Phillip and I have decided to elope. We’re going to skip Vegas and get married on an amazing beach. We spent all last night looking at exotic locales. We haven’t figured out where, but since it’s just the two of us going, we’re going somewhere really posh. Somewhere decadent. We’ve narrowed it down to four places, and I’m going to call them this weekend and find out about their wedding packages. It’s not what I dreamed of, but it’s how it’s gonna have to be.
Like Phillip says, “All that matters is that we get married.”
And I keep telling myself that he’s right.
Even though it doesn’t feel that way.
I’m sitting at Phillip’s desk at work, sketching out some very rough ideas for the front of the new building. They’ve been floating around in my mind for a few days, and I want to get them on paper.
My cell rings. I don’t recognize the number but notice it’s the KC area code. “Jadyn Reynolds,” I say very professionally, assuming it’s one of the realtors we’ve been working with.
“Miss Reynolds, this is Maggie from the International Hotel in Kansas City. I got your message the other day, and I wanted to let you know that we have had a cancellation for our rooftop ballroom and wondered if you were still interested.”
Ohmygosh! Oh. My. Gosh! OMIGOSH! I can barely breathe! The International Hotel is the dream spot! Rooftop ballroom overlooking the Lights! Can this really be happening? Am I awake?
“Are you serious?” I ask.
But wait. What happened? Why did it come available? Did some other couple call off their wedding?
Would it be bad Karma to take their place?
Do I really care about Karma?
“May I ask why the event got canceled?”
“It was scheduled for an annual company holiday party, but you know with the way the economy is, a lot of companies are cutting back. They’ve decided to cut out their party this year.”
“Wow, okay.” AHHH! “What date is available?”
“Saturday, January the thirteenth.”
OMG! It’s like a bolt of lightning just flashed straight down from heaven into Phillip’s office.
January the thirteenth! My parents’ anniversary was the twelfth.
“The thirteenth would be perfect,” I hear myself say. I’m beyond thinking. I’m just doing. “Wait. Are the Plaza Lights still up then?”
“Yes, it’s their last weekend,” she says cheerfully.
“I’ll take it.”
I can’t believe my luck, my … blessing—I’m not sure which, but wow. I’m so excited.
It gets even better when she says, “I don’t know if you’re interested, but the wedding and event planner who normally does this function is free now as well. She’s very talented, and she has other vendors you might be interested in hiring. Would you like her number?”
OMG! Yes! A wedding planner and the dream location! Is this really happening?
Thank you, God.
Thank you, Mom and Dad.
Thank you, whoever listened to my prayers and made this happen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
“I’d love that,” I say.
I do want a wedding planner. I want to go over my ideas with her, my colors, the scrapbook of stuff that I’ve been collecting in my mind, and have her fret over the tiny details. I want us to enjoy our wedding weekend. I think a wedding planner is exactly what we need.
Then, she says, “The company also had a block of rooms held. Would you be interested in those?”
Uh, yeah!
“Yes, it will be a destination wedding, so we’ll definitely need the rooms.”
Before I know it, I’m giving her my credit card number to put down a deposit, and she’s faxing me over a contract.
This isn’t just any venue that became available. This is the dream one. This is the gorgeous hotel with the view of the Plaza Lights. It has a rooftop ballroom, great food, and sparkly chandeliers.
All of a sudden, I can see my wedding again.
I know what I want. I know what colors I want, and I can picture it.
I hang up the phone and scream with joy.
Phillip comes rushing into the doorway.
I look at him and can’t help it.
Happy little tears start trickling down my face.
I look up to the sky and say, Thank you, again.
I’m pretty sure I just got a wedding gift from my parents.
I excitedly tell Phillip what just happened.
He tilts his head at me. “But that means we’re gonna have to do couples counseling. I thought you were vehemently opposed to it?”
SCREEEEECH!
CRASH!
BOOM!
I’m pretty sure the truck carrying all my wedding dreams just crashed into a brick wall, burst into flames, and blew to pieces on impact.
My heart drops.
Oh my gosh. He’s right. I can’t have this wedding. I’m going to have to call her back and cancel.
I cover my face with my hand. “You’re right, Phillip. I forgot. I got so excited that I forgot I couldn’t afford it. I’ll have to call her back and say no.”
Phillip pulls me into his arms. “Princess, you want the big wedding. You never let anything stand in your way of getting what you want. Why are you gonna let a few couples counseling sessions get in our way?”
“You know why, Phillip.”
“I talked to Danny about it. He said couples counseling was a breeze. They met with Lori’s pastor, like, twice.”
“It’s who they want me to do the counseling with.”
He gently pushes my chin up, so I have to look at his gorgeous brown eyes. “What do you want?”
“I want the big wedding, Phillip. I really do.”
“Then, let’s do it. We’ll go to counseling and make everyone happy, and we’ll have the wedding of our dreams.”
“What if counseling breaks us up?”
He looks at me seriously. “Really? Nothing will ever break us up. And I’m calling Mr. D right now.”
He grabs his cell, calls Mr. D, and says, “Hey, it’s Phillip. We’re considering going to marriage counseling. I agree a big wedding is what her parents would’ve wanted, and it’s what she wants. But, before we agree to your terms, I want to make one thing clear. We’ll go to couples counseling. We’ll talk about our future marriage, but we will not be talking about her parents. You cool with that?” Phillip nods his head and smiles at me. “Awesome. Then, you can be the first to hear. We’re getting married on January thirteenth at the International Hotel in Kansas City. Yes, sir. I’m excited, too. I’ll tell her.”
Phillip gets off the phone and gives me a smug grin. “Done.”
I wrap my arms around his neck. “I love you, Phillip. You always know the right thing to do. How do you always know the right thing to do?”
“You used to hate that about me, remember?” he teases.
“That’s true. Sometimes, it got in the way of my fun. It’s more fun when we’re on the same team.”
“It is. I think you’d better call the wedding planner right away, and then I’m taking you out for lunch. We seriously need to celebrate.”
I call the wedding planner. Her name is Amy, and we connect right away. I can’t wait to meet her! We talk about my budget, how I want the event to flow, and all of my ideas. I email her a file of all my wedding inspirations.
She tells me, “We have exactly ninety-nine days until your wedding. Normally, the save the dates would go out ninety days in advance, so that’s the first thing we need to do. Do you have a guest list you can send me?”
“Uh, well, no,” I say. Then, I give her the quick version of our first-date engagement, how we’ve been engaged for less than a month, why we want to get married quickly, and how adorable Phillip is.
She’s like, “Wow. Well, I’m glad you’re used to moving fast because we have a lot of decisions to make and a short time to make them. Your wedding will be here before you know it.”
I can’t even believe it.
I’m going to be Mrs. Phillip Mackenzie in ninety-nine days.
I start to sing in my mind. Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, your wedding will soon be here. Hey!
I agree to get our guest list to her by next Sunday. She’ll order the save-the-dates, go through all our ideas, and make a plan.
I immediately call Phillip’s mom and tell her we have a date and a location.
Normally, my first call would’ve been to Danny and Lori, but I was afraid, since Mr. Diamond knew, she might get pissed if she heard it from them and not me. Then, I called Lori and Danny and gushed about it some more.
I’M SO EXCITED!
Like, in case no one noticed.
I know I should do what it says in the wedding magazines and take each one of my bridesmaids out for a drink or a special lunch and ask her to be in my wedding in a very personal and loving way.
But they need to know now!
Plus, I’m so excited; I feel like I could burst.
So, I call them all. I ask Lori to be my yet-to-be-named honor attendant. For my bridesmaids, I ask my best friends from high school, Lisa and Katie; Phillip’s sister, Ashley; and my sorority sisters, Chelsea and Macy. They all excitedly say yes, and since I am on a roll, I also ask a couple of other sorority sisters to help with the wedding. I’m not sure yet what exactly they’ll do—probably be in charge of getting the party started, knowing them—but they might have to do the guest book or something first.
Phillip takes me to lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant to celebrate.
I’m surprised when he tells the waiter, “We’d like a bottle of champagne, please.” Phillip never drinks during lunch.
Over champagne and chicken Alfredo, we decide that Danny will be his best man. His groomsmen will be his brother-in-law, Cooper; Joey, one of our best friends from high school; Nick, the college football kicker who was always hanging out at our townhouse in Lincoln; and his fraternity brothers Blake and Logan.
“What about ushers?” I ask.
“I was thinking Neil and Brandon for sure. What about Katie’s husband, Eric?”
“I love Eric, but they aren’t getting along great. In fact, Katie and Neil have been having lunch together.”
“Lunch? Is that code for sex?”
“No, they really are just having lunch, but I get the impression that she wishes it were more.”
“That sucks. It’d suck to get divorced. We’re never getting divorced.”
“I don’t want to go through that either, so that means you’re gonna have to be really nice to me. Always.”
Phillip chuckles and then runs his hand across my jawline. “I’m always really nice to you.”
“I know, Phillip. You’re perfect. Everything is perfect right now.”
“That might be the champagne talking. And I was thinking, we might need to stop at home before we go back to work. Do a little more celebrating.”
His eyes sparkle at me, and I have to agree with him. “That sounds perfect, too.”
I’m sitting in Phillip’s office, waiting for him to finish up a meeting, so we can go out and do some more celebrating. It’s a really good thing he works for his dad because, between the restaurant and our little stop at home, we took a three-hour lunch.
I think about what I have to do to get the dream wedding and decide Phillip’s right. I’m just gonna do it.
I call Pastor John’s office.
A woman answers, “Pastor John’s office. Margie speaking.”
“Margie, this is Jadyn Reynolds. I’m getting married, and I need to set up couples counseling with Pastor John.”
“He’s been expecting your call, and you’re in luck. I’ve got his calendar right here in front of me.”
Wow! This really is my lucky day. I don’t have to talk to him!
Is it un-Christian of me to pray he’ll get the stomach flu on the nights of our meetings?
She continues, “How does this Tuesday sound? You’ll meet him every two weeks until your wedding.”
“We’ll be there,” I tell her and then hang up as fast as I can.
