I can't believe I am here. I am marrying my high school sweet heart. But there's one catch, he leaves for basic training in two weeks and will be gone for the next three and half months. So, in short, I've got all the nerves. I knew that Trevor was planning to go into the military since we were sophomores in high school, but it's still hard to marry someone who isn't even going to be around after the honeymoon is over.
My mother must have noticed that I was spiraling. "Calm down love. You look absolutely beautiful." She smiles down at me. I notice a little tear making its way to the surface. "I am so proud of the woman you've become."
"Oh, mom." I stand and give her a hug. I go to pull away, but my mother keeps her arms tightly wound around my shoulders. So, I relish in this moment because I know that this is the last hug she will get from me before I become Mrs. Trevor Fogherty.
I look around the room at my bridesmaids, the make-up artists, the hair stylists, and my mother and little sister, Amanda. Amanda is my maid-of-honor, and my best friend, Hailey is my designated brides maid. What's the difference you ask? Well, Amanda was my only real choice as my maid of honor because, well, she's my sister. But Hailey and I have been best friends since third grade, and I know she knows I would have much rather her be my Maid of honor.
Amanda turns to me, and she looks absolutely stunning. "Hang in there sis. You got this!" She is always the optimist. I smile at her, then start to head outside.
Hailey goes after me."Here." She hands me a piece of gum. "I know you only calm down when you have a piece of gum. Which is weird, but hey, you're pretty weird." We both start laughing hystarically.
"You always know how to make light of a serious situation!" I grab the piece of gum and sigh as soon as the gum hits my tongue. "Have I mentioned how much I love you?"
"Careful, Trevor might think you're marrying me instead!" She makes her "sexy" face at me. Which, if you know Hailey, she doesn't have a very good sexy face.
"Oh, please. I know you have the hots for Rachel." Rachel is one of my bridesmaids that Hailey has been crushing on for over two years. We look at each other and burst out laughing again. "Thank you." I lay my head on her shoulder. "You always know how to calm me down and make me think of something else. You have no idea how much that means to me."
Hailey grabs me by the shoulders, looks deep into my eyes, and wraps me into a hug. "It's going to be okay." She sounds muffled with her face buried between my neck and shoulder. She kisses me on the cheek, and then I see that she has tears in her eyes.
"Watch out, father of the bride slash officiator is coming through!" My dad always knows how to sneak up on us and scare us half to death. He starts laughing. God, I'm going to miss that laugh. I go through my memory bank of all the times we had a laugh over something. The one thing that comes to mind is a video I took of him doing the ALS ice water challenge. I start to laugh and he looks at me quizzically. "What's so funny?"
"Oh I was just thinking of you when you decided to do that ALS challenge." He started to laugh as well, then shrugged and went inside to get my mother.
After they leave, Hailey, Rachel, Amanda, Stacey, Callie and I open a bottle of champagne. None of us are actually of age, but hey, if I'm old enough to get married, then I'm old enough for a glass of champagne. We all pass the bottle around, laughing and sharing stories of me and Trevor from high school.
"Remember when you guys got sent to the principle's office because Mr. Matthews caught you guys making out in the stairwell?" Rachel added to the conversation.
"How could I forget? That was when I knew that he was my forever." Everyone awed and gushed over my statement. We all continued talking and getting ready for the upcoming ceremony.
A few hours later, and it was almost start time. Trevor and I did a first touch, then my dad and I did a first look as father and daughter, then lastly we did a bridesmaid reveal of the final look. The photographer and videographers caught every single moment of this happy day.
I looked at myself one last time before walking out of my dressing room to approach the field I would be walking down to meet my soon-to-be husband. My dad met me a few feet away to walk me down the isle.
"Please don't let me fall." I said squeezing his arm.
"I wouldn't ever let you fall, April. You have made me so proud as a father, and I am so happy that Trevor is about to be your husband." He started to choke up.
We started for the isle, and everyone stood up to queue my entrance as the bride. My dad and I walked slowly, but carefully, down the isle. That's when I look up and into the eyes of Trevor. He looks like he just saw the most beautiful angel hover down the center of the field. The look of adoration makes my heart melt. I smile up at him and he mouths "I love you" to me. My dad and I reach the end of the runner and stand before the group of people in front of us.
"Who gives this woman to this man?" The stand-in asks.
"Her mother and I do." My dad says, then replaces the man so that he can officiate our wedding. He goes through all the scripture reading and then it comes to our vows that we wrote for each other.
"I, Trevor Fogherty, take you April Kennedy as my lawfully wedded wife. I promise that I will love you through the thick and the thin. I knew from the moment I met you that you were my forever. I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I know that we don't have all the time in the world, but I promise to make the best of the time we will have with each other. I love you so much, and am so happy that you have made me the happiest man alive. I promise to be there for you in person, and over seas. I promise to love you and only you for the rest of our lives."
"I, April Kennedy, take you Trevor Fogherty to be my husband. I promise to remember that neither of us are perfect, but we are perfect for each other. I promise to love you in the now, the future, the here and the there. I promise to love you, and only you for the rest of our lives together. I want you to be my number one, and my best friend. To hold you through the highs and the lows. No matter what may happen, I promise that I will love you in sickness and in health until death do us part."
"YOU MAY KISS THE BRIDE!" My father shouts. Trevor and I share our very first kiss as husband and wife.
We take off down the isle as people stand and cheer for us. We take our pictures with the photographer and then make our way to the dining hall. The DJ announces us and we both go dancing into the hall. We take our seats at the head of the room and share our second kiss as husband and wife. Everyone eats their designated meal, and then the party starts.
We never leave until well after midnight. Trevor and I make our way into the honeymoon suite. We both set our stuff down on the floor and just look at each other.
"I'm gonna go freshen up. In the bathroom. By myself." I feel so embarrassed. That was so awkward. Trevor just lets me glide passed him without a word. I go into the bathroom and brush my teeth and hair. Then I get into my overnight bag and pick out a white one-piece lingerie set. I struggle with putting it on. Then, once I get it on I look at myself in the mirror and admire the way I look. I've never worn something like this before. In fact, I've never even had sex before, and I'm kind of freaking out about it.
I decided very soon into our relationship that I didn't want to lose my virginity until I was married. He agreed to that, as we both held up high morals for each other. When I walk out of the bathroom, Trevor is pacing the floor, and starring straight down at his feet. He doesn't even notice that I walked into the room. He looks up, and takes a step back, startled.
"Wow." His eyes look like they're about to bulge out of his head. "You look-"
"Okay? Is this okay? It's not too much?" Trevor makes his way over to me. He slowly takes my hand in his. He's looking at me in a way I've never experienced before. It gives me a hint of confidence. I press my lips to his. He kisses me back, hungrily.
He starts to run his hand down my body, and I start to grip his button down. I slowly unbutton his shirt, and slide it off his body. I work my way to his belt, unbuckle it and then unbutton his pants and he steps out of them. He picks me up and carries me over to the bed. He lays me down on the bed, gently. He kisses me softly, and looks into my eyes, searching.
"What?" I chuckle.
"Nothing. I'm just-"
"Nervous?"
"Yeah. Are you sure this is okay?" He seems scared.
"Trevor..." I smile at him and run my hand down his chest. He sucks in a breath and sighs loudly against my skin. "You're my husband now. It's more than okay."
He grunts and then rips the lingerie off my body, kissing my neck. He slips inside me for the very first time. And we both learned a whole new kind of love in that moment. Both feeling a kind of ecstasy that I hoped would last forever. Our bodies doing things I never thought imaginable. Both of us out of breath. Feeling his body against mine, moving in unison, and feeling every inch of him in me. I let out a deep breath and feel something I never knew existed.
Trevor wraps his arms around me and holds me close to his body. "Was that okay?"
"Yes, hun. More than okay. It was-"
"Better than anything I've ever experienced." He smiles at me.
After a while, we both drift off to sleep. Holding each other in a way we never have before. Vulnerable. Naked. Honest. In love. And I feel so safe and so in love with this man who I get to call "husband."