“Are you ready for this?” Hank asked, a little gruffly. I could tell that he was totally out of his comfort zone, which made it even more touching that he’s decided to come. We wanted this day to be tiny, we didn’t want everyone there, only the people who meant a lot to us, and as my best friend through a lot of my life, Hank was one of them. “It’s not too late for cold feet, you know?”

“Ha ha, very funny,” I sneered in reply. “You know that cold feet aren’t the issue here, I’m just a little anxious about standing up there in front of all those people and saying my vows.”

“There aren’t that many people coming, and you’ll only be focused on Hannah anyway. I’ve seen her dress and it’s incredible.”

“Oh God, is it?” I knew she’d look wonderful, but to hear it from someone else made it that much more real somehow. “How did you see her?”

“I bumped into her in the hallway. She was asking me how hard it’d be to jump out of the window...”

My eyes widened in shock, I knew that Hank was winding me up but still I was terrified that something would go wrong. Nightmare scenarios had been bursting through my mind for the last few weeks, and I dreaded the thought of one of them coming true. “Please don’t fuck me around,” I gasped noisily. “I’m scared enough.”

“Don’t be, mate.” Hank clapped my back. “You’ll nail this. You and Hannah are amazing, the whole world can see that, everyone knows you’re in love, and you have her Dad’s approval which is the hardest thing in the world to get. Now, we better get your ass into the church because you don’t want to turn up after the bride, that will piss her off.”

“Okay,” I nodded slowly and rose up, my legs trembling underneath me. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get going.”

The walk into the church passed me by in a blur, I barely even acknowledged anything going on around me. We were in a gorgeous area, I already knew that, but I didn’t appreciate any of it. I was just so anxious, I became a juddering wreck. Everything that Hank had said was right, I knew this would be fine, but I still felt absolutely terrified. I just wanted this to be the perfect day for Hannah, after everything she’s been through she deserved that.

Eventually, Hank rubbed my shoulder, bringing me back into the present moment, which was when I snapped myself out of it. I had to be aware now, I did not want to miss the second that Hannah walked through those doors. That would be a memory that I took to my grave if I played it right.

“Dude, she’s coming, straighten up.”

I did as he demanded, and improved my posture tenfold. Then I flicked my eyes towards the door and I waited with baited breath. The nerves were edging through my veins, my whole body kept alternating between hot and cold, but it wasn’t a bad sensation. Excitement was there too, bulldozing through my body.

Thump, thump... thump, thump... thump, thump...

My heart was pounding so loudly, it was drowning out the music for me. I knew there was a piano player tinkling on the keys, but all I could hear was me.

And then the door flung open, and I finally laid my eyes upon the perfect vision of beauty before me. Hannah took my breath away, she was wearing a gorgeous white dress that slid around her curves perfectly. It was strapless, incredibly elegant, and flew out at her hips. Then there was her hair, flowing down her back like a shiny sheet, and her face glowing with sheer joy.

I felt like I had a coat hanger in my mouth I was grinning so widely.

She moved closer, her hips swaying rhythmically, in time to the music – if only I could hear it – and I spent so long staring at her that it took me a while to even realize that her dad was hanging on to her arm, giving her away to me, and it reminded me of how happy he was when we told him that we were getting married. It proved to me that he did like me, and he did want us to work.

He was like the dad to me that I’ve never had before.

As he grinned at me, I glanced towards the crowd to see my mom sitting there, her eyes shining with joy. She adored Hannah just as much as I did, she instantly knew that she was the perfect girl for me, and I loved how close they’d become over time. Hannah and I completed each other in all ways, even in our families. It was oddly perfect, I couldn’t believe that I’ve turned Hannah down once because I didn’t think we could make it work.

The second Hannah was near enough to me, I stared deeply into her eyes, allowing the love to shine through. Maybe this wasn’t as big of a day as she’s dreamed she’d have when she was younger, but I hoped that it was perfect. I’ve done my utmost to show her that much.

“We are gathered here today...” the vicar started on his speech, which I mostly tuned out. All I wanted to do was stare at Hannah, to lose myself in her eyes, and the glazed look she was giving me back showed me that she was feeling the same way too. “Now, I believe you have prepared your own vows.”

I had them written down, the piece of paper was in my pocket and I’ve been practicing that all night long, but all of a sudden it didn’t totally feel right. I wanted to speak from the heart, to just tell Hannah how she made me feel.

“Hannah Ricks, you have absolutely changed me,” I smiled happily. “You have turned my entire existence upside down in the best way possible. You have made me into the best version of myself, and I’m utterly grateful to you for that.” Some of this was the same as what I had written down, but it flowed better. It just rolled off the tongue, sounding great. “I hope by now you know how much I love you, but I’ll still continue to make you see that every single day. All I care about is making you the happiest woman alive.”

My voice cracked with emotion as her eyes welled up. I’ve said all that I planned to, more or less, I couldn’t say any more without crying, which left the ball in her court.

“Okay, well... oh God, I should’ve gone first,” Hannah made a feeble joke, causing a titter to rise up from the crowd. “Parker, you do make me feel loved, you make an amazing effort for me every single day. Before you came along I didn’t know my own worth, but you’ve made me see just how special I am.” Her words touched me deeply, this was exactly what I wanted to do. I was so glad that it was coming across. “I love you, and I want to make you happy too. Maybe the way we got together wasn’t fairy tale perfect, but everything that’s happened since has been a dream come true.”

“So, do you Parker Jones take Hannah Ricks to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, until death does you apart?”

“I do,” I snapped back quickly. There was absolutely no doubt.

“And do you Hannah Ricks take Parker Jones to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, until death does you apart?”

“I do.” Oh God, it made me feel incredible to have her say that. She wanted me forever, just like I did her.

“You may now kiss the bride.”

As our lips connected, my heart fluttered wildly. This was the best day of my whole damn life, and I was so happy to be sharing it with the people I cared about most. I never thought our relationship would take this turn when I first met her, I assumed I would only have to put up with her for a few months, I wasn’t totally looking forward to it, but I knew that I could suffer it... now, all I wanted was to be with her forever more. I couldn’t imagine spending a single day with anyone else.

Cheers exploded around us, everyone was pleased for us, which made the moment even more wonderful. I enjoyed mine and Hannah’s love when it was just for us, but I loved celebrating it with everyone else too. And now we had an epic party waiting for us, and I just knew that we’d have the best fun ever.

“I love you,” I mumbled into her ear. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” she replied in a sing-song voice. “Husband.”

Oh my God, I had a wife, how grown up was that? And how amazing too! The first person that I’ve truly let in was Hannah, and she’s turned out to be the most important person to me. I was so happy, so lucky, and I would be forever more.