The wedding gown was custom-made for Shu Yan by a world-renowned designer and the stylist did Shu Yan's hair. Both Hu Ruixue and Feng Zeyu were stunned when Shu Yan walked out with her matching custom-made tiara.
"That's so pretty." Hu Ruixue looked her up and down. "Are we missing something? Oh, right. Jewelries. How come you aren't wearing any?"
Shu Yan gave Feng Zeyu a look, letting him do the explaining.
It was a major life event after all and, as much as Hu Ruixue meant well, Feng Zeyu still wished to take care of Shu Yan's jewelries.
From necklace to bracelet, there were no designers involved, they were all designed by Feng Zeyu. The styles were simple, but they were filled with his love for her.
Hu Ruixue nodded from his explanation. He was right; she had crossed the line. Looking at the wedding gown that Shu Yan was wearing, she asked hesitantly, "What about the wedding gown?"
"I like the wedding gown a lot, but I have also designed my own gown that I will wear during the banquet and the matching set of jewelry. I did them all myself. You want to see?"
Shu Yan itched when she saw Feng Zeyu designing. This was her second marriage in the eyes of the others, but it was her first wedding in her two lives combined. Her wedding was very important to her.
There was a world-renowned designer working on her gown, so she was better off not messing with that. But she could totally design the gown for the banquet. Truth was, it really wasn't much of a design but more combining all the characteristics in designs that she had seen and liked in the past.
After learning of Shu Yan's intention, Feng Zeyu looked for a master in sewing. But they would need way more than just one person to have this gown done within a month. The sewing master referred a few of her friends and they would be working around the clock aiming to get this done.
A hand embroidered gown with a matching set of jewelry made in the ancient way, its cost was every bit as expensive as the gown that Hu Ruixue had gotten her.
"Is it already done?" Of course Hu Ruixue wanted to see it.
"Not yet, they are still working on it as we speak. I do have the rendering of the finished product with me that I can show to you though." Shu Yan pulled the drawing out from her purse and showed it to Hu Ruixue.
Just one look and Hu Ruixue was mesmerized by the gown and set of jewelries in the drawing. All women like clothing and jewelry. This was the first time that Hu Ruixue felt that a traditional Chinese style wedding wasn't half bad.
"This is very labor intensive to make! Are you going to have enough time?" Hu Ruixue recalled that her mother loved cheongsam, and each one of them would take up to months to complete.
"We've hired multiple sewing masters working around the clock. It should be ready before the wedding." Shu Yan could tell from Hu Ruixue's look that she liked it. "It's pretty, right?"
"Very pretty. I will have you design me a set too if I ever get married again." Hu Ruixue decided to have Shu Yan design a set for her even if she wasn't going to get married again.
"Of course. You don't even need to ask."
Shu Yan had already seen all the diamond jewelry except for the ring. Shu Yan had yet to see that. Feng Zeyu said he would show her on the day of the wedding.
"I have no idea where he got that secrecy from." Shu Yan chuckled.
Being from the information age, Shu Yan had seen all sorts of surprises. Nevertheless, she would be happy with anything coming from Feng Zeyu.
A smart woman is one who would feel appreciated no matter what they get from their husband. One shall never discourage one's husband. Otherwise, one wouldn't even have the chance to dislike the gift next time.
After everything had been arranged at work, Hu Ruixue left with Shu Yan to Province Hai five days ahead of time. Hu Ruixue's friend's mansion was ready to move in.
"If you have no other plans, you can just stay here for your honeymoon." Hu Ruixue showed her to the master bedroom on the second floor. She opened the patio door, and the breeze came in. One could see the boundaryless ocean from the patio. "Oh, right. There are cars in the garage, and you can just take them out If you need."
The blue ocean seemed to have really dissipated their weariness. Shu Yan tilted her head and looked at Hu Ruixue. "Where's the hotel nearby?" She didn't seem to recall passing a hotel on their way there.
"Are you worried about where your guests are staying?" Hu Ruixue brought out red wine and a blanket and poured out three glasses of wine.
"There are hotels in the city. You can arrange for a bus on the day of to take them back to the hotel after the banquet. You can keep the ones that you are close with and have them stay in the mansion with you. There are plenty of rooms here."
Where they were staying was not too far from the city, roughly 20 minutes by car.
"Okay. I understand."
With the exception of Third Brother, Shu Yan was not close to any other of her relatives. She didn't even want to be under the same roof as Lin Zixiang and the others. Naturally, she would not be asking them to stay.
The day before the wedding, the relatives from Shu Yan's hometown finally arrived. They all looked tired after the long trip. Shu Yan arranged for them to check into the hotel first.
"Cousin, I thought you said this is by the ocean. How come I can't see the ocean?" Shu Yan's little cousin from her aunt's side was a little disappointed. She had never seen the ocean before and had come with anticipation. Turned out there was nothing there to see.
"This is still within the city limit. We will take you to the oceanside tomorrow." Shu Yan chuckled. She quite liked this little cousin of hers.
"This hotel is huge. It's even bigger than the hotel where Lao San had his wedding last time." Lin Zixiang, holding onto Shu Youfu, looked very prideful.
"You must all be tired. Your rooms are ready, and I will be giving you your key card in a little bit. Go rest up and someone will inform you when lunch is ready to be served. You will have a buffet for lunch, meaning take whatever you want to eat. But, just as a reminder, there will be a lot of seafood and they are very tasty. But still, don't have too much. If you are not used to a lot of seafood, it is easy to get an upset stomach if you have too much."
Shu Yan was still worried about her guests, so she talked to the hotel manager and had a limit set for each person. She didn't want any of her guests hospitalized before the wedding.
"Where's Feng Zeyu? Where did he go?" Shu Jianyang dropped his stuff off his room, went back downstairs, and noticed that Feng Zeyu was gone. He had wanted to speak with him.
"He went to pick up some of his friends." Lao Zhang, his wife, Lin Hui and the others had already arrived, as did Zhuo Yixuan and her husband.
Wu Xiuyue said her shop was too busy and didn't come but sent over a red envelope with 800 yuan inside. That was considered a huge amount even by City Nan's standard. Shu Yan planned to give it back when she gave Wu Xiuyue's son a red envelope over New Year.
As for Feng Zeyu's comrades in arms, two of them were still in the troop and wouldn't be able to get there till tomorrow. A few had arrived the day before. Duoduo's mother arrived today as well and was resting at the hotel.
"Aiyo, we got here finally. Hurry up and let me see the bride." Lin Hui teased Shu Yan when she arrived.
"You must be tried. Hurry up and get some rest." Shu Yan smiled genuinely when she saw Zhang Huaxiu and the others.
"Little Sister." Shu Li came with Lin Hui and the others. She was a bit pale. She had yet to get used to riding in a car.
"Second Sister, hurry up and get some rest with the kids. I'll let you know when lunch is ready."
Feng Zeyu and her hadn't eaten anything all day long. No wonder it was said that getting married was the most tiring work. Shu Yan had finally experienced that now.
After all the relatives had arrived and been arranged, Shu Yan and Feng Zeyu had to go and confirm the seating chart for tomorrow's banquet.
They checked the time afterward and it was perfect to get back and have lunch with the guests.
It was the first time those from the hometown had a buffet. After finding out that they could eat as much as they wanted, they stacked their plates.
"Why is it that each person can only have one crab? A crab might look big, but once you open it up, there isn't that much meat." The cousin from First Aunty's family was not happy.
"You have just arrived at Province Hai, too much seafood might upset your stomach. There are other dishes in addition to crab. The cows and sheep were raised locally and are very tasty." Shu Yan had the server come and explain.
Big Cousin looked over at Shu Yan and stopped his complaining.
After lunch, Shu Yan still had some more rehearsal to do so she asked Shu Jianyang to help take care of the relatives from the village.
"Don't worry about it. You go do what you need. I will take care of things over here." Shu Jianyang reassured her.
Shu Yan had Shu Li help with her friends and Feng Zeyu had Mao Weiping help with his friends before the two headed over to the wedding hall.
"You two came at the perfect time. Let me show you the design. What do you think about a flower arch and flowers on both sides?" Hu Ruixue was instructing people on decorating the wedding hall.
"That sounds good. When will the flowers get here?"
"It will be all done before 10 AM tomorrow morning." They needed the freshest of all flowers, so it had to get there in the morning of the wedding.
They confirmed the logistics and rehearsed a few more times before they returned to rest up at the mansion.
Shu Yan collapsed onto the bed and didn't want to move. "I thought getting married is simple. I didn't think it'd be this tiring."
"I don't feel that it's tiring." Feng Zeyu put Shu Yan's legs over his and rubbed them gently. "I feel happy."
Shu Yan glanced over at him. He had honey in his mouth lately. Everything that he said was sweet.
They did not join their friends and families for dinner. They had a simple dinner at the mansion and went out for a walk on the beach.
They had been there for 3-4 days and had been so busy that they had yet to take a look at the scenery around them.
Stepping on the fine sand in her bare feet, Shu Yan held Feng Zeyu's hands and said, "It's so pretty over here."
"We can buy a mansion over here too if you like. We can come vacation here in the summertime. JingJing and Tianbao like the beach too," said Feng Zeyu with a smile.
Shu Yan was tempted. This area is not yet popular. In a few years' time, it will become a popular tourist destination and also the place he wanted to travel to the most in the past. She never thought the day would come when she would be able to just buy a mansion in this area.
"Good idea. Let's find out if there are still mansions for sale here." She decided to get one. What would be the purpose of spending money if they weren't going to spend it?
"I've asked already. The best locations are all gone but there are some nearby still." The mansions with the best views were already taken. They were a bit late into the game.
"That's fine too. As long as we can still see the ocean." Besides, off the beaten path might not necessarily be a bad thing. Less tourists means a quieter environment.
As the two chatted while they watched the sunset, Shu Yan asked all of a sudden, "We are getting married tomorrow. Are you nervous?"
"Yes." Feng Zeyu felt that he was less nervous when a gun was pointed at him in the past.
Shu Yan took a deep breath. "I suddenly feel it's difficult to breathe."
The two exchanged a look and suddenly lost their desire to continue with their walk. They went back to rehearse their process one more time.
They could not afford any mistakes tomorrow, or else they would really be very embarrassed in front of all of their friends and families.