||Arden||
"WAKE UP!" Gemma's voice accompanied by the pounding on the door wakes us both up with a start.
"Go away." Harry grumbles before burrowing his head under the pillows.
"Today's the big day!" she calls out.
"Why did you invite her?"
"Harry!" I exclaim, shoving his shoulder lightly. "We do have a lot to do today."
The sound of our suite door opening causes him to quickly jerk his head up.
"Gemma, what the fuck?"
"Get up, both of you!" she commands, taking hold of the edge of the comforter and gently tugging it. I quickly gather the fabric in my hands and hold it to my chest.
"You don't want to do that." Harry tells her in amusement. "I mean, you can, but it will bring us a lot close than you probably want to be."
"Would you two get up?" she snaps, dropping the covers.
"Get out, so we can put some clothes on." Harry counters.
"You're not supposed to see each other on the day of the wedding."
"Too late for that. I've already seen a lot." he smirks. She rolls her eyes at him as she walks back towards the door.
"I'll be back in ten minutes."
The morning is a blur of beauty routines, checklists and making final decisions. We were meant to have a small rehearsal dinner last night, but the events of previous night and early morning prevented that. It's resulted in today being more chaotic than planned.
Almost everyone that was invited has confirmed their attendance, about two hundred people total. Some of them I don't know at all, but am told are family. It's still surreal to think about all the extended family I haven't met yet.
We arrive at the Palm House of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens four hours before the ceremony is to begin. Snow is falling outside and has already covered the glass ceiling in a thick blanket; it gives the whole room an enchanted igloo effect. Allison walks me through the glass enclosed venue, getting my approval on the set up. One half is set up for the ceremony, while the opposite end of the building houses tables and a small dance floor for the reception.
I'm then ushered into my dressing room to wait for the hairdresser while Vera and Allison finalize some of the catering details. I sit down on the plush sofa, putting my feet up. I'm just enjoying the silence of having the room to myself when Isaac burst into my dressing room.
"Hi, Isaac." I say, not bothering to hide the annoyance in my tone.
"Sorry, Allison was in the hall. I was just trying to duck out of sight."
"She's probably gone now."
"Uh, I think I'll wait a little longer." he answers, as he begins picking at the meat and cheese tray on the table.
"You're going to have to talk to her at some point, why don't you just get it over with?" I ask, annoyed that he's still lingering. "Or you could go hang out with Michael and Harry."
The door opens again as Mariah enters the room with an armload of hair products with who I assume is the hairdresser following close behind. Mariah sets them out on the vanity as the hairdresser motions for me to come to the chair in the center of the room. She begins combing through my hair as Mariah stares at Isaac until he leaves.
"So, we've already established your brother is off limits, right?" she says to me as soon as the door closes behind him.
"Right." I reply, meeting her eyes in the mirror.
"What about the best man?"
"Michael?!" I ask turning to face her - much to the hairdresser's annoyance. "Michael, really?"
"Yeah? Am I missing something?"
"You do know he's a former associate of Harry's, right? One who isn't making plea deals?"
"And?" she retorts with a shrug.
"And you gave me so much shit over Harry."
"I'm going to fuck him, not marry him." The hairdresser raises her brows and side eyes Mariah, but says nothing.
"Go ahead, Mariah." I answer with a laugh. "I'm sure Harry has a condom if you need one."
"Do you know who I am?" she replies as she opens her handbag, revealing at least two dozen condoms. "I always come to weddings prepared."
She quickly stashes her bag when Vera and Gemma walk in moments later. The next two hours is filled with chatter, frequent interruptions from Allison, makeup rechecks and a brief visit from the photographer. The time flies by and before I know it, Vera and Mariah are helping me into my dress. Vera and Gemma both give me a hug before exiting, leaving just me and Mariah in the room. Suddenly the thought of leaving this room becomes overwhelming.
"Are you okay?" Mariah asks, fanning me with her hands. "You look flushed."
"Yes.....no.....I don't know." I stammer
"Are you thinking about running?" she quips.
"No!" I answer quickly. "Not at all. I just feel really panicky all of a sudden."
"Hold on," Mariah starts before walking across the room to retrieve her handbag. She digs around in it for a few moments - spilling condoms on the floor - before pulling out a small, silver flask. She unscrews the lid and hands it to me.
"Is that...?"
"I told you that I always come to weddings prepared. It's just vodka."
I sniff the pungent, clear liquid again before taking a sip. It burns the whole way down, making it difficult to swallow.
"What the hell kind of vodka is that?!" I sputter between coughs.
"Everclear." she answers, screwing the lid back on. "Now, we need to find your shoe-"
"Everclear?! That's a far cry from vodka." I reply, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
"In just a few minutes you're going to feel extremely relaxed." she dismisses me with a wave of her hand as she places the bottle back into her handbag.
"I'm going to kill you if I'm plastered during my own wedding."
"Please, Arden. I saw you putting back drinks at my birthday party." she says as crouches at my feet. and helps me slide on my shoes. "You're going to be fine. I think it would be cause for concern if you weren't nervous."
She rises and adjusts my dress, blots my lipstick and double checks my hair before turning to the mirror and checking her own appearance. She turns and holds her hand out to me.
"Ready?"
"Yes." I answer, taking her hand and following her out of the dressing room.
"Still feeling nervous?"
"A bit, yes." I answer. She gently squeezes my hand. We round the corner into the lobby where Allison, Michael and Owen are waiting for us.
"You look beautiful." Owen beams, offering me his arm.
I link my arm through his and take my bouquet from Allison. Mariah links arms with Michael and then turns back to wink at me. Allison opens the door letting Michael and Mariah through.
"Are you ready?" Owen asks.
"Yeah, Dad, I am." I answer, surprising both of us with how easily the title just slid off my tongue. He looks over at me, eyes brimming with tears.
"I love you."
"I love you too." I reply.
"Alright, it's time." Allison announces.
I take deep breath and give Owen one last smile before the doors open. The crowd rises and turns towards me as we walk towards the altar. As soon as we make our first step out, my eyes meet his. He smiles at me and pushes his hair back, a habit that tells me he's just as nervous as I am. As we get closer to the altar, I'm not sure if it's Harry or the Everclear or both, but I feel my nerves start to calm.
Once we approach the altar, Owen kisses me on the cheek before taking a seat in the front row beside Vera. I pass Mariah my bouquet and link my arm in Harry's. The officiant is giving some sort of opening speech, but I can't hear him over the buzzing in my head. I stare at Harry and can't believe I'm standing here right now, but I don't want to be anywhere else.
"Arden and Harry have chosen to right their own vows." the officiant's voice snaps my attention back to the present. I turn to Mariah who passes me a small piece of paper containing the vows I'd been working on for the past week.
"Harry." the officiant cues. He clears his throat and opens his sheet of paper in in his trembling hands.
"Arden," he starts, his voice already catching. Michael gives him a reassuring pat on the back as he takes a deep breath. "Arden," he starts again. "When I first met you, I was a proper asshole, but you gave me another chance. Every time something happened I though 'this is it, she's going to leave', but you stayed. I will never be able to express how much that means to me, but I hope to give it a shot over our the rest of our lives. I love you more than you will ever know and I promise to never again need another chance."
The officiant nods to me indicating that it's my turn.
"Harry," the tears already sliding down my face. "In the short time I've known you, you've completely turned my life upside down, but I can't imagine going back. I didn't know I was waiting for you, but I was and I'm so happy you found me. We've been through so much in such a short time, I can't wait to see what else is in store. I love you and I will never be able to thank you enough for all that you've done for me."
I turn back to Mariah and exchange my vows for Harry's ring. I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand being mindful of my makeup. At least I'm not full on sobbing. Yet. When I turn back to face Harry, he's also wiping his eyes. He gives me smile as the officiant begins speaking again.
"Harry Edward Styles, do you take Arden Olivia James to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do." Harry, confirms with a wide grin before sliding my wedding band onto my finger.
"Arden Olivia James, do you take Harry Edward Styles to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I do." I reply, carefully sliding his wedding band on to his finger with my shaking hands.
"By the power vested in my by the state of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
I wrap my arms around his neck bringing him towards me as he winds his hand around my hips, his lips immediately finding mine. I've kissed him a million times, but this one is different. A warmth and feeling of contentment washes over me as I move my lips against his.
Michael clears his throat, reminding us we're standing in front of hundred people. I pull away from him and feel a flush creeping over my cheeks as we turn to face the crowd. Vera and Owen are both wiping their eyes and beaming.
"I now present Mr. and Mrs. Harry Edward Styles"
Harry takes my hand, intertwining his fingers in mine, before we walk back down the aisle towards the lobby. The photographer wants to take a few pictures before we start the reception. As soon as we enter the lobby I turn and wrap my arms around him again, wanting to feel him close to me.
"Can we just skip the reception?" he jokes as Allison enters the lobby with the photographer in two.
"Just a few more hours and you'll have me all to yourself." I remind him
"I know."
A.N. This was a lot harder to write than I thought it was going to be. I think I'm too picky haha
I haven't updated my tumblr in ages (awful, I know) BUT I did make an aesthetics post for this chapter.
Also: I hit 10k yesterday, which is kind of a big deal. Thank you all so much for reading and voting and commenting. I really appreciate all of you. Thank you for tolerating my slow updates the past few weeks.
P.S. Listen to this chapter's song. It's perfect.