July 2019 - the Brown-Sims Wedding

Lucy Brown and Cody Sims are 24.

It's a beautiful morning. The sky is blue, and the sun is shining behind the few cloudlets wafting through the air.

A wedding ceremony is about to start. The guests have already sat down and the two bridesmaids are ready and waiting.

Some of the guests are getting a little impatient by now.
“Mom, I need to pee.”

There are balloons over the wedding arch, just like Lucy wanted. Cody's mother Carol would've preferred just the flowers, but Lucy's the one in charge this time. It's her special day.

One of the main reasons Lucy wanted to get married in this exact park was the fact that you could see the lighthouse from there. It is very much visible this morning, thanks to the mostly clear sky.
The music starts. People turn around in their seats, and Mikayla gasps.
“She's so beautiful!”

And yes, the bride is beautiful. She has chosen to look very natural on her special day, but she still manages to appear more beautiful than ever.

She takes a deep breath of the fresh morning air, and smiles. It's all perfect. Simple, yet perfect.

He looks at her like he'd rather die than take his eyes off her face. He can't believe she's going to marry him, she's going to marry him in a matter of a few minutes. It's all real, it's all happening. Even though he never really cared about all the planning and the pondering, he always cared about the actual thing – getting married. Getting married to her.

At first he worries he might forget his lines, but then she reminds him quietly that it's not a performance. It's just the two of them, making a promise to each other. It's not about anyone else.

So he promises her he'll love her, he'll love her forever. For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. From this day forward until death do them apart.

Everyone in the park reacts differently. There are the ones who take deep breaths, and let the warm sunshine caress their faces. Those are the ones who listen to every word very carefully and wonder whether or not they'll ever find anything similar. Whether or not they'll ever be loved in such a powerful way.

Then there are the ones who have already found what they're looking for, but are still growing their courage to do what it takes to actually get there. They look at the happy couple, searching for signs – what is it about them that gave them the courage to take the big step?

And then, there are also the girls who are fighting back tears, closing their eyes and breathing in. What they see is their first love, growing up. Getting married, becoming an adult, and most importantly – a father. But what they feel is not bitterness, nor sorrow. They feel proud, proud to be a part of that person's life. Proud to be able to call themselves his friend.

The family of the groom. Smiling, clapping their hands. Looking at that little boy, who doesn't seem so little anymore. He's a man now.

The mother, the woman who gets involved in everything, the woman who wanted to keep his son to herself until he'd turn 30. And now, she sees him, letting this another woman into his life, and growing away from the mother. It's not really sad, it's just the way life goes. And Carol tries to understand that.

The best friend, who couldn't be any happier to see these two very important characters in her life getting married to each other. She still feels like it was all thanks to her, since she introduced them. And the truth is, they're both more than thankful to her.

It's a beautiful day. A perfect day.

A kiss to seal the deal, as Lucy would probably say if she wasn't too busy getting married at the moment.

“I love you”, she whispers so quietly no-one else besides Cody can hear it.

“I love you”, he says softly, yet loud enough for everyone to hear it.

…

It doesn't take too long for the chairs to be moved aside and the tables to be brought to replace them. The buffet is a success – everyone just loves the food and the venue is simply beautiful.

The grown-ups aren't the only ones who like the food. Cody's little sister Nora was spotted carrying some more turkey to her table for over three times. Looks like their caterer has outdone herself this time.

Lucy just loves it when people are having fun. She sits down with them, eats, chats for a while with them, then gets up and grabs some more food, sits down with someone else, eats some more, and laughs. She's allowed to do that, since she's the bride and also a pregnant woman. And those two babies in her belly are craving for some more salad.

Carol doesn't look very happy, but it's only because she is sitting next to her. She just keeps smiling and babbling with joy, like it was her son who just got married. But it isn't. Carol tries not to make a big deal out of it, but she only tries for him – if it wasn't his wedding day, she would've already lost her temper.

Summer is leading the conversation over at one of the tables. It's kind of her responsibility to make sure everyone is having fun, but she would probably do it anyway.

Jeff doesn't say much. He's waiting for the right moment. He's waiting for someone else to take lead in the conversation so that Summer could take a little break and listen to what he has to say. He's been planning this for a long time – he just needed to be pushed a little. This wedding was exactly what he needed.

“Here, Summer”, he finally says to distract her. “Take a bite of my turkey.”
Summer is having salad, so she's happy to taste some of that tasty-looking turkey. And it is good, just as good as everyone's been saying.

“There's something I've been meaning to ask you for a really long time”, he says. At first, Summer has no clue, but as she sees the expression on his face she knows exactly what it's all about.

He's acting so silly, she figures. There's no need for him to look so nervous, because they both already know what is about to happen. They've known it for a long time, but it just hasn't been so easy to say it out loud.

“Will you marry me?”

It is a beautiful ring. Very beautiful, and exactly like something she would've picked herself. She doesn't know when he bought it, or what gave him the courage to finally do it, but none of that really matters.

“Of course I will.” She smiles, and he smiles.
“Those two should definitely get a room”, Andrew says.

…

Now that Mikayla's already 17, she was allowed to bring a date. She didn't. Instead, she brought her best friend, Nicole Landchild.
“See, I told you there would be some smokin' hot guys around here”, Mikayla says.
“Really? I've only seen one, and he's kind of unavailable at the moment.”
“Who is it?” Mikayla wants to know.

“Your brother, the groom”, Nicole answers. They both laugh.

Lucy might be married now, but she's still Lucy. She somehow manages to mess Cody's whole face with some of that delicious wedding cake.

But they both laugh. It's all really just funny. Plus, Cody doesn't mind since the cake is definitely yummy.

Mikayla hasn't really spoken to her dad in years. He hasn't changed much, though, only gained something that looks like twenty pounds.
“Hi, dad”, she finally greets him on her way to the cake.
“Hi, Mikayla”, he says back.
“It's a nice party, huh?”
They both look around them, and all the people are dancing, smiling and laughing.

“Listen, dad, I'm kind of sorry I never came to visit. But you know, it was all pretty hard after you and mom got divorced.”
It wasn't an easy thing to say, but she knew it had to be done.
“It's not your fault”, her dad replies quickly. “I'm the grown-up here.”

“Yeah, you are”, she says, realizing what it actually means. “You're the responsible one.”
And she turns around and goes back to sit with her mom.

“Enjoying your married life?” Lucy giggles as she walks past Cody.
“Very much”, he says, smiling.

People are dancing and enjoying the happy atmosphere around them.

The kids are trying to stay out of trouble, but at times they fail. They are easily forgiven, though, considering all the circumstances. Nobody wants to be fighting on such a beautiful day.

Everyone seems to be on an especially romantic mood today.

And the newlyweds are happy. As they dance surrounded by the gentle warmth of the sun, they silently wish this day would never end. But at the same time, they can't wait for all the adventures that are waiting for them in the future – moving into their new suburban house and welcoming their baby twins being one of the most exciting of them.

But a good wedding isn't memorable only for the bride and the groom themselves. At the end of the day, everyone will be able to leave the park with lots of good memories.


~~~

Here are some of the more official pictures I took of the wedding.

The happy couple.

With Cody's dad Robert, his wife Nicole and their children Noah and Nora.

With Cody's mom Carol, little sister Mikayla and his mom's partner, Berjes.

The bridal party. Can we get a close-up?

Aww, they're just adorable, don't you think? I just love them! Congratulations, Mrs and Mr Sims!