"Taylor, do you take Ed to be your lawful wedded husband?"
I smile softly up at Ed's angelic face, tears blurring my vision, but I can still make out each freckle across his nose, every crease on his forehead, even the tiny scar underneath his eye that leaves a little red patch on his pale skin.
"I do."
"Ed, do you take Taylor as your lawful wedded wife?"
"Of course I do," Ed replies, his lips stretched into a dazzling smile. I feel shaky as I breathlessly stare at his handsome face, gazing into his sparkling sapphire eyes.
"You may now kiss the bride."
We'll be married the moment our lips touch. I softly brush my lips against his, and then everything is suddenly more violent and passionate and serious. I feel the zap of electricity in my bones, the shooting static I've never overcome, and recognize the sadness bolting through my veins as he pulls away. And then I realize... We're married. I nearly dance and cheer with enjoy, overwhelmed with the fantastic happiness twirling around me, but instead I settle for letting Ed cradle me close, his lips pressed to the top of my hair. He's incredible. He's flawless. He's my everything. And he's finally mine.
When my vision becomes blurry tears brim in my eyes as I realize it was only a dream. That same dream I always seem to have, where Ed and I are married at last, our hearts pieced together as one perfect whole. And as usual I wake up sobbing because I so want our marriage to be real.
But this time, excitement floods my body as I realize... We really are engaged, and we're going to be married soon. We'll have to start organising the wedding soon. We'll have to do it all soon.
I brush away my tears slowly as the body beside me begins to wriggle around and gradually sits up. Ed smiles at me in his 'pyjama' t-shirt and cargo trousers, his hair wildly messed up. I stifle a giggle and ruffle his ginger hair, grinning at him, but he sees a tear glimmering on my cheek and his smile immediately fades.
"What's wrong, love?"
"I had a fantastic dream," I choke out, resting my head on his shoulder thoughtfully. He chuckles and raises his eyebrows at me.
"A fantastic dream? I need more of an explanation," Ed points out with a husky laugh.
"Well..." I say shyly. "We were getting married and we had this spectacular wedding and it was absolutely flawless and I so want it to be real."
This time, Ed's laughter rings in my ears and bounces off the walls.
"Taylor, don't be silly. We're engaged. That wedding is actually going to happen!"
"I know," I whisper dreamily before pecking his cheek lightly. "That's why some of my tears are happy tears."
"Then wipe away the sad ones and smile," Ed murmurs as he brushes the tears off my face. "What do you want at this wedding?"
I glance at him thoughtfully, wondering what to say, ideas bursting like fireworks in my mind. I imagine bright beautiful roses and a long frilly white dress and Ed in a fancy black tuxedo... I don't even know what I want.
"I don't know."
"You know what I'd like?"
"No, what?"
"I want a nice, traditional wedding. In a chapel somewhere lovely and quiet. Perhaps somewhere that has a personal meaning to us." I take in Ed's suggestions carefully, noting each idea, labelling the ones I like as 'good' in my head.
"That sounds nice," I agree, fluttering my eyelids shut dreamily. "But where?"
"I'm really sorry to be a pain. We don't have to go here..." Ed trails off and his breathing becomes heavy. "Maybe we could go to West Yorkshire, you know, I mean I was born there... And my parents were married in a nice little church there. It's really quite a personal place."
I gasp as I imagine a quaint little wedding in a small church over in such a wonderful, personal town. It sounds so sweet.
"Oh, that sounds so amazing," I gush as Ed presses his lips to my hair.
"Really?" He mumbles into my blonde curls as I flutter my eyes open, glancing up at him.
"Yes! I want our wedding there. I really do."
"And when?" Ed smiles, unable to hold in his happiness.
"Soon. As soon as possible. I want it... On your birthday."
"That's a little too soon, Taylor, really, I mean it's only September twenty-fourth today and the album comes out that day too-"
"Five months is long enough not to have you!" I exclaim, laughter bubbling up in my voice as I slam my lips into his. We both beam into the kiss as my arms snake around his neck and I move with him to the wild pounding of my heart. When he pulls away the electricity zapping through my veins blows out and I look at him breathlessly, my arms still wrapped around his neck.
"West Yorkshire Chapel. February 17th. I'm going to marry you," I declare firmly. He chuckles heartily and kisses me again quickly before wriggling his way out of the bed to my dazed protests.
"I'm taking you wedding dress shopping silly!" He laughs, and I swear my heart stops.
"Are... Are you serious?" I gasp, excitement bolting all through my body. He nods with a laugh and I hear my voice echoing shrilly off the walls of my cottage. I leap out of bed and twirl around and around, shrieking with joy. "This is awesome!" I wrap my arms around Ed and lovingly embrace him, dragging him into a passionate kiss as he naturaully spins me around until the cottage transforms into a wild mess of colour.
He drops me down to the floor again and nudges me towards the dresser.
"You need to get dressed," he smiles. "We're leaving in half an hour."
I dance over to the dresser and dig through the piles of clothes to find an outfit. I pick out a black pleated skirt, a dotty white blouse, a thick ebony belt and a pair of casual scarlet Keds. I quickly take a shower and straighten my curls. Then my nimble fingers braid a fishtail plait in my flat blonde hair and I layer my lips with a light touch of bright red lipstick before returning to Ed, posing dramatically.
"Thirty-one minutes," he mock-sighs. "I'll let it slide. You look beautiful as usual."
I peck his cheek lightly and curl my fingers through his as we trek outside, sliding into my Mazda. I take the steering wheel and rev up the engine as excitement surges through me.
"I see you're pretty enthusiastic," laughs Ed, and I grin at him slumped in the passenger seat.
"Very."
"Fair enough," he replies as we rumble down the road. "Hey, is it tradition for the groom to go wedding dress shopping with the bride?"
"Tradition doesn't matter," I answer firmly. "I want to shop for my dress with you."
Ed chuckles as he turns the radio volume up, and then he laughs again when our song bursts through the speakers. He hums along softly, looking at me with a smile that completely melts my heart. We both start singing gently, our voices woven into a sweet harmony that practically makes me glow with joy.
"All I know is we said hello..."
It's hard not to pull over and just kiss Ed with all the overwhelming emotion flooding my body. We sing aloud as we drive into the city, grinning as the feeling of being so desperately in love captures us, and then we are pulling up at a wedding dress store and it's really, truly happening.
Ed clasps my hand as we practically skip inside 'Tanya's', the shop for 'all things weddings'. The entire room is absolutely enormous; there are pink and white balloons tied to the pillars around us, a huge glass case almost overflowing with sparkly rings, racks stuffed with the most gorgeous wedding dresses in history. I gasp softly, awestruck. Ed grins at me and murmurs in my ear.
"This is where I bought your ring."
I beam at him, pecking his cheek lightly, and then the woman fiddling around on her computer behind the counter flounces out to greet us.
"Hello!" She smiles, her voice high and squeaky. "Is this... Taylor Swift, and... Ed!"
"It is," I laugh. Ed chuckles heartily and nods.
"I've become acquainted with Tanya here before, when I bought your engagement ring," he explains softly. I nod in understanding and smile at Tanya politely. She has a striking resemblance to Kardashian- dark pixie-cut hair, serious eyes, thin lips. The only difference is that she's much more smiley and cheerful.
"Might I give my congratulations on your award from last night," She smiles after politely shaking our hands.
"Thanks," I reply gratefully. "We're very pleased."
"So you should be! Anyway, what are we shopping for today?" Enquires Tanya sweetly. I blush and smile at her, feeling my cheeks burn.
"A wedding dress."
"Ahh!" Cooes Tanya with a giggle, and Ed laughs again. His constant chuckle is one of my very favourite things about him. I edge towards the rack of beautiful wedding dresses against the wall, curling my fingers around Ed's, and Tanya smiles cheerily at us both with a curious look in her eyes.
"So what are you searching for in this dress?"
"Hmm..." I wonder aloud, my thoughts running wild. I don't even know what I want in my wedding dress. I don't want something too elaborate, but I don't want something too simple too. I want something with a little sparkle but not too much- looking like a disco ball on my wedding day is probably not the best idea. And I want to look beautiful.
"Well, we'll need something a little more loose-fitting, since Taylor's pregnancy is beginning to show already," points out Ed. I smile and place my hand on the little bulge of my stomach, rubbing it gently. My baby will pretty much be at the wedding, five months old, celebrating with us all and experiencing just how deeply in love its parents are. My baby is going to have the best life. My baby.
"She'll be five months pregnant at the wedding, so it can't be tight at all," adds Ed seriously before placing his hand lightly on my stomach and patting the bulge. I smile at him, blushing, wondering how my life became so perfect and exactly how lucky I am to have fallen in love with him.
"Oh yes, and congratulations on the pregnancy too!" remarks Tanya happily. "Anyhow... do you have any other requests for a dress?"
"Um. Well, I would like something perhaps slightly sparkly, but not too much. And I want to be able to dance in it! My aunt has a stunning dress that had a hook on the trail which went around her hand and she could hold it up when she danced. Do you have anything like that? I know it's a lot to ask," I say, biting my lip in embarassment. I seem to want quite a bit, and I doubt Tanya can make everything perfectly tailored for me. But she puts on a hopeful face and nods, sauntering over to the dress rack. She brushes her fingers across each pearly-white gown, fingering the silk and the satin and the gauzy fabric before letting her hand grasp a random dress. She swings it off the rack and offers it to me, beaming. I gasp at its incredible beauty.
The neck dips down into a deep V, with glimmery sequins dotted around the neckline, and a waistband that shines like the stars whenever it catches the light. The trail is long and plain white, and there's a matching veil, intricate flowery patterns woven into a breathtaking piece of artwork in front of me. It looks absolutely fantastic.
"Wow," I whisper, and Tanya and Ed both laugh.
"Do you wanna try it on?" Ed hisses in my ear, and I nod vigorously, almost snatching the dress away from a giggling Tanya. I sprint into the dressing room and strip off, hanging my skirt and blouse on the hooks on the painted brick walls, before slowly lacing myself up in the gorgeous gown. It's awfully heavy as I gradually dress in the beautiful outfit, glancing at myself in the mirror every so often. Five minutes later once I've finally struggled into the gown, I pose for myself, gazing at my reflection unsurely. The dress is absolutely breathtaking, sure, but the sparkles around the dipping neckline just don't seem to look right on me, although the belt is certainly flattering. I swing open the dressing room door and flaunt the gown to a gawping Ed and Tanya. They both applaud, creating an echo of the thunderous applause I heard every night of the RED tour, and I smile at them both with a sudden rush of certainty about myself.
"You look amazing," gasps Ed, and I shrug with a little giggle. Tanya shoots me a thumbs up and winks at me.
"So what do you think?"
"Well..." I bite my lip again, wondering how to answer politely. "It's so beautiful, but I don't think the neckline is quite right. It's a bit too dippy for a wedding, you know? Family event," I add, making them both laugh.
"Well that's fine!" Tanya announces cheerily, passing another dress to me. I don't even look at it- I just bustle into the dressing room and zip myself into the dress, excited to see how it looks on me. Before I leave I twirl around and check myself out in the mirror, grinning at my now-beautified self. There's no trail on this dress, but the lace hem finishes where it just touches the floor. There are no straps on the top half of the dress, which makes it almost unbearably tight around my chest, but... ladies have to suffer to look gorgeous, right?
I flounce out of the dressing room and pose quickly, watching for their reactions. Tanya smiles and gives me a thumbs up but Ed scrunches up his nose, giving me the sort of look a critic or a judge would give whilst deciding if the art is good enough.
"Do you like it?" He finally asks, tilting his head sideways thoughtfully, and I shrug.
"I really love how there's no trail but the hem touches the ground. That's so cool. I'm just not a big fan of the strapless part, it's painfully tight," I confess, and sure enough my voice is slightly choked." I think the tightness of this dress is affecting me vocally."
"Yes, you're right," agrees Tanya, and she passes over another dress. I change in and out of different stunning wedding gowns for the next hour, but we've tried twelve already and none of them seem to be just right. Tanya seems a little down now that none of the dresses are working for me, though Ed still seems lighthearted as she hands me the thirteenth dress.
"Hopefully this one will be just right," Tanya smiles halfheartedly. I shrug and slip away into the dressing room, zipping myself into the beautiful gown. It's truly stunning, undoubtedly my favourite dress so far. The sleeves are long, curling gently around my wrists, made out of thin lace twisted into beautiful flowery patterns. The shoulders erupt into starbursts and fizzle into a dippy neckline surrounded by glimmering sparkles, and the skirt is a long trailing gown with a few soft frills rippling down to the long silky trail behind me. There's a tiny hook on the very end that clips over my wrist so I can properly move around in the dress. I swirl around cheerfully... the thirteenth dress.
"This is the one!" I squeal as I shove the dressing room door open, posing for Ed and Tanya who cheer loudly for me. I grin at them both, flaunting the gorgeous gown, and Tanya nods in agreement for me, beaming.
"That's the one," she agrees joyfully, applauding like mad. "You look incredible!"
"I'm in heaven," mumbles Ed softly, and I laugh before running as fast as I can in this flattering wedding dress and crashing my lips into his.
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Wow, that was a long, dull, pointless chapter! But fun to write. I LOVE the image I've got in my mind for Tay's dress!
-Danica xoxo
P.S Some people were asking, so if you like, feel free to follow me on Tumblr. edsweeran.tumblr.com
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