Once Within A Lifetime (37 page)

Suddenly,
a thought came to her mind and she looked at her mother and gasped, “Will I be able to kneel in this tight dress?”

“
I don’t know, dear, let us help you to see if it works.”

So
her mother got on one side and Leslie on the other and held her while she tried to kneel. It was better than she thought for when she began to kneel the dress was full enough to allow her to do so.

She
sighed and said, “Thank you, I am sure Todd will hold my arm as I kneel so it will work. This is no time for an accident. Imagine how I would feel. Thank you both and I am so glad I thought of it now so I can be more relaxed there.”

Leslie
left her and went on up to work on the other ladies.

Her
mother started getting ready and put on a teal dress Triessa made for her earlier and a small hat to match. The dress had lace and beads on it and was very dressy. Triessa smiled and kissed her and sighed at her beauty. Her dad was planning to wear his dark suit with a beautiful tie she had made for him when she made Todd’s.

“
Oh, Mother, what is the matter with me? What about Nancy? I certainly want her to be there. Would you please go down and help her get ready and see if she has any needs for her hair? I could not be happy without her there, too. Please tell her that and make sure she has what she needs to get ready. Time is slipping away from us. Oh dear!”

So
she went down to find Nancy. Nancy had brought some things with her feeling like she was already a part of the family. She did not want to miss this wonderful occasion.

“
I already did get a private invitation much earlier and have been so looking forward to this. I know Triessa was very busy and involved in so much and knew she would want me there as much as I would want to be there.”

She
was already dressed and asked Sheila to help her check out some things. She decided to go up and get Leslie to touch up her hair a bit with the curling iron.

They
went up and got the rest of the work done. They stopped in to see Triessa and Nancy was stunned and speechless. How could anything be so beautiful! Triessa was also amazed to see how lovely Nancy looked as well and so glad she had been invited. She could not remember seeing her in such finery before.

Meanwhile,
Todd had been getting his things out to get ready. He had been up to the garden and everything was going well. His brother offered to help him dress and he accepted gladly. Matt was already dressed. Todd asked him if he could go up to the house and see if Leslie would have time to come and check his hair. In all the rush he had forgotten it. He wanted everything to be perfect. So he went up to see and Nancy was the only one in the house who was not upstairs, so he asked her to check for him. She went up and came back with the message that she would be there in about twenty minutes.

“
That is wonderful,” said Matt. “I will tell Todd. He is so nervous.”

Todd
kept on his regular clothes and decided to put on his tux after his haircut. Soon Leslie showed up. His hair did not need too much work so she finished it quickly and went back to the other ladies. She was so glad she was able to help everybody out on this special day. Her fiancé was there also getting ready and she was very pleased with how he looked.

Todd
got out his tux and his brother helped him put it on. He put on his shirt, then his pants and tucked the shirt in ever so carefully. It must be totally smooth. Next the vest, cummerbund and jacket. It was a Pierre Cardin tux and very exquisite in cut. The color was a gorgeous blue, and the cravat was a little lighter blue with an intricate dark chevron pattern. The pants had a dark stripe in them. It looked just perfect in combination with the rest. The shirt was white and the whole thing looked very elegant. His dark, wavy hair was clean and shiny and his mustache was neatly trimmed. He was truly a wonderful sight.

Matt
marveled and said, “Brother, I am not sure I have ever seen you turned out in such fashion. You are a truly handsome man. Triessa will swoon.”

It
was nearly ten-thirty. He had just a half hour, how wonderful. He laid out the clothes he planned to wear after the wedding when they went away long enough for the cleaning up to be done and everyone to be gone from the place.

He
decided he had better scoot up to the garden and be ready so she would be able to come up to meet him there. He, Matt and Mitch went back up and the whole place had been transformed. The rug was down at the platform for the ceremony and the flowers were on the pedestals. The screen was in place ready to be moved in at a moment’s notice. The tables were set up and in the center was the large ice sculpture in the form of a rose. The most amazing thing was the colors in it. Colored water was used to get the color of the rose and the leaves. It looked so very realistic, it was hard to imagine it was ice. And beside it on either side of the ice sculpture on a glass pedestal were swans made of crystal by a famous designer. This would greatly please Triessa. It may take away her concentration for a moment. It was doing that to him now. They talked about it. Now that it was set up, it was just overwhelming. He was so glad he hadn’t seen the finishing touches until now. The total surprise was absolutely magical.

The
tables on the sides were full of foods of various kinds and the gift table at the further end had a gorgeous pink tablecloth with the extraordinary wedding cake in the middle. It was the most elegant one he had ever seen with cascades of pink and white roses down the sides and a bride and groom on the top. The cutting knife had a pale blue handle to correspond with his blue tux and her pink and white dress.

He
wondered what her dress was like and was so eager to see her.

How
soon will it be before she comes into my view?
he thought nervously.
“How slowly time is going this morning.”

Everyone
was here, seated and waiting. How wonderful they all looked. His parents and hers were in the front rows and the family was behind them, including Nancy. How great she looked. But when did they ever get time to dress and get ready? Ladies certainly knew how to make themselves gorgeous. He nodded at Nancy, as well as his folks and hers. She smiled and held her hand over her heart to show how thrilled she was about it all and how great he looked. They were all looking really eager to see the elegantly beautiful bride. It was the most enchanting feature of most weddings and this would certainly be one of the greatest. A definite treat was in store. It actually should be covered by television so the world could see this stunning event.

He
went over to the platform to get ready. It was gorgeous with the burgundy rug and the pink and white roses in their places on the pedestals. It was as beautiful as any church could ever be and maybe more because of the roses in the garden. Their scent permeated the air. He just stood in awe and looked at everything and could hardly wait to see her face when she saw it. It was truly transformed into a veritable wonderland. It did not look like the original Rose Garden. It was beautiful before this, but with the finishing touches, it was very difficult to describe the beauty and elegance.

A
band was playing their favorite French romance music and he wondered how they knew about this. Soon he heard them playing, “Here Comes the Bride”
.
He was really nervous now; his heart was beating wildly. His eyes were glued on the place where she would appear to be sure not to miss one second of it.

All eyes were turned toward the gate. In a few minutes it opened and they looked up to see Triessa on her father’s arm. Todd could not believe his eyes and wondered if she was real or a walking dream. Yet, he was sure he was awake. Gentle ooh’s were uttered by the crowd. He was glad he waited to see her dress. It was divinely elegant; he could not ever have imagined such a design and makeup. She was wearing the exquisite necklace and earrings she got at his show. He was breathless at her beauty, and to realize that she was his bride was a most fantastic realization. He could see her delight as she looked around and saw all the beauty of the garden. She stopped for a moment and looked around; she could not help herself. It was exquisite, more beautiful than she could ever have imagined. She took it all in quickly and was grateful that they were having it filmed on video. Her brother was very good at this sort of thing and was catching it all and not missing a trick. She saw the rose sculpture with the realistic colors and the swans beside it and was extremely overwhelmed. She drew in a quick breath. It was truly a breathless moment. The transformation was incredible. The ultimate cake was set at the far end on the gift table with the gorgeous pink lace-like tablecloth.

Her
eyes scanned over to the platform at the burgundy rug and pink and white roses and the contrast was perfection. The minister was there in his black tux with his book open and ready to perform the ceremony. There in front waiting for her was the most handsome man she had ever seen. His tuxedo was a perfect blend of blues which was definitely his color. It made him look so marvelous she could not think of proper words for it. So much was rushing and whirling around in her head right now. What a magnificent man! Words could not come easily to mind to do him justice. They smiled at each other and he wanted to run to her and hold her in his arms, but with a lot of mental force, he restrained himself. What was he supposed to do? What do people do at weddings in such cases? It had always seemed too solemn in any he had seen or attended. He never paid a lot of attention before. But this was their wedding to do their way and to remember always as the adventure of a lifetime.

She
literally floated up to him on her father’s arm. Her father put her hand in Todd’s and walked over to sit beside his wife. Triessa followed him with her eyes and saw the family in great splendor sitting together, and there was Nancy with them. She smiled at them. How wonderful it all was. Triessa looked up at Todd with great love and admiration. He took her hand and wanted so much to hold her and kiss her but held himself back for a while. That would come soon. They turned to face the minister and he looked at them and smiled very happily.

“
What a handsome couple. Probably the most handsome I have seen.”

They
smiled back at him and stood before him holding hands, truly and eagerly ready to begin this long awaited ceremony.

The
bridesmaid and best man came up to join the happy pair. The ring bearer and flower girl walked in together and came down to the front beside the bride and groom. The flower girl had strewn rose petals all along the walkway to the alter. They were an adorable pair. All eyes were turned to look at the very handsome couple and were astonished at the beauty they had portrayed in this perfect setting. This was truly the most elegant and beautiful wedding this area had ever seen.

Mr.
Whitmore asked them to join hands and they did so smiling warmly at each other. Then they looked up at him and smiled. He nodded his head and began the ceremony.

“
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in this most beautiful setting and this wonderful and close family gathering to perform a wedding ceremony for this very-much-in-love couple. They have worked so hard to prepare these elegant surroundings for their wedding and now are at the point of enjoying the fruits of their labor.”

They
went through the rest of the ceremony repeating vows of love to each other for all eternity, which would be too short for them.

Todd
received the ring from the ring bearer and put it on to fit with and match her engagement ring, and she looked at him, adoringly remembering that wonderful night when he gave her the engagement ring.

He
said to her as he held her left hand in his, “My beautiful Princess Bride, I want to give you everything I can possibly imagine to make your life an awesome and wonderful experience. I promise to give my all and never cease searching for ways to exalt you. I give you this priceless ring I designed especially for you, which could not be matched by any other. There is none other like it in the world. This makes you my most beautiful and Precious Bride.”

“
I want to make you the most happy man on earth, my Handsome Prince, in any and every way I can,” she said as she put his ring on his left hand. “I will use my entire imagination to come up with joys and thrills for you forever. You deserve that and so much more. Thank you for loving me and becoming my perfect husband.”

On
cue the music picked up a song which he sang to her while looking deeply into her eyes. It told of their love and romance, similar to the one he had sung to her when he gave her the engagement ring. It was a sequel to match the first song, as her wedding ring matched her engagement ring. She nearly swooned. Everyone applauded loud and long.

The
minister looked at them, smiled and said the words they had waited for so long to hear: “I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

He
lifted her veil and kissed her long but gently.

“
Hello, Triessa Noble, Mrs. Todd Noble,” he said with deep emotion.