Joey and she could see the affect the words had on him. She squeezed his hands this time and brushed her thumbs over the back of them. "I will challenge you every day to be the person I know you are and to show everyone who knows us that this relationship isn't wrong; that we were destined to be together. I really believe we were made for each other and there is no way that something like that can be wrong. I promise to you we're going to prove those words to everyone."

After the vows it was time for them to exchange rings. Joey turned to Oscar and held out his hand. Oscar passed the rings to him, whispering, "Did I do okay, Joey?"

"Stellar job, little man..." Joey said, brushing his hand through the curls on the top of his head. After repeating the words of the minister, Joey gently pushed the ring onto her finger. Lauren looked at it in wonder, seeing something inscribed around the band.

It was then her turn to do as Joey had just done. She picked up the ring and repeated the words she had to say, then pushing the ring onto his ring finger, like he had to her.

"You may now kiss the bride." Was proclaimed by the minister.

Lauren blushed prettily as Joey slowly moved towards her, pressing his lips against hers in a soft kiss. His arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer to him as their kiss deepened instinctively. He pulled his mouth from hers and rested his forehead against her, "I love you, Mrs. Branning." He told her softly.

"I love you more, my wonderful husband." Lauren looked down at their hands and saw their rings as their fingers entwined. Now she looked at them she could see they both had writing on them. She couldn't make out the words from this distance. "What does the writing say?" she asked him softly.

"Ti amo," Joey said, smiling at her, "Il nostro amore è per l'eternità..." Her mouth dropped open as he spoke in Italian to her. He looked at her and shrugged, "I've been practicing…" he said, winking at her this time.

"What does it mean?"

"I love you. Our love is for eternity." He whispered, brushing away a tear that appeared as he spoke. "It's written on both our rings." He paused briefly. "There's writing inside each ring too… it says Lauren & Joey and today's date."

"So you'll never forget…" she whispered.

"I'm never going to forget today, baby girl." He said softly, leaning down and kissing her again. She melted in his arms as the kiss deepened and their guests all laughed and cheered.

TBC

A/N: How romantic... Do you think that was a nice way to end a traumatic weeks of episodes? Back tomorrow... with multiple chapters. Let the baby making begin... :-)