Believe me, a warnette wedding

The Wedding

"Believe me" I whispered "I do"

Ella reached us, her smile so wide and bright it put the sun to shame. This close, I could feel her emotions so strongly it almost knocked me out. Happiness, excitement, hope, love... but also anxiety, and a little bit of fear.

The latter made me insecure, why would she be afraid? Was she having second thoughts?

As though she just read my mind, Ella took my hand in hers.

"It's okay" she said "I just... this is all so perfect, I'm afraid I'll do something wrong and ruin it"

"You could never ruin this" I squeezed her hand " you are the most perfect thing in here"

She blushed furiously and I wished I could just kiss right here, right now, wedding traditions be damned.

But Castle cleared his throat, apparently he had different feelings regarding wedding traditions.

"We gather here today" he began, addressing the crowd "to celebrate the marriage of Aaron Warner Anderson and Ju-" he paused, glancing at Ella, she whispered something to him and he went on "Juliette Ella Ferrars"

I smiled at that, I knew how much Ella wanted to be called Juliette, even after discovering her real name, and though I respect that decision, it saddened me sometimes that I was the only one who could call her Ella. I wasn't sure she knew that, but she must've realized at some point, and I was glad she did.

"Now," Castle said "the groom will present his vows, and then, after he's done the bride will do the same" he looked at me and lowered his voice "Mr Warner, if you don't have your vows ready or wish to skip this part that won't be a problem"

Part of me wanted to say yes, not because I didn't have any vows ready, I wrote them down days ago, but I didn't feel comfortable saying them out loud, they were meant for Ella, just Ella, not for a crowd of people I didn't even know.

"Hey" Ella whispered, her sweet voice calming my nerves "it's alright, focus on me okay? You and me, that's all there is, you can do this"

I took a deep breath, she was right, I could do it, I had to do it. I promised her a traditional wedding, and I would give her the best I could.

"Ella" I started "I will never understand why you chose someone as broken as I am to be your husband, not when you could've had anyone you ever wanted, but I'm forever grateful for that, because I don't think I could endure living a life without you in it" I went on "I never believed in the idea of soulmates, something about love being about fate and not free will didn't feel right to me, but if soulmates do exist, I know with all my heart that you are mine"

"Because you're the one for me, my perfect match, you are the only person in this entire world that really knows me, the only one that truly saw me, behind my masks and the lies told about me, you saw who I really was and you accepted me, you didn't ask me to change, you loved me for me and I..." my voice shook, and I realized I've been crying "I've never had anyone who loved me the way you do and I want to spend my entire life with you, I want to call you my wife, now and forevermore"

A sob escaped Ella's throat and I wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"That was beautiful Mr Warner" Castle said "truly beautiful" he turned to Ella "Juliette?"

Ella cleared her throat and took a shaky breath.

"Aaron" she began "growing up, I never thought I would get to have this, true love, it seemed so unrealistic for a girl like me to find someone that could look beyond her flaws, beyond all the terrible things she did, and still love her the same, it felt impossible, and then I met you"

"I think I've always knew, deep down, that I loved you, even when you were giving me pretty dresses and fancy food, I knew I loved you, even after having my mind erased so many times, my heart was still yours, it will always be yours, I will always be by your side, fight every battle with you, and I'll spend eternity loving you" she paused "and notice that I said 'eternity' and not 'the rest of my life' because no matter where I am, or the distance between us, no matter if I'm dead or alive, my love for you will never cease to exist"

Almost everyone was crying then, it was surreal, and even a little comic, all those men and women that had been through hell and back weeping at our speeches.

"Now" Castle starts "do you Aaron Warner Anderson take Juliette Ella Ferrars to be your lawfully wife? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do" I said

"And do you, Juliette Ella Ferrars, take Aaron Warner Anderson to be your lawful husband? To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do" she responded, grinning

"Alright" Castle went on "now the rings" he gestured towards the pair of rings Nazeera was holding "Aaron, please place the ring on Juliette's left hand and repeat after me"

I did as he said, my hands shaking so bad I nearly dropped the ring

"As a sign of my love" Castle spoke

"As a sign of my love" I repeated

"That I have chosen you"

"That I have chosen you"

"Above all else"

"Above all else"

"With this ring, I thee wed."

"With this ring, I thee wed"

He repeated the process with Ella and, once both our rings were shining brightly under the sunlight, Castle said.

"By the power vested in me, it's my honor to declare you husband and wife" he looked at me "you may kiss the bride now"

And so I did. I wrapped my arms around Ella's waist and spun us around, pressing our lips together. She laughed against my lips and her hands flew to my hair and neck.

People cheered and cried but I didn't care. All I cared about was this. Ella, my wife, holding me and kissing me with so much love it was almost overwhelming.

This kiss felt different, it wasn't just a 'I love you' kiss, it was special, it was a promise, a new beginning, an oath that we would always be together, that nothing could ever pull us apart.

'We are one' it seemed to say 'now and forevermore'