The Wedding
Shane woke up at about 6am. Before she even opened her eyes, the first thing she did was pray. "Dear Lord, today is my wedding day. I'm marrying the love of my life. My heart is bursting! I don't know why you chose to bless me with him as he's truly the best man you ever made. Whatever your reasons are, thank you. Bless us today and every day of our marriage. I pray in your precious name. Amen"
The moment she said amen, her phone dinged. She looked at it. It was Oliver! "Hello." she said softly into the phone. "Good morning, my darling." His beautiful voice sounded strong and confident. "Good morning, my Oliver. How are you this morning?"
"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." He always knew exactly what to say to make her feel special.
"Oliver, I love you! I Thank God and bless the day he brought me to Denver, to the Rockies, to you."
"How are you feeling, my darling?" He asked.
"Unbelievably happy, excited and anxiously waiting to see you and finally give my heart completely to you."
"Oh my love, it's just a matter of hours now. Please take care. Who is driving you to the church?"
"It'll either be Becky or mom. Don't worry darling, they are good drivers and God's watching over us."
"Of course he is. Ok, dad will be here soon, I better get up. Love you, see you later my Shane."
"See you later my Oliver. Love you." Shane disconnected the call and kissed the phone. "My sweet Oliver, indeed this is a day to rejoice and be glad… I love you so much!"
She sprang out of bed and made a beeline for the kitchen. "Coffee." she said out loud! She could hardly believe this was the day she would become Mrs. Oliver O'Toole! Indeed she'd rejoice and be glad, this was the day that the Lord had made for them!
The bridal party was at the church soon after 11. The ceremony was booked for 2 o'clock. Both hair and makeup professionals were already waiting as they would be doing the hair and makeup for all 4 ladies: the bride, the mother of the bride, the maid of honour, Rita and the bridesmaid, Becky. About 40 minutes into their preparation, Rita informed Shane the men had arrived. Rita went out to see Norman to find out if all was well. She came back quickly to relay to Shane they were all good. "Did you see Oliver?" Shane asked. "No, I only saw Norman. I believe he's fine." Shane wasn't nervous, but she was anxious. Time just refused to pass by fast enough. "Rita, can you please go and remind Oliver to retrieve my luggage from my car and transfer it to his? Can you check on him, please?" "Sure, I will go right away." Rita left again with the car keys for Oliver. She knocked on the door and Ramon opened it. "Senhorita Rita, what can I do for you?"
"Oh, Ramon, may I please see Oliver?"
"Sure, I will go and get him."
Within a few seconds, Oliver appeared with a worried expression on his face. "Rita? Is Shane ok?" Rita smiled at how sweet those two were. All they could think of was each other. "Yes, Oliver. Shane wanted me to check on you." He smiled, relieved. "Please tell her not to worry and let her know all is well." Rita gave him Shane's car keys. "She also asked that you transfer her luggage to your car." "Oh, of course. Thank you Rita. I'll do it right away."
Rita returned to the Bridal room and told Shane Oliver was looking as handsome as ever. Shane just smiled wistfully. A few minutes later there was a soft knock on the door. Sharon went to answer it. She came back quickly. "Shane, Oliver is at the door. He wants to say hi, but he promised he will stay on the other side of the door." The hairdresser smiled at her and said, "Go ahead." Shane got up and walked to the door that was slightly ajar. She faced the back of the door and folding her arm into a V she put it through the small opening and whispered, "Hi, my darling." He grabbed her hand with both of his and kissed it tenderly. "How are you my love?" he whispered back. They were mere inches from each other, only the cold timber of the door lay between their faces. "I miss you." she said, "Apart from that, I'm deliriously happy."
"Have you had any jitters?" he asked, nervously.
"No! Absolutely not! You?"
"No! Most definitely not! I can't wait to have you in my arms. My only nerves are due to having to wait forever." She chuckled. "Please don't even mention the word "wait" to me ever again." They both laughed. He kissed her hand again and said, "See you soon my love." She pulled his hand through the gap, kissed it and let it go. She closed the door softly and turned to the others. They were all wiping tears from their eyes, including the two beauty professionals. She laughed, did a double take and said, "Oh well, it serves you right for eavesdropping on other people's conversation." They all laughed!
The rest of the preparations went smoothly. At 1:30 on the dot, Shane was dressed and ready to go. She was one bride who would not be even one second late. There was another knock on the door and Becky went to see who it was. She came back and said, "Joe is outside." Shane asked Becky to let him in. Joe came in and stood in front of her with his jaw dropped in astonishment. Shane smiled and asked all her friends to give them a few minutes. When they left, she hugged him most affectionately. "Joe, you know, I couldn't love you more if you were my own dad." Joe hadn't cried in years, but he couldn't hold the tears back now even if he wanted to. "Shane, honey, Oliver calls you a gift from God to him, but I disagree. You are a precious gift to all of us and I couldn't love you more if you were my own daughter." "Oh, please don't make me cry." she said, holding both his hands. He gently kissed her on the forehead like the loving father he was. "I'll be outside and ready to go when you are." He looked deeply into her eyes and said emotionally, "Thank you for bringing my son back to me and out of his fog. Thank you for being the most loving woman ever and thank you for giving me this gift of walking you down the aisle. That's one thing I never thought I'd have a chance to do had it not been for you and your beautiful heart."
"Thank you, Joe. I love you." He walked outside and the ladies walked in. Her mother gave her a gentle hug and told her again how beautiful she looked and how proud she was of her. Ramon knocked on the door and told them to get ready to walk out.
They took their positions. Shane heard the soft classical music playing, chosen by Oliver. She could imagine Oliver and Norman walking down the aisle to the altar right now. Next it was her mother escorted by Ramon. Then Becky would go down next followed by Rita. Last, but definitely not least, Shane would be escorted by handsome Joe.
They waited behind the closed door waiting for the music to change to her song: Johann Pachelbel's Canon – Cello & Piano - performed by the Brooklyn Duo. The double doors were opened by two ushers and all the guests stood, turning to face her and Joe. They looked at each other and smiled. "Ready?" he whispered. She nodded almost imperceptibly and they started walking towards the altar. Lots of familiar and loving faces were smiling at her with their eyes glued to her. However, there was only one face she cared about seeing right at that moment and once their eyes locked, she saw nothing else. Her beautiful groom was standing tall and confident waiting for her. He was gorgeous in his tuxedo. He took her breath away.
Oliver was stunned the moment his eyes landed on Shane. He always knew she'd make a beautiful bride but he was not prepared for this goddess walking towards him. She was wearing an A-Line sweetheart sleeveless dress with a layer of sheer white over the whole dress with decorative embroidered lace over the bodice. The embroidered lace disappeared gradually below the waist line into the skirt and appeared again at the bottom of the skirt. There was no train on the dress, but the veil more than made up for it. It started at Shane's elaborate bun being held in place by ivory hairpins and finished several feet behind her. His bride was a classic beauty, he thought with pride, made to order especially for him by his loving Heavenly Father.
When she finally arrived at the altar, Joe gave her a lovely kiss on her forehead and passed her hand to Oliver. He grabbed it and laced his fingers through hers. Mark, their pastor, asked them how they were doing. Neither of them said anything, they just looked at each other and smiled. Mark then said, "I can see you don't want to share anything with us." The congregation laughed. The sermon was short and to the point. Mark then asked for the couple to turn to each other, hold both hands and say their personal vows to each other. Oliver went first.
"My dearest Shane, when I first met you, you simply walked into my heart with the same casual abandon you walked into the DLO. You never asked for permission, you simply made yourself at home. Slowly I came to realise how blessed I'd been. You are my special divine delivery and I love you from the bottom of my heart. Today I take you to be my wife. I promise to always love and cherish you, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, in wealth or the lack of it. I solemnly vow to be by your side all the days of my life until the Lord takes you or me home."
Shane reached out to Rita who passed her a tissue. She mopped her tears delicately and when she finished, Oliver took the tissue from her hand and put it in his pocket. Then she spoke.
"My dearest Oliver, when I first met you, you took my breath away. You walked into my heart with the same diligence you manage the DLO and you never walked out. You didn't ask for permission either, but I don't think I'd have denied it had you asked. I know I'm blessed among women to have your love. It's my pleasure today to offer you my heart, which is full to the brim with love for you. Today I take you to be my husband. I promise to always love and cherish you, for better or for worse, in sickness or in health, in wealth or the lack of it. I solemnly vow to be by your side all the days of my life until the Lord takes you or me home."
The rings were produced by Norman, the best man, who had them in his pocket (no holes). Oliver slipped the wedding band onto Shane's finger next to her engagement ring and Shane did the same for Oliver. Once the ring exchange was completed, Mark pronounced them husband and wife and Oliver was encouraged to kiss his bride. He placed his hands on her waist, pulled her to him gently and placed a lovely, tender kiss on the lips of his wife. They then turned to the congregation and Mark presented them for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. O'Toole. They erupted in cheers, clapping and whistling loudly.
Everybody wanted to hug and congratulate them. They took a few pictures with the whole group and then left to the orchard for endless photos. Their guests were encouraged to start the drive to the reception venue where there would be h'ordeuvres until the bridal party arrived.
When the photos by the church were done, Oliver took Shane by the hand and got into the back seat of the jaguar. Joe was their chauffeur for this short trip. They held hands and laughed happily. They included Joe so he wouldn't feel like the third wheel at this point. When they arrived at the lodge, more photos were taken, this time with some special guests as well. Somebody stuffed glasses of champagne in their hands and several photos were taken before they actually had a chance to drink any. The minute they started sipping, they realised they needed food. Fortunately for them, Rita who had previous experience in this area had ordered a picnic basket from the kitchen for the bridal party as they had missed out on the h'ordeuvres.
The guests were enjoying themselves in the beautiful surroundings also making the most of the perfect weather. Eventually they were led to the magnificent dining room and seated to wait for the bride and groom.
Ramon, the MC for the reception rang a little bell (the same bell Shane used to summon help when she was recovering). Once he had everybody's attention, he presented Mr. and Mrs. O'Toole. The whole room stood up and clapped loudly for the newly married couple. They walked to the head table where the bridal party was already waiting for them. They were served a magnificent dinner and then the speeches commenced. Norman did a marvellous job as the best man, funny, quirky, original… and loving! It was obvious he worshipped Oliver. Then it was Rita's turn. She brought down the house! She was extremely funny, trying to imitate Shane irritating Oliver in the DLO. She finished with a most loving tribute to her best friend that brought tears to everybody's eyes. Joe also paid tribute to his son, telling him how much he loved him and how blessed he was to find a gem like Shane. Sharon was next, but hers was very brief as her tears interfered. Dessert was then served, the cake was cut and Shane and Oliver were invited to the dance floor for their first two dances as a married couple. The first, chosen by Oliver was "At Last" by Etta James. A slow song, that seemed to have been written to tell their story. They danced it glued to each other looking lovingly into each other's eyes, in a most romantic fashion. The second, chosen by Shane was "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" by Andy Williams. It was more flirty, just like Shane but equally romantic. They just enjoyed their time alone on the dance floor as if there was nobody else in the room. However, the moment the slow song finished, Dancing Queen by Abba started and everybody joined them on the dance floor and the party truly started.
They separated briefly for Shane to dance with Joe and Oliver to dance with Sharon. Apart from those two dances, they danced only with each other. They flirted and laughed together all night. They were the epitome of happiness.
They walked around thanking their guests, one by one, not leaving a single one out. Later in the evening, Ramon gathered the ladies for the tossing of the bouquet and it was caught rather aggressively by Hazel. Everybody laughed.
The couple then got ready to depart and waved goodbye to everyone as they headed out the door. Joe, Norman, Ramon, Sharon, Rita and Becky walked them to the car and gave them last hugs and well wishes for the night.
Oliver opened the passenger door for Shane, helped her in and walked around the car, got in the jaguar and waved goodbye to their dear friends as they left for their long anticipated wedding night and honeymoon.
"This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24