Yeah, perfectly fine. Just a little bit of a freakout, but it’s all good, I tell her.
She nods her head, giving me a smile. Okay, great. We’re good to go in an hour, so mentally prepare yourself for what’s to come because it’s about to be real.
She gives me a smile before walking up the brick steps and before she could go back inside, I catch her attention. Oh, did you see Joey ?
Oh, yeah, she tells me, giving me another big smile. he looks fantastic, I know you’ll be super happy when you see him.
About an hour and a half later, my mom, my dad, and I stand on the porch of the quarter house as everyone else has already walked down the aisle, including my soon-to-be husband. One of the guards was standing in front of us to tell us when we were able to go and the butterflies in my stomach were getting even bigger as we waited for the signal.
You ready ? My mom asks me, linking her arm with mine as my dad does the same.
I smile, looking at her as a blush comes to my face and my hands start to shake from the nerves. Yeah, totally ready.
Kade, you’re shaking, my dad says, motioning towards my hand that was linked with his arm. I physically try to stop my shaking but was unable to get it under control. My dad takes a step forward to look at me with a small smile. breathe in through your nose and out your mouth, okay ?
I nod my head. Yeah, yeah, I got it.
He comes to stand next to me when the guard motions that we can go ahead. We walk down the brick steps to go down the sidewalk where the courtyard comes into view. The chairs were set up in two columns with each chair filled with members of the pack. About 200 members RSVPed to come to the wedding today to see me officially become part of the family, which made my nerves become even more heightened.
The chairs were white with lace cushions on them that had a gray tone to them. Behind all the chairs were two small tables with notebooks sitting on them where you could write a message for Joey and me to read later, which was totally Lila’s idea. At the altar were two huge bouquets of 100 flowers that were a mix of gray and maroon roses. Also at the altar was my fiance that looked so gorgeous in the same suit as me. His hair was all fancy with a slight curl to it in the front that I’m assuming Cody did because it looked exactly like how he does his hair every day. Joey had a huge smile on his face as he saw me walking down with my parents.
Elder Collins stood behind him wearing a white robe with an old, black book in his hands that is the something old in the wedding. To his right side was all my groomsmaids and Isaac along with Emilie and Melissa who stood next to each other with the bouquets in their hands. Behind Joey was his groomsmen and Luna with a white flower pinned to their suit jacket while Luna had a corsage on her wrist with the same flowers. Joey and Collins stand underneath a wooden arch that Conner actually asked to build for us. It was a light wood color and had white flowers decorating it to make it seem like it was actually meant for a wedding.
My mom, dad, and I get to the aisle that was a lace thing that we ordered a few months ago. When we stepped on it, everyone sitting in the chairs stands up as they were instructed to do. Everyone looks at me as I walk down, but there was only one person that I could focus on and he was giving me the biggest smile I had seen in a while. At this point, all the butterflies and nerves had washed away because he was right there and this was actually happening.
When we get right in front of my fiance, Elder Collins gives me a smile before clipping the little microphone to my suit jacket and stepping back into position. Mom kisses my cheek before giving Joey a hug and sitting in her seat and my father does the same.
Joey grabs my hand as I stand in front of him, the sparks between us even more intense than usual since his wolf’s excited, as Joey put it when we talked about it two nights ago. He gripped my hand tightly as his smile got even wider when he checked out the suit and how I looked in it and I did the same to him. Elder Collins asks everyone to sit before clearing his throat and opening up the black book.
Welcome, family, friends, pack members, and loved ones. We gather here today to celebrate the wedding of Joseph and Kade. You have come here to share in this formal commitment they make to one another, to offer your love and support to this union, and to allow Joseph and Kade to start their married life together surrounded by the people dearest and most important to them.
I tighten my grip on Joey’s hand as tears form in my eyes, making his eyes soften when he sees that I’m about to start crying. A single tear falls down and he reaches up, using the pad of his thumb to wipe it away, making some of the pack members in the back awe.
Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage ; only you can do that-through love and patience ; through dedication and perseverance ; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other ; through tenderness and laughter ; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest. What this ceremony can do is to witness and affirm the choice you make to stand together as mates and partners.
I reached up, noticing that Joey was crying now and it wasn’t just me. I used my thumb to wipe away his tears and a small blush came onto his cheeks, making me chuckle lightly at that. I look over at my parents to see that my mom is crying with a tissue in her hand while my dad stares up at us with pride. Lila and Conner are both crying with tissues and I give them a smile, loving that not only was I gaining a husband today, but I’m gaining more parents to look up to.
Two people in love do not live in isolation. Their love is a source of strength with which they may nourish not only each other but also the world around them. And in turn, we, their community of friends and family, have a responsibility to this couple. By our steadfast care, respect, and love, we can support their marriage and the new family they are creating today. Will you all please rise, Elder Collins asks and we look out at everyone who gets to their feet.
Will, you who are present here today, surround Joseph and Kade in love, offering them the joys of your friendship and loyalty and supporting them in their marriage ?
We will, everyone in the crowd recites together as stated on the sign that they read as they walked to the courtyard since it was apparently a pack thing to ask that.
Elder Collins looks back at his little book, taking a second to find where he was before looking back up at us with a smile. Joseph, you can read your vows.
Joey retracts his hand, turning around to grab a piece of paper from Cody before opening up, but when he sees the words, he closes it and shoves it into his suit pocket and looking up at me with a smile. Kade, ever since the day we got together, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you to show you the respect and trust that you deserve. When I looked into your beautiful eyes, I knew who you were and I knew that one day in the near future, you would be standing by my side and helping me do my job and I’ve never been happier than when I saw that for the first time. You’ve given me hope and you’ve given me a reason to look forward to the future when before I met you, I didn’t have that. You’ve shown me a new life that I’m proud to have and I can’t wait for the rest of the years that you’ll be by my side.
I grab a tissue that Melissa hands me and wipe my eyes of the many tears that are falling as I listen to what he says. He grabs a small piece of paper from Collins that had the simple vows that we were supposed to say. He cleared his throat before looking up at me.
I Joseph, take you, Kade to be my husband, my constant friend, my partner, and my love. I will work to create a bond of honesty, respect, and trust ; one that withstands the tides of time and change and grows along with us. I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are and will become, taking pride in who we are, both separately and together. I promise to challenge you and to accept challenges from you. I will join with you and our community in an ongoing struggle to create a world we all want to live in, where love and friendship will be recognized and celebrated in all their many forms. Above all, I will give you my love freely and unconditionally. I pledge this to you from the bottom of my heart, for all the days of our lives.
Elder Collins nods his head, taking the paper back and looking at me. Kade, you can read your vows.
I clear my throat, reaching out to grip his hand in mind as many thoughts ran through my head. Ever since I found out what this place was and who I was to you, I wanted to live my life in it. I wanted to be here by your side, like you always talked about, and lead with you. I grew up never thinking I would find someone that fit so perfect in my life that when we got together, I couldn’t possibly comprehend that you were there and you were real. I lived in a dream for the entire time we’ve been together, but right now, standing right here, that dream is becoming a reality.