38.
THE VENUE:
The place where the whole wedding will take place. Considerations in choosing a venue could be because the place holds special memories for the couple or it could be sentimental to one of the couple’s parents or grandparents. But more than anything, the venue chosen must accommodate the theme of the wedding.
It was the most hectic following months of my life. I was setting up Ever After Manhattan, meeting up with potential suppliers, and hiring and training people. On top of all that, I was planning my own wedding. I had to actually get Nicole to stay in New York once in a while to help me. Leilani, my assistant in Malibu, was left in charge of the branch and Nicole and I would just fly in if there were important matters that needed our attention.
The first major problem that I had was the location of my wedding. I could easily have that in a hotel, but it wasn’t good enough for Ryder. He wanted my best idea, my top dream wedding on the table. He wasn’t settling for anything less.
“Really? Apart from the wedding you planned for Bryan, there could have been something else that you wanted… something you only thought was possible in dreams,” Ryder said to me one night when I was showing him my notes.
I sighed. There was one dream when I was younger. The first wedding idea that sparked my passion for wedding planning.
“Tell me,” Ryder said.
I shook my head. It was such a long time ago. I was barely a teenager then. I was just a kid who hasn’t even graduated from reading fairy tales.
Ryder pushed me back to bed and started tickling me. I laughed.
“Ryder, stop!”
“Come on! I can do this all night!” He laughed and then he relentlessly tickled me in spots he knew I was most sensitive.
I wriggled away from him but he refused to let me go.
“Okay! Okay!”
He stopped and collapsed on the bed beside me. He gathered me in his arms and let me rest my head on his chest.
I took a deep breath and then I closed my eyes, picturing what I thought was the dream of dreams weddings.
“When I was younger, I used to picture a wedding in a huge estate… with a huge garden. Flowers in bloom everywhere. The ceremony would be in the middle of an orchard, surrounded by trees. It would be like a fairyland. When the bride walks down the aisle, there would be a rain of flower petals. Then at night, all the trees would be illuminated by lights like they’ve been infested by fireflies, and then there would be a fireworks display.”
“Fairyland wedding,” he said. “Suitable to seal the deal on your ‘ever after’.”
I giggled. “Yes.”
He tilted my chin up so I could look at him.
“Now, I like that idea!”
My eyes widened. “But Ryder… that will be very expensive!”
He raised a brow. “So? I intend to marry only once, love. Why not go all the way? If you had to plan the wedding of your wildest dreams, with unlimited budget, what would you do?”
“But Ryder… we don’t even have a location for that. Where could we find a large estate that has a forest or a garden that’s huge enough to pass up as a fairyland?”
He smiled and pulled me to him. “I think I know exactly the place, love.”
The next day, Ryder took me for a ride.
“Where are we going?”
“My grandmother’s house,” he replied.
“Your grandmother’s? You… you never mentioned her before.”
“Well, she’s in heaven now,” he said. “But she left my mother her estate. Just check it out.”
It was a little more than an hour drive. Then he stopped in front of a steel-gated estate. He blew the horn and waved at the CCTV camera. Immediately, the gate opened. We were entering a huge property. My jaw dropped. It was not just a mansion. It was almost like… a freaking castle!
“Your mother owns this?”
Ryder nodded. “Soon we will own it too, along with Paris.”
I stared at him, unable to believe what he’s saying. “Who lives here?”
“Butlers… maids,” he replied. “We come here for short breaks at least twice a year.”
He parked in front of the mansion… castle… estate… whatever you call it. A man dressed in a suit greeted us.
“Mr. Ryder, good day.” He greeted. Then he looked at me and smiled. “Madam Astrid. It is nice to finally meet you.”
“Good day Ben.” Ryder greeted him. “Sweetheart, this is Ben. He takes care of the whole estate.”
I smiled at Ben and extended my hand to him. He shook it. I was actually surprised that he knew who I was.
“To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“Astrid wants to see the whole place. If she likes it, we’re going to hold our wedding here in a couple of months.”
Ben smiled. “Then I shall take you on a tour. A wedding has not been held here since Mr. Ryder’s grandparents got married. It would be our utmost pleasure to host yours.”
The whole estate was massive and completely impressive. The front of the house has a vast garden filled with flowers of different kinds and colors. There are two lavish fountains standing side-by-side each other and sculptures of angels and cupids adorn every corner.
There are two other gardens at the back of the house. One is a labyrinth. I couldn’t resist going inside it. There are benches inside the pathways, as well as lamps and posts to make it suitable for walking at night. The whole structure was only about two feet taller than Ryder.
The center of the labyrinth was an even more picturesque garden with beautifully landscaped plants, cut knee high, and form patterns of circles and hearts.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I can barely believe I was still in New York. God, I cannot even believe I was still in the human world!
Ryder and Ben led me out of the labyrinth and we proceeded further into the estate. They led me to a line of oak trees. Some branches were intertwined together to form an arc over the pathway. The end of the arc lead to what looks like an orchard, surrounded by very tall trees that shade the whole area, allowing only a little of the rays of the sunlight, even at noontime.
We walked further, until we reached the lake at the end of the entire estate.
“We can get swans to swim here on the day of the wedding.” Ryder whispered.
I stared at Ryder. Tears were brimming in my eyes. “Seriously?” I asked him.
He nodded. “It gets better,” he said.
“There’s more?”
Ryder smiled. “Guess what comes out here at night?”
I smiled, looking at the beautiful line of flowers and shrubs that border the entire estate, separating it from the lake.
“I don’t know what else could top these. Unless you have fireflies here at night too.”
Ryder didn’t answer. Ben smiled. I stared at both of them.
“Oh my God!” I breathed. “Seriously? Fireflies?”
Ryder’s eyes twinkled. “So, has the future Mrs. Ryder Van Woodsen found her fairyland yet?”
I nodded. I lunged forward and hugged him. “It’s perfect,” I said. “Just like you… it’s absolutely perfect.”