Wedding Haters (Event to Remember Series-Book 2) (18 page)

“Thanks, friend!” I give her a big hug with
tears in my eyes.

“You two need to stop!” Abby reprimands us.
“Save the tears for tomorrow. Even you ‘Miss I never cry.’ ” She
points to Sienna. OK, that’s like the pot calling the kettle black
because we all know that Abby will be the first one crying
tonight.

“She’s right,” Sienna says, putting
everything back in her bag. “Let’s get this wedding started.” She
hurries to finish getting ready.

Susan does it again. As soon as we arrive at
the rehearsal dinner, I feel like crying. The room looks completely
magical. Cole is already there; as usual, he is providing the
entertainment and has several people laughing, including Jeff and
his dad. Speaking of Jeff, Sienna hasn’t mentioned her drunken make
out session since the day after my bachelorette party. I’m sure she
feels awkward seeing him and not to mention Ace is also here. This
should be interesting; at least if they throw down, they can get it
out of their system before tomorrow. Susan is dancing around,
fixing flower arrangements and checking table settings. I’m not
exaggerating when I say dancing; I watch her move a flower
arrangement and then do a little twirl. My parents are sitting with
my grandmother, Matt, and Ace, who is holding baby Ace. I glance at
Sienna, and her face says it all. She’s beaming, and I have to
admit seeing Ace holding a baby has to be one of the most perfect
sights to see. Oh, if only Allyson from Scotland could see him
now.

“There she is; the bride has entered the
room,” Susan calls out. Everyone turns to look, and for a second, I
feel a little embarrassed. I have no idea why because these are my
closest friends and family. It must be a bride thing. Shortly after
I arrive, my cousins show up. I can tell they aren’t happy to be
there, fingers crossed they don’t give any crazy toasts.

The dinner is off to a great start, and I’m
enjoying being able to visit with everyone. I’ve heard that it’s
almost impossible to visit with all of the guests at the wedding,
so I’m thankful for this time. My grandmother and my mother are
going out of their way to fall all over me. My mom has even brought
me food. I can’t remember the last time she ever served me. It’s
kind of over-the-top, but I appreciate both of their efforts.

I overhear Grandmother talking with a few of
Susan’s garden club friends. “Oh yes, many of my friends use
Madison’s salon. They speak very highly of her skills; she’s very
talented of course.”

I look over to see Ellie and Stephy
whispering to each other. I really need to go over and thank them
for coming. Hmmm . . . do I have to right now? There’s that
internal battle of good versus evil again. I begrudgingly decide to
do it.

“Hi! You both look great,” I say with a
forced smile. “Thank you for being here tonight.” They look at each
other, and I can tell they want to say something.

“Well, even though you kicked us out, it was
the right thing to do,” Ellie says as she hangs her head
dramatically. Ahhh . . . yes, even after my heart-to-heart with
her, she still hasn’t given up her guilt trips. This is really
awkward because I’m not sure how to respond, so I just tell them to
enjoy themselves.

I just need to ignore them; I can’t let them
get into my head.
I won’t let them ruin my night. I won’t let
them ruin my night.
I wonder how many times I will need to
repeat this over and over to believe it. Maybe I need to write it
down a hundred times like they make the kids do in school.

The dinner is amazing, and everyone is
enjoying the food. Susan has made it a very relaxed atmosphere. She
has soft music playing, the lighting has been dimmed, and she has
even diffused some essential oils. I feel so relieved because
everything seems to be going perfectly until I see Sienna and Ace
walk out of the ballroom in the middle of dinner. That’s really
strange.

“Madie, Madie?” Cole is calling my name, but
I’m distracted by Sienna and Ace.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Mother says that we should say something;
you know thank everyone for being a part of our special day blah,
blah.” He pretends to tie a noose around his neck.

“Yeah. OK.”

I tell him that we need to wait for Sienna to
get back before we speak, especially because she is one of the
people we absolutely need to thank. A few minutes later Susan pulls
me aside and asks me if everything is OK with Sienna.

“Why do you ask?” I glance toward the door
because she still hasn’t returned.

“Catherine and Bridgette just told me that
her company is going under, is this true?”

What? How would these women know anything
about her company? I’m worried that the rumors have spread. I was
hoping that Bev had gotten some wrong information. I see Sienna
come back in, so I excuse myself from Susan to find out what was
happening.

“Is everything OK?” She rolls her eyes and
nods her head.

“Yes, Ace had an emergency work issue he had
to take care of.
Allyson
said it was of the upmost urgency.”
I knew it; that Allyson is up to no good. I tell Sienna not to
worry about it and tell her to sit down. I totally understand why
she’s paranoid. After what happened in her last relationship, it
would be difficult to fully trust someone else.

When Cole and I give our speech, I get more
choked up than I thought I would. It may be because I’m so
overjoyed that we are really having a wedding. We thank our family,
friends, and the wedding party. I try not to look at Ellie and
Stephy giving me dirty looks, and I’m not upset because I probably
deserve it to an extent. Cole makes jokes about us almost getting
married in Hawaii, and I thank everyone for their patience with the
changes.

Abby and Matt leave to take the baby home but
not before she reminds me to relax and enjoy everything about
this.

“You only get one wedding day, so make the
most of it,” she says.

Like Sienna, she hasn’t mentioned her drunken
dancing or the vomiting at the club. I don’t bring it up either. In
other news, Sienna has gone out of her way to avoid Jeff until he
finally sits down next to her.

“Now that has to be one awkward
conversation,” Cole says, pointing at Sienna and Jeff. “Are you
sure Sienna doesn’t want to give him another chance?”

“I’m pretty sure,” I reply.

“Whatever. I get it, though, that Ace is a
catch. Even Jeff agrees and we both have a man-crush on him.” This
makes me giggle but totally makes sense.

“See, you can chill out now. We made it
through our rehearsal, and our wedding will go off without a hitch,
so
stop
worrying,” Cole assures me. I nod my head and give a
hopeful smile.

As our guests are leaving, I overhear
Grandmother talking to Susan. “What a lovely evening. Tomorrow will
be a joyous day. Isn’t it wonderful that our families will become
one?”

She sure is laying it on thick, but it’s
better than the alternative. I really hope that she’s right.

“Absolutely,” Susan replies. “I have an idea:
why don’t you join my garden club? Madison is joining also. It will
be a wonderful opportunity for us all to be together.” I cringe
when I hear this; there’s another reason for me not to join that
club. Before I know it, she will have my cousins joining also.

When I get home, I get ready for bed. It’s my
last night as a single woman. Tomorrow is my wedding day—the day
every girl dreams of. My stress is slowly turning into excitement,
and I can’t wait!

Chapter 14

I wake up from yet another nightmare. This
time, in my dream, I’m at a garden club meeting (go figure), and my
cousins are there. We’re having some sort of competition and all
the members have to share pictures of our flowers from our personal
garden, and we will be graded. Whoever wins the competition will
take over Bev’s Sweet Treats and will have the rights to my cookie
business. Stephy wins and renames the bakery Stephy’s Sweets. I
have to turn over all of my cookie supplies and recipes to her. The
next thing I know I’m doing Grandmother’s hair. Somehow, I have
given her a pixie cut with blue tips, she starts crying, has a
panic attack, and is rushed to the hospital.

I wake up at 4 a.m. yelling, “I’m sorry, I’m
sorry.” I realize I’m still in my bedroom and that none of that
actually happened. I try to analyze all of the craziness of my
dream, but there is way too much to try to figure out. It’s finally
hit me, the stress of the wedding. Am I getting cold feet? Is this
normal to have nightmares the night before your wedding? I decide
to Google “dreams night before wedding.” It’s a huge relief that
I’m not the only bride out there going through this. Google brings
up lots of information about wedding anxiety dreams and brides
having crazy dreams for weeks leading up to their big day. Maybe
I’m not going to need therapy as soon as I thought. I lay back down
with the hope of getting a few more hours of sleep. It’s going to
take a miracle worker to hide these bags under my eyes for
pictures. Great, there’s another thing to worry about.

When I open my eyes, the sun is pouring into
my room. My wedding day is finally here! I have the overwhelming
feeling of excitement combined with feeling like I’m going to throw
up. I sit up and look around my room. There are boxes everywhere
and the walls are bare; it’s such a sad sight. I’ve lived in this
apartment with Sienna for years, and now it’s the end of an era.
How is it possible to be so incredibly sad and so incredibly happy
all at the same time? I lie back down and think about everything
that it has taken to get to this point. This day isn’t exactly how
I originally planned, but I’ve realized along the way that all that
matters is that Cole and I are vowing to spend the rest of our
lives together. Hmmm . . . since when have I become so emotional
and romantic? Are Cole and I going to turn into one of those cheesy
couples who make out in public and sit together on the same side of
the table at restaurants? Cole even did a comedy set about those
couples a while ago. He had everyone practically rolling on the
floor, so I doubt that will happen.

“Is the bride awake?” Abby sticks her head in
my room.

“Hey, what are you doing here already?”

“I brought breakfast before we head to the
resort.” She comes in and sits on the edge of my bed.

“You OK?” she asks, giving me a puzzled look.
I figure I can talk to Abby about things because she was the first
one to get married. As I explain my thoughts to Abby, a smile
spreads across her face.

“What?” I ask her.

“It’s just funny because I remember thinking
the same things when I got married; you have so much love for
another person that it’s almost overpowering. Just wait until you
have a baby.” Oh great, now her eyes are filling up with tears and
she’s wiping the corners. It’s the first cry of the day.

“What are you guys doing?” I look up to see
Sienna standing in my doorway, watching us cry and hug. “That’s
enough of that.”

“I have some exciting news,” she says,
ignoring our sobs. “When I called to confirm everything at the
resort today, they told me that one or two of the owners wanted to
pop in at the reception to take a look. Your wedding is really the
first big event being held there, and they said that if they like
what they see then maybe they will refer clients to Sheer Happiness
Events.” She gives a loud squeal.

“Congrats,” Abby says as she dabs the corners
of her eyes.

“That’s so cool! Maybe this has all happened
for a good reason?” I get up to give her a hug.

“Enough of this!” Sienna says. “I need to go
ahead of you and check on things, so I will meet you guys
there.”

This is really exciting and a huge relief.
Once people see how amazing Sienna’s events are, those crazy rumors
about her company failing will stop.. Abby and I enjoy breakfast
and gather everything we need for the wedding. I go to my closet
and get my gown. Sienna offered to bring it for me, but I’m way too
paranoid already, so I have no intention of letting this gown out
of my presence. I remember making jokes about my cousins getting
their grubby hands on it, and then I had that dream. Needless to
say, this dress will not be going anywhere except on my body.

When we arrive at the resort, I gasp. The
front is absolutely exquisite with tall while pillars, fountains,
and beautiful palm trees lining the circular driveway. Craig and a
few valet drivers greet us. Craig offers to take my stuff to the
dressing room, so I give him everything except for my gown.

“Oh, I’m so glad you didn’t break out,” he
says dramatically, looking at my face. “Did Sienna tell you about
one of our last brides? The poor girl looked like she had the
chicken pox.” I start to worry about the bags under my eyes from
lack of sleep. They must not be as bad as I think because Craig
would point them out, and he doesn’t say a word.

“Craig, you’re so mean,” Abby scolds.

“I’m not trying to be mean. I’m just relieved
for you,” he says honestly.

When we walk into the lobby, it’s as hideous
as it was in the pictures. It looks as if someone painted the walls
with Pepto Bismal and threw in a couple of plastic palm trees. It
looks like a tacky Miami Beach hotel from the ’80s. I still don’t
understand why they didn’t do different decorating in the lobby.
Thank goodness the ballroom and open balcony are as elegant as the
pictures Sienna showed me.

Sienna and her team have done an amazing job
with the décor. The fall-themed centerpieces that took me months to
choose look gorgeous with the burgundy and gold linens and seat
covers. Every centerpiece includes one of our framed engagement
pictures. I’m completely in love. Even the buffet table looks
lovely with tall fall floral arrangements, foliage, and
candles.