Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just having some fun with her toys

Here we go! I really hope you enjoy my version of their wedding :) Chapter 24: It's Time

Bella's POV

"Please?" I asked.

Rosalie shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Just for a second?" I was sitting on a tall stool in Esme's salon, trying not to lose my mind. "This is the longest we've been apart in three days."

"You're preparing to be together for the rest of your lives." She inspected my dress a fourth time. "You can wait another hour."

"But I've showered and shaved, my hair is almost done, and my nails are wet. Until it's time to get dressed, I have nothing else to do but sit here. So can't I see him? He can even keep his eyes closed."

"I think Rosie is right," Renee said, and I smiled despite her opposition to my plan. Rosalie hated when anyone but Emmett called her that. "You'll see Edward soon enough."

I turned to Alice. "At least tell me how he is. Did he eat? Is he nervous? Did Charlie break down the door and try to kill him?"

Alice looked at Rosalie, who shrugged, then replied, "I suppose an update would be all right."

"Thank you!" I could have kissed my little sister. "Okay, what is he doing right now?"

Renee tidied up the vanity. "How would she know that?"

"Are you kidding?" Rosalie huffed as she covered my slip of the tongue. "Alice has planned this entire evening down to the nanosecond. She could probably tell you what Edward is going to say next."

"Ha-ha. Jasper has been updating me all afternoon. He knew you would have questions."

"And?"

"Edward is fine." Alice checked my pedicure. "But it took him a while to get himself together. He vacillated between ecstatic and incredulous for almost an hour. You really got him good!"

I felt like a desert dweller tasting her first drops of rain. "What else?"

"When Charlie arrived, he charged upstairs to interrogate Edward but stopped short when he saw how bewildered and jumpy Edward was. He realized the abrupt wedding really was your idea and helped Edward settle down."

"Wow," Renee and I said in unison.

"Other than that, there's not much to tell. Charlie and Phil retreated to Carlisle's study to watch some classic football game, then Emmett and Jasper got Edward something to eat. They have been holding Edward captive in his room ever since."

"Are the boys behaving?"

"What do you think?"

I sighed, thinking of the last private talk they'd had with him. "Poor Edward."

"Oh, please." Rosalie turned off the curling iron. "A good teasing will keep that boy from getting too serious and worrying himself to death. I hope they let him have it."

"Well, now that you've gotten your Edward fix." Esme inspected my manicure again. "These are dry, so we should do everything else before getting you dressed."

I looked around as my mothers and sisters scattered. "Everything else?"

Renee walked toward me with a big smile and a small satin satchel. "These are the hairpins your Nana Botham wore when she married your grandfather. I didn't wear them for either of my weddings," she chuckled, "but they will look beautiful on you." I cradled the bag in my palm before passing it to Esme.

After Esme secured my hair with the charming pins, my soon-to-be sisters approached me with rectangular jewelry boxes. Rosalie opened hers first. "Emmett gave me this necklace for graduation last year."

"And this is the bracelet Jasper gave me for my birthday. We wanted you to have a piece of us today because we're so happy you are becoming our sister" Alice said as they hugged me.

I expected such a gesture from Alice, but Rosalie's willingness to loan me something so precious was profoundly moving. I laid a hand on the jewels as they secured them around my neck and wrist, trying my best to keep the tears at bay.

Then Esme came to stand in front of me. In her hands lay a navy jewelry box bearing the coveted Cullen crest. "Bella, I present you with a special gift from Carlisle and me." She opened the box to reveal an exquisite pair of diamond earrings in the shape of two intertwined crescents. "Alice and Rosalie were each given a pair on similar occasions, and as you join our family tonight, these are now yours."

"Oh, Esme..." The tears would no longer hold, and I didn't care. Esme wrapped her arms around me, and the rest of my female family joined her. The moment was seminal and sweet, one to cherish forever.

"Okay." Rosalie loudly exhaled. "If you're finished crying, we need to fix your face." I sniffled and nodded, and Renee grabbed a mirror. Once the facial touch-ups were complete, I took a deep, excited breath as Esme reached for the most important item in the room: my wedding dress.

Under the guise of an all-day, all-girls Christmas shopping trip, Esme, Alice, Rosalie, and I had snuck away to hunt for my wedding gown. Alice offered to design my dress herself, but I politely declined. I had no idea what I wanted and was leery of what she might create on her own. Esme suggested we return to Jeanette's boutique, and as usual, she had been right. For there among the dozens of exclusive frocks I discovered my dream dress.

The tea-length cocktail dress had a modified sweetheart neckline resting atop a natural waist corset. Its textured bust was embroidered with abstract floral designs sparsely spread throughout the semi-sheer bodice. Beneath the thin, satin belt, the subtle pattern grew gradually more dramatic, flowing into a draped, full skirt that came to a soft stop just below my knees.

But for all of the gown's essential beauty, its unique color made it truly divine.

I had broken out in hives at the sight of the first all-white dress, and derivatives like ivory and blush were equally nauseating. But when Esme showed me this blue gown, I fell instantly in love with it. An iridescent ice blue dominated the dress and was complemented by touches of sapphire, onyx, and arctic white. As soon as I slipped it on, I knew it was the only dress in the world worthy of the moment where I would unite myself to Edward in matrimony. From the pins in my half-up, half-down loose curls to the shimmering peep-toe pumps on my feet, I never felt more beautiful in my entire life. And as I stood in the five-way mirror, four pairs of eyes-three golden and dry, one blue and damp-smiled at me in ardent agreement.

"Oh, honey," Renee blubbered. "You look so pretty." She reached for the tissues and blew her nose nosily. "Like a fairytale princess on the happiest day of her life."

"Radiant," Alice beamed a little smugly. "And even better than I imagined."

"There will never be a lovelier bride than you are today." Esme kissed my cheek. "Not in a million years."

"Okay, stop." Their admiration was making my eyes water, and I was three eye-drying blinks away from a seizure. "I can't cry anymore."

"Besides that," Rosalie checked my face and met my eyes. "She's too gorgeous to cry."

"Not until she sees Edward, at least," Alice winked.

"Alice..." She swore not to peek into tonight for obvious reasons.

"I didn't forget." Alice held up two joined fingers and gave me her sincerest expression. "Scout's honor."

I was getting ready to respond when the opening chords of Clair de Lune drifted upstairs, the signal for the guests to quiet down because it was almost time. I looked around at my mothers and sisters, and Rosalie sighed as my lip quivered again. "Fan, Bella. Fan."

I waved a manicured hand in front of my eyes and started conjugating simple -ar verbs in Spanish to calm myself down. Shortly thereafter, Jeanette knocked and entered the room.

"Bella, you are a vision," she sighed. "Edward might just faint at the sight of you."

"That would be a first," Alice teased.

"Ladies, it's time to head downstairs," Jeanette said with two claps of her hands. "Renee and Esme will go down first, escorted by Phil and Carlisle, respectively. Girls, your partners are waiting for you in the hallway."

"Where's Edward?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Walking toward the altar," Charlie said as he entered. "To wait for you."

He looked quite dapper in his simple black tuxedo, and Renee embarrassed him by saying so. He fumbled over his compliments to the rest of the girls, but his eyes avoided mine. I noticed but didn't comment, and Jeanette escorted everyone out of the room.

Once we were alone, my father put his hands in his pockets and studied his new shoes. I picked imaginary lint off of my dress for want of a distraction, wondering which of us would speak first. Eventually Charlie cleared his throat. "Someone's been busy these past few days."

I tried to smile, but his strained expression concerned me. "Dad, you've got to know that I..."

"How quickly eighteen years have gone by," he interrupted, stepping forward. "It seems only yesterday your mother told me she was pregnant. And now, look at you: that awkward, shy girl I used to drag to my fishing hole has blossomed into a confident, amazing, beautiful woman who is about to marry the luckiest young man alive." Charlie shook his head, and his voice was gruff when he met my eyes. "I couldn't be more proud of you, Bells."

His tender words rattled my heart and pulled a few tears down my face. "Crap, now my face is ruined."

My father pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, dabbing at my eyes with a small smile. "Never."

The weathered cloth held his rustic, familiar scent, and I threw my arms around his neck. "I love you, Dad. So much."

"Me too, honey," Charlie muttered. "Always."

We had only a moment to recover before Jeanette soon knocked again.

"It's time."

Charlie raised his eyebrows in question, and I nodded, taking his offered arm as he led me out of the room. I could feel the expectancy in the air as we approached the top landing, and my happy nerves began their assent. Jeanette handed me my bouquet with assurances of how great I looked, but they were lost in the collective gasp from the crowd as Charlie and I appeared at the top of the staircase.

As I stood there, I briefly marveled at how the reds and greens of the Cullen Christmas season had yielded to a sophisticated palette of silver, gold, and cream. I appreciated the flowers Esme had chosen, amaryllis, oriental lilies, and a variety of orchids tastefully sprinkled throughout the space. The creamy bridal bouquets also had touches of deep wine which were lovely against my blue dress and the pearl gray worn by my sisters-slash-bridesmaids.

But all those things condensed into a wisp of nothing as I beheld my Edward.

He was resplendent as always, the fitted tuxedo a minor supplement to his natural perfection. But even from this distance, in his eyes-his fiery, golden eyes-I saw every private moment that led us to this public declaration of our love. In his eyes, I saw his fear, his boldness, his self-loathing, his selflessness, his pride, his vulnerability, his beastly nature, his spirituality. In his eyes, I saw the place where our painful, lonely pasts met in an impossible moment which created the path to our future. In his eyes, I saw everything he was and everything he was not. And in his eyes, I saw the man who represented everything I could ever want or need in this life.

And I couldn't wait another moment to make him mine.

He gave me that heart-stopping crooked smile, and it was only the slow cadence of my wedding song preventing me from sprinting down the stairs to his side. I had asked Rosalie to edit the track as the first verse and chorus were the parts I loved most:

I can feel the magic floating in the air

Being with you gets me that way

I watch the sunlight dance across your face

And I've never been this swept away

All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze

When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms

The whole world just fades away

The only thing I hear is the beating of your heart

'Cause I can feel you breathe

It's washing over me

Suddenly I'm melting into you

There's nothing left to prove

Baby all we need is just to be

Caught up in the touch

The slow and steady rush

Baby, isn't that the way that love's supposed to be

I can feel you breathe

Just breathe

As Faith Hill's soaring voice swelled around me, I finally reached the place where the aisle runner ended and my marriage to Edward would begin. Charlie kissed my cheek and placed my hand in Edward's, and the smile on my beloved's face was almost too bright to bear. He caressed my fingers as he had so often done in the past to calm me, and I knew despite our nerves, we would get through these next several minutes.

Angela's father was performing the ceremony, and I thanked him with my eyes for a brief second and returned my gaze to Edward. Mr. Weber guided us through the prayers and proceedings, and we managed to speak and nod when called upon. I heard scattered oohs and aahs in the crowd, but it was only when Mr. Weber called upon Edward to say his vows that my mind fully awakened. And as Edward's glorious face shone upon me, my heart fluttered in anticipation.

"Isabella," he began, "I feel as if I have been waiting for you much longer than my years on earth would suggest. Had I only known the splendor you would bring into my life, and had it somehow been possible, I would have been by your side the minute you were born, not wanting to be without you for a single moment. You are a revelation, my love, the most breathtaking evidence of God's magnificence I have ever seen or known, and I will never cease to be grateful for the miracle of your love. For as long as I may live, I am living for you, and I am honored tonight to become your husband."

My eyes were misty as Edward concluded, but I blinked and fanned to collect myself. Mr. Weber nodded at me, and I demurely cleared my throat, hoping my voice would cooperate.

"Edward, I never thought I would be standing here today because I never had a desire to get married. I never really planned my future because I didn't know what I wanted. But then you came into my life and showed me a brand-new world with endless possibilities. And in the beautiful space created by your love, I found myself and the life I wanted to have. No matter what I might do and experience from this day forward, you are my life now, Edward, and I cannot wait to begin ours together."

Edward's shining eyes never left mine as I spoke, and for the remainder of the ceremony, we were lost to the rest of the world. Somehow we exchanged rings, but our eyes stayed locked as our bodies inched closer and closer together. And just when I couldn't stand the distance any longer, Mr. Weber pronounced us husband and wife. Edward closed the gap between us, and our lips finally met.

This kiss...oh, this kiss...was unlike any we had ever shared before. It was potent and triumphant, shameless in its depth. It was rich in its purity, sacred and sweet. It was a kiss of promise, of fidelity and eternity. This was the kiss that sealed our love in the annals of time, the kiss that made us truly immortal despite our natural differences. This kiss was the kiss of wedded love.

And it was ours at last.

"They did it!" Alice squealed.

Edward and I broke apart and chuckled as the congregation rose to its feet and cheered. We waved to our family and friends, noting the number of damp faces. But as I looked over the throng of admirers and remembered why they were here, I turned back to my husband.

"I love you, Mr. Cullen," I murmured against his lips.

"As I love you, Mrs. Cullen."

My heart soared as he used my new last name for the first time, and I pressed my lips to his again, reveling in the newfound joy of being his wife.

Yep, they did it! What do you think?

The reception is up next… See you soon!