“Are you ready to put your dress on, sweetie?” My mom is standing on the other side of the door, concern evident in her voice. I’ve been sitting here on the toilet in Ashton’s master bathroom for almost . . . yep, twenty minutes. My hair is perfectly coifed and styled, piled high and stiff as a board. I glance to the mirror and sigh relief when I take in my makeup. It’s perfect. Natural with a smoky eye that will really stand out in our pictures. Ugh, but this hair. Who thought this was what I wanted? Loose waves pulled back so my long hair cascades down my back. That’s what I asked for. Tight nineties prom curls piled on top of my head with babies breath stuck in between ringlets doesn’t exactly scream “cascading.”
I won’t cry. I won’t. If I do, that beautiful smoky eye will be for naught. I should have said something. I should have put my foot down. My friends should have said something. Nobody did. They just sat there with their mouths open, jaws practically lying on the floor. Bitches.
“Sweetie?”
“I’m here. Uh, can you get Ash and Minnie for me, Mom? I won’t be long, just need a little girl pow wow.” I don’t bother getting up from my perch, I simply shout through the closed door. Everyone saw the monstrosity, so I’m not quite sure why I’m hiding but here I sit. Seconds later, there’s a shallow knock on the door and I rise to unlock the door. I turn and walk back to my shrine of shame and sit.
“You’re both fired. From best friend status and bridesmaids. This is bullshit.” I glare at both Ashton and Minnie and watch as they both try to fight smiles. They look beautiful in their gowns. The tops of the dresses are different, Ashton’s is strapless but gathers in an intricate design while Minnie’s has straps that crisscross low on her back. Both have a thick waistband and flowing skirt. They look amazing.
Neither is sporting a horrible hair style either. Ashton is wearing her long brunette hair loosely curled with one side pulled back exposing her collarbone and shoulder. Jameson is going to lose his mind when he sees her. Minnie is wearing her blonde hair in a side chignon, giving her a classy yet simple look. Both are wearing the antique style hair combs I gifted them. I was lucky enough to come across the combs in a small shop on a trip to see my mom in Chicago.
“Wow, you both look beautiful.” I sigh.
“Thanks,” they say in unison.
“I can’t get married like this. It’s like a really bad rerun of the Beverly Hills 90210 prom episode.” Minnie gathers the skirt of her dress before kneeling in front of me. Kindness greets me when I look in her eyes. I love Minnie. She’s kind and caring, always. We are always able to depend on her to come up with a resolution to any situation and still keep it positive.
“It really is, Piper. I’m sorry, but it’s awful. We need to fix it,” Minnie says. Wait, what?
“Huh? You’re the kind one, Min! You’re supposed to tell me it’s not bad.”
“Sweetie, it’s dreadful. Let’s get the plants out of your hair, and we’ll fix it. We may be running a few minutes late, but we can’t let you get married like this. Right, Ash?”
Both of our gazes shoot to Ashton who is standing at the sink with a wet washcloth on her neck. Oh no.
“Oh no. What’s wrong? Did you catch my flu?” I ask, rushing to Ashton’s side.
“What? Oh, no. I just . . . it’s nothing. I just felt hot. Probably the Spanx. Let’s get this hair situation handled and you married. I’m sure my brother is having a meltdown, thinking I’ll talk you out of marrying his sorry ass.”
“Are you sure? You look . . . well, kind of off.” Ashton waves me off with disinterest, and I resign to allowing them to fix my hair.
Twenty minutes later, a lot of finger combing, an attack by the blow dryer, and I finally have the simple waves I wanted. Ashton takes my hair and pulls it from my face, fastening it with a few pins but still leaving loose tendrils to frame my face. Minnie smiles at me in the mirror, and I simply nod before we turn toward the door. The minute the door opens, we find my mom and Patty, Ben and Ashton’s mom, sitting on the bed drinking mimosas.
“Oh, Piper. You look beautiful,” Patty sniffles while my mom stands next to her, hand covering her mouth.
I look them both in the eyes before replying, “You both need to suck it up. If you make me cry, and I ruin this makeup, I will kick your butts. Now, who is helping me get in that dress? I have a groom waiting.”
Everyone laughs and thirty minutes later, I’m in my dress and standing alone before a full-length mirror. I knew this was my dress from the minute I found it. Originally, I wanted something simple but with a little sparkle and flare. I thought I’d found it in another dress with cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. But then, on a whim, I went back to the dress shop alone. As much as I wanted flare, that’s not me. I’m simple. I wanted my wedding gown to reflect who I am. This sleeveless chiffon dress with a long train is more me than any other gown I tried on. Plus, the low-cut back is a fun surprise and adds a little sexiness to the simplicity of the gown. I feel beautiful and suddenly, standing here before the mirror, I realize every moment of my life has led me here, to this day when I marry my best friend.
I grab my phone from the side table and snap a picture of myself. I’m sure there will be hundreds of photos of me today but this one, one of my final photos as Piper Lawrence . . . this is something just for me.
My in-laws pulled out all the stops with a vintage Rolls Royce limousine for our drive to the ceremony also known as my house. I look at the four most important women in my life in the car with me, and I realize how grateful I am for each of them.
“I want to thank you all for everything you’ve done to make this day happen. I know, I know I’ve been difficult. I think Laurel has called me “bridezilla” more than she’s called me Piper lately.” Everyone laughs. “But, I’ve waited for this day my entire life. I wanted it to be perfect.”
“It will be, honey. My son is very lucky to have you. I’m just glad he figured it out before you dumped him.” I smile at Patty before reaching for the bottle of champagne on ice and filling everyone’s glass and holding my glass up to clink.
We turn onto the path to our house, and I see the hustle and bustle of the pre-ceremony activities. The cars are all parked in the designated area, the ceremony area is off in the distance, but I can make out people walking in that direction. My mom pulls her phone out and taps it a few times before confirming the guys are all down at the ceremony site and the coast is clear for us to enter the house.
The car pulls up in front of the house where Laurel stands to greet us. Yes, it is strange to be friends with your fiancé’s ex-girlfriend. And, it’s probably more than unconventional to have her as your wedding coordinator. But, the relationship Ben and Laurel had was over long before I came into the picture, and they’re friends. Best of friends, actually. My friendship with Laurel happened organically once Ben and I moved in together, and I knew for a fact she wasn’t a threat. I mean, Ben has loved us both, it’d be more surprising if we didn’t like each other.
“Damn, girl. You clean up nice.” Laurel says after whistling. I didn’t know she could whistle like that.
“Uh, thanks? You look pretty.”
“Piper, I look like a mortician. But, my job is not to look pretty, it’s to make your life easy today. And then to get shitty drunk. I’m glad you insisted we have a fast-paced schedule. Plus, you know how much I love ordering people around. It’s been a lot of fun. Especially your man, Ashton. Jameson is not a fan of being told what to do.” Laurel laughs and Ashton snorts in agreement.
We head in the house and freshen up before the ceremony is going to start. I wasn’t sure how she was going to pull off the long walk from the house to the ceremony site near the creek but Laurel has a couple of golf carts ready for us to ride in closer to the ceremony.
I know tradition is for a father to give his daughter away. I don’t have a dad. I mean, I do, obviously or I wouldn’t be here, but I’ve never had him in my life. I could have my mom give me away but that didn’t seem right either. I considered having Ashton give me away but Ben vetoed that. So instead, today, I’ll be walking down the aisle solo. Part of me is a little sad I won’t have the tradition of my father by my side but it’s just not my story and that’s okay.
The moms are driven down to the ceremony first while Ashton and Minnie follow. I’m last to go so everyone is ready for me when I arrive. I’m standing in my kitchen and reminded how much I love this house. I remember when Ben brought me here the first time. He hadn’t bought it yet and wanted my opinion on it. I lost the ability to talk at first. I’d had a dream most of my life about this amazing farm house with a piece of stained glass in the kitchen door. The moment he pulled up in front of the house an overwhelming feeling of home and comfort came over me. This house was what I had dreamed of. To know I live here now, that it is the home we’ll raise our children, it overwhelms me sometimes. In the best of ways but still, overwhelming.
“Are you ready, Piper?” Laurel asks from the other side of the door. I nod and walk out onto the porch.
“Laurel,” I say before stepping up to the golf cart. She pauses, getting in behind the wheel and looks at me.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For everything. For helping today, for being my friend, and as awful as someone would think this is for me to say, thank you for letting him go.”
“Don’t thank me. This is how it was always meant to be. I’m grateful to you both for your friendship and support this past year. This day, helping, it is the least I can do. And as for Ben, he was never really mine to keep. Now, let’s get you to your groom.”
As we approach the site and I see the girls standing with our flower girl, Hope, I smile. Once I’m out of the cart and sufficiently fluffed and looked over by Laurel, I turn to my wedding party. Hope, wearing a similar version of my dress with her shoulder length hair pulled back from her face, a wreath of flowers adorning her like a crown, looks up at me wide-eyed and smiling.
“Oh, Piper!” she exclaims. “You are a princess.” I laugh because that’s what she said the first time she saw me in my dress.
“Thank you, love. You look beautiful. Are you ready to show everyone how it’s done?” I ask.
She nods and I look to Laurel who nods and raises her hand to signal the beginning of the ceremony. Tracy Byrd’s “Keeper of the Stars” begins playing as Hope takes off before it’s her turn. I shake my head because while it’s not tradition, it’s perfect.
Minnie waits for Hope to get at least halfway down the aisle before stepping behind the screen when Ashton turns to me. No words are exchanged between us. We both know we’ll start crying, and I refuse to be puffy and blotchy for my wedding. Ashton reaches for my hand and squeezes it before she turns and begins walking toward the altar. Laurel hands me my small bouquet of wild flowers, and I take a deep breath before the music changes and I take my first step toward my future.