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Chapter Sixty-Four - Where She Dresses Their Party
Bailey's Pov
When Julian and I asked those we loved to be in our wedding party, they were a little surprised that we weren't sticking to traditional genders. So by my side I would have: My brother, Kylie, Macy Lucca and Kenna. By Julian's, he would have: Melina, Carter, Dorian, Nia and Caleb.
The next step for our wedding was probably my favorite; bridesmaid dresses. On Saturday all the girls went with me to look for their dresses. This was supposed to me a fun day out for us, but when we got there the consultant refused to accept my vision and had the audacity to call my wedding tacky.
She told me that the dresses would look bad together since they wouldn't all be the same, so I walked out of there. If they didn't want the money I would spend on five dresses then fuck them. While I ranted, Nia called in a favor with a friend who's a designer and we went to her shop.
"We should have just come here to begin with, I didn't think about it." Nia drove and I was still furious. I was sick of people telling me that I was wrong or that my choices wouldn't work. This was my fucking wedding and I just needed and wanted someone on my side here!
Between Larissa trying to take control, Nia being Nia, the baker who we decided not to use for being rude and Melina being herself as well; it was overwhelming.
"Breathe girl, it's going to be okay." Well at least there was Macy.
My problem was that Lacey would have been on my side, she would have made sure that I got what I wanted; she was more outspoken than Nia. Lacey would have put Nia in her place on some occasions. But instead I was sitting here wondering what she would have said and thought. There was nothing I could do but dream up how she would have reacted to him proposing.
With Lacey, I wouldn't have even had to ask her to be my maid of honor, she would have just claimed the title and ran with it. It was hard when I missed her so much.
These were the times I wished I wasn't an alcoholic because I could really use a drink right now to calm my nerves; sucks to have fucked up so massively.
"Don't let her get to you, my friend will make sure you have what you want. She is new to the industry I will warn you, but that means she will also work her ass off to make everything perfect." New? As long as she could make a dress and wasn't a bitch; I didn't care.
"She's right out of fashion school; I met her when I was living in Italy. All her samples are handmade, she's worked so hard to get her own shop. The reason I didn't think of it was because she's not set to open for another week." So she was really new.
"Is she a good designer?" Nia nodded readily.
"She's incredible, she has the potential to be huge one day. She went independent instead of being a designer for a company; it was a huge risk."
"So she could also use the money." That made it more worth it for me. I'd rather the money go to someone who could truly use it rather than a wealthy company or designer.
Tia was someone who really got what I was saying when I spoke to her one on one first. She understood that I didn't want all my girls to look the same and she completely understood not giving a damn about gender.
We looked online to start so she could get an idea of what I wanted and didn't want. She knew the colors, Julian and I decided to reserve the green to honor Lacey, so the girls would all be in shades that matched the blue and burgundy. They would be knee length and lace, as long as it fit that the girls could pick whatever they wanted.
There was only one small exception; Melina's dress will not be nearly as short as Nia's will probably be and she had to have something to hold hers up, nothing strapless. She's not going to be complaining all day about having to pull her top up.
Melina threw a little bit of a fit when I told her and pouted as she pulled dresses. The best part about coming here was that she could make any of these dresses in lace. So the girls got free reign and didn't just have to try on lace dresses; the even better part was that all the dresses can be made from the same pattern of lace in different colors.
Melina's dress was singled out for sure when all the other girls picked their dresses, the four other dresses had a low dip between the beasts. They were tastefully sexy dresses though there was length added to all four of them.
Melina was upset, so to compromise hers was altered to dip down, just not nearly as low as the other girls. Three were long sleeved, one strapless and one short sleeved. Two would have the back fabric one color and the lace overlay a second. Three would have a top one color and skirt the other; they all could wear both colors now.
Bridesmaid dress shopping turned out to be a blast, not only was I happy with the way all the dresses complimented, yet were different from each other; but the girls were comfortable and happy with the way they looked in them.
All people were different and had different body types, I didn't believe the one single dress was best. So now that they all picked colors that were approved by me, I could pick the colors for the guys to wear too.
Today was a full day. After we picked dresses I took them to lunch before meeting Julian and all the men at another store to pick out what they would be wearing. After this, all I had to do was feed information to Sonja and she would take care of all the details.
Honestly, I don't know why I didn't think to hire a wedding planner when we got engaged; I guess I was just too much of a control freak. Since she's been handling the details, my stress level has drastically fallen. All I had to do was get these handsome men dressed properly and we were golden; as long as no one fucks up any dresses or tux.
In that case I may not be getting married; I may be in prison. This whole thing has turned me into a nightmare for anyone who wants to fuck with me. Don't like my choices? Well then you can fuck off and I'll take my business elsewhere.
These people don't get paid by insulting and pissing off clients; if they want to have an opinion on my wedding, they better be offering their damn services free of charge.
"So what are you planning on dressing us up in?" That earned Drew a smack to the back of the head
"Wow there Gibbs, do I need to change the Netflix password?" Julian joked and I narrowed my eyes.
"Do that and I'll go buy every season of NCIS on your dime." His eyes rolled.
"I wouldn't even notice the money was gone, go ahead." He was underestimating my love of that show. So just out of spite I was buying NCIS, Criminal Minds, Bones and CSI. Then I was going to the bookstore and when I came home, we'll see who's laughing.
"Be nice or you're being dressed in long sleeves and jackets." Lucca's face scrunched up in disgust.
"I've done photoshoots in the middle of summer in that shit, please don't. I am being nice to you." So I looked to the other boys.
"Anyone else have an issue with me picking the tuxes?" Would I really make them wear that? No, but they needed to get on the same level as my girls; especially since some of them would be standing by my side.
"Whatever you pick is great." It better be, and most importantly to me they would also be comfortable.
"Thank you Dorian, at least someone knows how not to be an ass." That comment was shot at my stupid twin.
"Hey, I'm just saying! You've never worn a tux before; you don't know what it's like or what is comfortable."
"And you think I wouldn't take anything the six of you say into account?" He really thought I would say fuck that the six of you hate it and it's uncomfortable, but you're wearing it anyway?
"Yes, you've turned into a raging bridezilla! It doesn't matter what anyone thinks as long as you're happy with it. Anytime someone tries to suggest something or asks you if you're sure you bitch at them." He may have a whole hell of a lot of height on me, but my temper made up for it.
Julian wrapped his arms around me when I stepped up to Drew and I pulled out of it.
"That's fucking right because I'm planning a whole fucking wedding in less than six months. All you want to do it rile me up for no reason and piss me off. I have a fiance who was on the verge of losing his contract, the media to criticize everything I do, a custody battle that ended with me raising a teenager, a new house that I had to fight every step of the way for. Crazy ex girlfriends and a drug and alcohol addiction I'm fighting. I have a fiance who almost died and who is going through a hard time and now a god damn record contract to put even more pressure on me. Do you really think I need more stress in my life Drew? At least you're invited to my damn wedding! At least I wanted you to be a part of it. I'm sick of everyone telling me what to do and trying to take control of our wedding! So you can back off, smile and be happy in whatever the hell I decide to put you in and be supportive or get the hell out of my wedding and my life."
I'm sick of smiling and taking care of everything else, done with everyone telling me how to live my life and being in the spotlight. I'm done hearing about all these women Julian's been with. I ignore magazines because there always seems to be another girl; god there are so many.
"Come here pretty girl." Julian was the most stressful part of my life, but the best and most supportive. I needed a lot more therapy than I had been making time for. Julian was going for his suicide attempt, but it was still hard for me.
There were nights I woke up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating that he wouldn't be breathing when touched him. When I was in New York I barely slept because he wasn't next to me when I would wake up and it tore me apart when I couldn't hear him breathe and see his chest moving.
By this point I was in tears because I just couldn't handle it anymore. There wasn't a part of me that had a doubt about wanting to be his wife, I was terrified for things to progress between us, but It didn't make me regret my choice. My regret was thinking I could do this big wedding so quickly, that I could handle all the pressure I put on myself. Something had to give, with all this tension something had to break and it was me.
"They will wear what you want honey, this is your vision. After this I promise it will get better. I know I've put a lot on you, but I'll give you a massage tonight and we can make out a little bit. I'll order pho from your favorite place and I can manage to dip fruit in chocolate without poisoning anyone. Mia can stay with my mom tonight and it can be just us two. This kills me, seeing you this way hurts me." He kissed my cheek, forehead, nose, cheek and then lips. We weren't alone, but for the moment we were.
There wasn't a single fuck to give that my brother just heard that either.
"Promise?" For a minute, I just wanted things to stop. Just for a little bit I wanted to feel normal; for us to feel normal. He nodded before kissing me again, his hand gently massaging the back of my head as his tongue did so as well.
Drew cleared his throat, something I decided to ignore. Julian released my lips with a soft kiss but he didn't let go of me. He pulled my back against him and leaned down to nuzzle my neck.
"Now listen up men; if you want to wear what you want and be a guest, feel free to excuse yourselves now. No one gets to disrespect my girl and still be in this wedding or even attend it. If you want to share in this experience with us you shut up and be happy. And by any of you, I mean Drew. You're the only one being a dick and if you ever call her a bitch again you'll be sporting a broken jaw or black eye." So I was new to this whole sexual attraction thing, but was it wrong to get a little turned on by his words?
He was threatening my brother, but his possessiveness was kind of hot.
Julian looked at him, waiting for him to say something but he kept his mouth shut; wise choice. The man who was doing all the measurements came back out when he realized we were no longer being hostile towards each other.
"So what are we going to be needing for this wedding?" At least this wasn't like the girls, this was something I already had planned out and we just needed to pick fabrics and colors.
"No jackets. We're going with pants, short sleeved shirts and vests. I'm debating on light or medium grey. I'd like their shirts to match the lighter shade of the girls dresses and bows or ties to match the darker.
"Do you have those colors?" He asked and I handed over the swatches I had gotten from Tia today.
"Fabric?" He asked and I shrugged on that one.
"I'm not sure, Julian tells me that we could figure that one out. Something light and comfortable though. We are getting married in the middle of summer." He had books of fabric, just like the ones I've handed over to him and I got to look through the colors with Julian while the other five men were being measured.
He pulled me down onto his lap and he was distracting as he ran his fingers up my arm and across my thigh while I flipped through the pages. Since I lost it on Drew it was instant affection, like this was the first time he was hearing all of that.
"Which one do you like?" My question was my attempt to get him to focus, my face was going to become an uncomfortable shade if he continued to gently caress me that way.
"Whichever you want to see me in on our wedding day." His hand slid farther up my thigh and I made a weird squeak. Since we got engaged his boldness has kicked up a new notches.
"On our wedding day or take off you on our wedding night?" He groaned in my ear.
"Don't tease me like that pretty girl." My breaths were a little shallow and I put my hand over his.
"Then don't tease me like this. I want you in the light and then men in medium."
"The only thing I cam imagine is the light grey against our dark hardwood floors, along with your white."
"Stop." This wasn't fair and I didn't even know if we would be doing anything on our wedding night. The biggest pain in the ass about how much experience he did have was he knew just how to set me off. Being that he was nearly the only man I've been with, it was confusing for me. The way my body reacted to him without my permission, but at least I never had to question if I had the same impact on him.
"Fine, but only because your brother is trying to murder me with his glare. You do know I'm possessive of you baby. Lucca and I are cool now, but it still drives me insane. Whenever he's around I don't want to take my hands off you."
"Julian." I was close to begging him to stop, not right now.
"That's a lie, I never want to. No pressure to you at all pretty girl, but my mind is always running wild about what I can do to my little wife."
"Stop it or you're not getting your wife until our first anniversary; if you're lucky." We were catching mre attention now and we needed to make some final decision and he also needed to calm himself down. There was no way I could stand up right now with his situation; not that it wouldn't serve him right if I did.
At this point I was exhausted of the words choices and decisions.
The threat allowed me to make some progress here and for Julian to cooperate. He got up after a couple minutes and was measured for his suit and I talked with Alfred about what I wanted. The boys tried on suits made form some of the same fabrics and I let them pick what they wanted to wear.
Nothing heavy, itchy or ugly.
But the men in our party were all very good looking and built for suits. A soccer player, actor and model made up half of them. Carter and Julian were brother and he was good looking. Dorian fit right in with the four boys; tall and handsome. Caleb was probably the most out of place but not in any sort of bad way. His glasses did single him out and his height was not as great as the other men.
But seeing them all in front of me, they looked incredible and the girls in their dresses were going to be a sight to see. The guys tried on a few different fabrics and Julian picked which one they would all wear. One thing they weren't too happy about was they were wearing bowties and Julian would be the only one with a tie. Personally, I thought they were cute in bowties. Drew and Carter were the only ones who had a fit about them. Lucca was content to wear anything I asked him to; he looked great in anything and he knew that. Caleb already wore bowties and Dorian was a pleasant participant.
Julian took the guys out for dinner and I went home to video with Sonja and send her photos for the wedding party. After this I had next to nothing I had to do. We were waiting for clothing and Sonja as taking care of the rest; she would call or set up a video chat if I needed to give my opinion. We had most of the food preferences back already and so tomorrow started a much less stressed time in our lives.