For Love, Not Show

Becca raised her arms above her head as the white gown came down over her head and around her body, carefully avoiding her fresh hair and makeup.  She was already dressed in a corset and a skimpy thong.  Her modesty had gone out the window.  Her sister-in-law-to-be, Trina, buttoned all the tiny little buttons on the back of the princess dress, taking time with each one.  Nicole, Becca’s best friend from college, watched impatiently, taking sips of mimosa, arm across her chest, to pass the time.  Becca already felt overwhelmed, but she blew out a breath and took it all in stride.  

She had already undergone a full transformation of professional hair and makeup and now that she was putting on the final touch, the wedding gown, it all was too surreal.  

This was not what she wanted, but both Kevin’s family insisted.  They refused to let their son wed without them, and Kevin succumbed to their begging.  He always gave into their pleading.  The couple almost ran off to the chapel while on their co-ed bachelor and bachelorette parties in Las Vegas, but they never had enough time alone.  When they were not sleeping off their hangovers, their friends were urging them to take shots of various neon colors.

Becca looked at herself in the mirror.  Sure, she looked beautiful, but she was not feeling like a princess inside.  Becca despised being the focus of attention, which was unavoidable at weddings.  For all she cared, Kevin could have all the attention, and he would have liked that.  What mattered to her is that she was marrying the man of her dreams, and that was enough for her.

“These were my grandmother’s earrings,” Trina said, opening a small box to reveal sapphire drop earrings.  “She would love that her new granddaughter wore them at her wedding to Kevin.  She adored Kevin.”

“Those are beautiful,” Nicole said, peering over Becca’s bare shoulder.

Sure, they were beautiful, but they were not Becca’s taste.  Why couldn’t she wear her silver butterfly stud earrings? She wore these earrings nearly every day since Kevin bought them for her at a boutique shop downtown two years ago.  However, she conceded, knowing that it was the right thing to do. She removed the butterflies from her earlobe and replaced them with the sapphire earrings.  When she looked in the mirror to see how they looked, she faked a smile while Nicole and Trina gasped.

“I have to pee.”

“Already? We just got you into this thing. It took us fifteen minutes to put this dress on.  We are not taking it off.” 

“I had a large iced tea over here to hydrate myself.” 

Nicole rolled her eyes and led the way to the ensuite bathroom connected to the bridal suite.

The three women and the large cream wedding gown huddled in the small bathroom.  Trina and Nicole held the dress up from either side as Becca reached around and pulled down her white Hanky Panky thong, an odd gift from Kevin’s mother.  It said “Bride” in rhinestones and she insisted she wear it for the wedding.  Why would she need to wear an uncomfortable thong if no one was going to see her panty lines?  She planned to wear her cotton briefs and tell his mother that she wore the lace thong she would never know, but then Trina made a comment when she saw them thrown to the side. 

“Can you hand me some toilet paper?” 

The women looked around for the toilet paper holder.  Nicole found it and handed over a healthy wad.  After flushing the toilet and fluffing her dress, there was a knock on the door.

“Are you decent?” 

“Come in.”

“Well, don’t you look beautiful,” Kevin’s dad said, looking at Becca.

“Daddy, did you see grandma’s earrings?” Trina asked.  Because Becca didn’t have a man in her life who she could ask to give her away, she asked Kevin’s father to do it and he accepted with tears in his eyes.  She was going to be their family, and that is when Becca knew they were accepting her as one of their own. 

“They look beautiful on you,” he said with a smile and watery eyes.  He straightened his voice.  “They are ready for us.  Are you ready?”

Becca nodded, even though she figured she would never be ready.  It wasn’t the marrying Kevin part that scared her; Kevin’s family’s entire Rolodex watching; That was what scared her.  She reminded herself that she was not doing this alone.  She had Kevin’s dad by her side and then, when he handed her off; she had Kevin.  She could do this.  She linked her arm through his and made their way to the entrance of the exit of the bridal suite.  It was time for Becca to face her fears. 

“Wait!” Nicole stopped them before they could make it out.  “You need your bridal veil.” 

Trina put the comb of the veil into Becca’s blonde shining updo, fanning it out behind her.  After giving Becca’s hand a squeeze, Keven’s dad and Becca were ready for the crowd and the spectacle that weddings are made of.  

The next fifteen minutes were a blur for Becca.  She was walking down an aisle, not paying attention to her pace, and then she was staring into the most amazing blue eyes she would look into for the rest of her life.  She knew these eyes well and they warmed her like a comforter on a chilly night. 

The officiant said some words, but Becca tuned them out.  When the officiant asked if she would take this man, Becca gave her only expected line of the evening: “I do.” 

Although the wedding, along with all the western bridal tradition, was not what Becca had in mind, it didn’t matter.  She was marrying the love of her life.  It was the rest of her life that mattered.  With those two lines, she spoke to the crowd. All was right in the world.