PART EIGHTY-FIVE: I DO

“Hey sleepyhead! Wake up! You’re getting married today!” I wasn’t exactly pleased to hear Tess’ voice so early on a Saturday morning, but I opened my eyes anyways. I propped myself up and looked at my surroundings. I was in the guest bedroom at Tess and Jordan’s apartment, and Jordan was drawing back the curtains to let the sunlight in.
“Do I have to get up now? My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet!” I complained. I checked my phone and a few seconds later, the alarm went off.
“Yes, you have to get up. Don’t you want to attend your own wedding?” Tess asked.
“Yeah, I mean, if you don’t marry a hockey player today I’ll just have to take your place! The whole team will be there, there’s bound to be a couple single players who are looking to settle down,” Jordan joked.
“Or nah. I think I’ll just get up and get married, thank you very much!” I decided, finally getting myself out of bed. As much as I wanted to lay around and relax for a while, I didn’t have the time. I had a big day ahead of me.
Patrick and I had decided to not see each other until it was time for the wedding. As strange as it was to not wake up next to him in our apartment, I knew it was for the best. It would only make the ceremony more meaningful, especially the moment we would first see each other all dressed up as I walked down the aisle. Just the thought of it made me smile…
After Tess, Jordan, and I all ate a nice breakfast, we started getting ready. My bridesmaids, which included the Kane sisters, Tess, and Carly, showed up, along with my mom. Everyone did their own (or each other’s, in some cases) hair and makeup while my hair stylist did mine. She started with my makeup, which was the flawless silver smoky eye look with the light blush and nude lips. Afterwards she moved on to my hair, which she styled into loose curls. She pulled back half of it and left the rest down, and it was even more gorgeous than it had been the first time she had done it, if that was possible. I was really happy with what I saw in the mirror by the time she was done with me.
“Are you ready to get dressed?” my mom asked, holding up the bag with my wedding dress in it. My bridesmaids were already in their pretty red strapless dresses with the long pleated skirts and my mom was in her long silver v-neck dress. They all looked so amazing, and I honestly felt like I had some competition.
“Yeah, I’m definitely ready,” I answered. I got into the dress and my mom and Tess zipped it up. It still fit, thankfully. But more than that, it still fit perfectly. I stepped into my one of a kind red Blackhawks heels and put on my jewelry before I finally took a look in a full length mirror. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I hadn’t seen myself not only in my dress and accessories but also with the hair and makeup before, and I was pleasantly surprised. I truly felt beautiful.
“Wow, Lena. You look stunning,” Jackie Kane said.
“Patrick’s going to lose it when he sees you,” Erica chimed in.
“Hey, speaking of Patrick, we should tease him a little bit,” Tess said. We had a bit of a photo shoot. Each bridesmaid (plus my mom) held up a sign, and together the signs created the sentence “Just wait until you see her.” The pictures of everyone with the signs were separate, and Tess sent them all to Patrick in order followed by a picture of just my hands holding my bouquet of flowers in order to tease him a little. There was still some time before we would see each other, so why not have a little fun?

Patrick’s POV

“Who’s blowing up your phone?” Sharpy asked as my phone went off seven times in a row. That was a good question. I pulled it out of my jacket pocket and checked it. All seven messages were from Tess. They were pictures of the bridesmaids holding up signs that created the sentence: Just wait until you see her. The last picture was Lena holding her bouquet, flaunting her ring. I couldn’t see her face or really even her dress in the picture - at least, not enough to be able to visualize it. Tess was teasing me with the pictures. The guys were curious, so I passed my phone around.
“If she’s going to tease you like that, you should do it right back,” Shawzy suggested. So I did. Us guys did the same thing with the sentence: Just wait until you see him. The final picture was of me straightening my tux jacket, but just like in the picture of Lena, my face and whole outfit wasn’t visible. The pictures were on Jonathan’s phone, so he sent them to Lena, who then texted me.

> Aw, you guys are cute. That last picture was a little rude, though. I can’t wait to see the rest of you :)

I grinned at her text, then texted her back.

< I can’t wait to see you, either. I know you’re going to look gorgeous. You always do :D

We took a few more pictures just for the hell of it (and to kill time) until we had to head to the ceremony venue, which was the Chicago Botanic Gardens. We all piled into our cars and started driving. We got there plenty early, of course, so I took a very important paper out of my pocket to study it: the vows I had written. I had looked them over a million times. I practically had them memorized, but I knew I would be nervous when I said them, so I just reminded myself what the gist of them were. I honestly didn’t want to have to take out a paper and read from it.
“Are you nervous, Pat?” As I leaned up against the wall of a building near the gardens, my father snuck up on me.
“How’d you know?” I asked, folding up the piece of paper I was holding.
“Re-reading the vows you wrote, sweating in the middle of winter…it’s a little obvious,” he chuckled.
“Great.”
“Oh, it’s not a big deal. It’s normal to be nervous. Trust me, I was extremely nervous before I married your mom,” he explained. “But, obviously, it all worked out. And it’ll work out today, too. Just relax a little.”
“I’ll try.”
It didn’t take long for the guests to start arriving. The temperature was somewhat mild for a winter day in Chicago, but it was cold enough for everyone to want to stay inside as long as they could. But with just a few minutes remaining until the ceremony would start, the guests went out to take their seats and my groomsmen and I stepped outside and got ready to start walking.
It might have been cold, but the garden was a sight to see. There was a nice layer of snow that covered the ground, trees, and bushes. It sparkled as the sun hit it, making it the perfect decoration for a blingy silver, red, and white wedding. I knew Lena would be pleased with the view when she got out there, which would be soon. It was a strange sensation to cross the bridge that led to the open area where we would be married, knowing she would be walking in my footprints just a few minutes in the future.
After what felt like hours, everything got real. The music started up, and I felt butterflies in my stomach. It was happening.
Two by two, the bridesmaids and groomsmen began walking across the bridge together arm in arm. It started with Tess and Jonathan, the maid of honor and my best man. They both smiled widely at me before taking their places on either side of me. Next was Carly and Brian, followed by Sharpy and Jessica, then Shawzy and Erica, and last but not least, Saader and Jackie. The bridal party looked great with their red dresses and white bouquets that matched the white roses the groomsmen wore. But, of course, I was more interested in Lena. Finally, I saw her making her way across the bridge towards me, arm in arm with her dad. She looked absolutely breathtaking. The gems and jewels on her dress sparkled like the snow, and the gown fit her perfectly. Her hair looked great, her red rose bouquet contrasted amazingly with her white dress, and everything just meshed so perfectly. I felt my eyes tear up as she got closer and flashed a smile at me. By the time her dad had given her away and she had taken her place next to me, we both had tears on our cheeks.
“Look at us. It’s barely even started and we’re crying already,” I laughed.
“I know. We’re pathetic,” she giggled.

Lena’s POV

This was too good to be true. Everything was better than I had expected. The garden looked magnificent all covered in snow. The girls looked so pretty and the guys looked handsome, and then there was Patrick. He stood in his place, waiting for me to get to him as I walked across the bridge. As soon as I saw him, I knew I had gotten things right. I had chosen the right person to marry. And I could see in his eyes that he knew it too. He wasn’t only smiling with his mouth, but also with those blue orbs of his, and there was nothing but love in them. We both got emotional right away, but I tried to hold it in as much as I could - my makeup had to stay looking somewhat good for pictures. We both composed ourselves for the ceremony after sharing a laugh, and I could hardly even believe I was at my own wedding ceremony, getting married.
After a few minutes, we got to the vows. I felt a little nervous about them - I didn’t want to screw anything up - but I just said what I felt, and that seemed to go a long way.
“It was just a few years ago when I didn’t know you. It wasn’t really all that long ago when I had just barely applied for an internship with my favorite hockey team, hoping that I’d be selected for it. It wasn’t too long ago for me to remember, but yet, I can’t even imagine how I ever lived a life without you. You are the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful and amazing guy I have ever met. When I met you, you changed my life in the best way possible, and I’m so thankful that I get to marry you today. As your wife, I want to help you whenever I can. I’m going to support you, even if I don’t agree with you. I want to be the best person I can be for you. I’ll be not only your best friend, but your lover too. Patrick, I’m going to do everything I can to be your everything, because you’re my whole world, and I don’t ever want that to change.” I held in my tears as I spoke, and then I waited for him to start talking.
“From the moment I met you, Lena, you were the most beautiful person I had ever seen. But that was just on the outside. Then I got to know you, and I saw that your soul is just as beautiful. You’ve changed me for good. You’ve made me a better, happier person, and I can’t thank you enough for that. My life hasn’t been the same since we’ve met; it’s been better than I could have ever imagined it would be. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me, Lean. I’m going to do everything in my power to be everything you’ve ever wanted, because you’re more than I could ever ask for. I’ll never stop loving you. I couldn’t stop if I tried. And if I’m your world now, then believe me when I say that I’m going to become your universe if it’s the last thing I do.”
Well, I couldn’t keep my tears in anymore. Nobody had ever said anything so genuine or kind to me before, and I was so, so happy that Patrick was the one to change that. I was so lucky to find someone like him.
I composed myself once again for the exchanging of the rings and the final words of the ceremony. Then came the moment I had been waiting for. My heart raced as it happened.
“Do you, Lena, take this man as your husband?” Was that even a question?
“I do.”
Do you, Patrick, take this woman as your wife?”
“I do.”
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride.”

Patrick practically swept me off my feet to kiss me, and I felt him smile in the middle of the kiss. I wished I could stay in that moment forever, with both of us more full of glee than we ever had been before, holding and kissing each other. I wished I could stop time and freeze everyone else so we could just have our moment together for as long as we wanted. But, since that wasn’t an option, Patrick took my hand and we made our way back across the bridge as the music played, followed by the rest of the wedding party. I finally took my eyes off of Patrick, and I noticed that our joy had spread like a cold to everyone around us. That alone was a success in my eyes, and the ceremony had just barely ended.

Notes