It was 4:30 in the afternoon and everyone was doing their own thing to help with the preparation. Inside Samantha"s room, her maid of honor Hannah Chu and her bridesmaid Becca Wise helped her with her makeup and gown. They hired professional photographers and videographers, so all throughout their preparation, candid pictures and shots were taken.
"I can"t believe you"re finally getting married, S." Hannah mumbled while she was fixing Samantha"s bridal gown on the mannequin, sobbing as though she was very sad.
"What are you talking about? I have already been married… it"s just the wedding that we didn"t have," Samantha replied.
"Come on. You know what I mean." Hannah rolled her eyes. "I was really disappointed that you didn"t have a wedding back then and thought that you wouldn"t ever have one. You know how sad I was?"
"You know why we couldn"t do it before. And even if we didn"t have a wedding like now, I honestly don"t mind at all."
Hannah scoffed, "So selfish. So cruel. How could you do that to me and your parents? You know how much I love weddings," she mumbled some more which only made Samantha laugh. "Shush. The wedding is already happening, see? And you even designed my wedding gown. I love it, Hannah! You"ve done a really excellent job! It"s exactly how I want it to be."
"Lift your chin up, Sam," Becca said softly and applied a faint blush and highlighter on Samantha"s cheeks. "Yes, your gown is really gorgeous. It suits you a lot. You need to send me your designer"s contact details so I can start bugging her for my outfits in the future," she joked.
"Ooooh!!! You girls. It will be perfect. I will ride on your coattails and you will raise me up from no one to someone real fast! How could I say no to that?" Hannah beamed.
"You are already someone, Han. Though... you"d benefit a lot from Becca because she"s Ms. Popular. Don"t waste the opportunity… you should stick to her as much as you can." Samantha snickered.
"I wouldn"t mind as long as I get to wear really nice clothes for free." Becca glanced at Hannah and their eyes met.
"I"ll give it to you for a discount," Hannah said with raised brows, seemingly interested in their future collaboration.
"Deal," Becca replied right away.
Just as they said that, the wedding coordinator came inside the room and told them that the bride has to change into her gown. With the help of Hannah and Becca, Samantha changed into her wedding gown.
Her two friends stepped back and looked at her from a distance. Their eyes swept from her head to her toe and back. Placing her hands over her mouth, Becca got teary-eyed. "Oh my gosh… Samantha, you look beautiful."
"Of course she looks beautiful, that"s already a given! S, you look absolutely stunning!" Hannah sniffed, she could not believe that Samantha was wearing her own design and her best friend looked really gorgeous.
Samantha did not know what to say. She turned around and faced the tall and wide mirror to look at herself. In front of her, stood a woman that almost didn"t look like her but felt extremely familiar. She looked so different in a wedding gown. A good kind of different of course.
Her makeup wasn"t overly done. Using earthy colors on her eyelids and a blush color on her lips, her already beautiful face was enhanced. Her hair wasn"t brushed up, rather it was let down and styled with soft curls that were neatly clipped to the back of her head and topped with fresh white roses and eucalyptus leaves; she looked ethereal.
"Is this really me?" she asked.
Samantha"s gown was a sleeveless V-shaped back with full rose lace details on her top and scattered on her line skirt. The material was made with soft tulle and it was perfect for a beach wedding. Several weeks before, she visualized the style that she wanted and Hannah designed it for her. They worked with a tailor and a couturier to realize their design.
"You look lovely, Sammy." Seo Joon walked up to her. He had just entered the room and saw his sister looking ready.
Hearing her brother"s voice, she glanced up the mirror and when she saw him, she turned around and immediately flung her arms around her brother. "Joon, I"m getting married." It was only then that she began to tear up and bite her lip when she felt her heart throb. She was really close to her brother and seeing him that time only made her more emotional.
Seo Joon hugged his sister back and also felt all strange seeing her in a wedding gown — it was as though he didn"t want her to go through with it, afraid that his little sister might get hurt. "You know I"d still punch him in the face if he makes you cry, right?"
Sniffing, Samantha nodded and chuckled, "I"d probably punch him first… and then you can do the rest."
"Love you, sis. Don"t you ever forget that even if we grow older."
"I know, Joon. I do too…"
"Hey! No crying or we"ll have to do a major retouch!" Becca scolded.
On the beach, the sh.o.r.e has already been set up according to how the couple wanted it.
The guests" chairs faced the sea where they could appreciate the wedding ceremony"s backdrop which was the view of the blue sea, the white fluffy clouds in the sky and the magnificent horizon. Their wedding arch at the end of the aisle was a huge circle, and just like the guests" chairs, it was detailed with burlaps, white roses, and eucalyptus leaves.
The seats were almost full and Daniel, along with his family, was already at the venue. He was holding Ashton in his arms as the little boy refused to be carried by anyone else at that time, and he loved that they were matching outfits.
Daniel wore a cream cla.s.sic fit two-piece suit with a boutonnière on his front pocket, making him look extremely das.h.i.+ng.
When it was 5:25 in the afternoon, they were ready to start.
"Congrats bro," Liam said, clamping his hand on Daniel"s shoulder.
As much as Daniel would like to deny it, he was actually getting nervous. His parents took Ashton from him and the music started to play in the background.
He took a few deep breaths. "Sh*t," he muttered just before he started to walk down the aisle, making Liam"s eyes widen in surprise to hear his brother curse under his breath.
His friends and family were very excited to witness the ceremony. Knowing Daniel Cho"s ident.i.ty, they thought that he was going to throw a luxurious wedding where famous people were going to be present but seeing how the wedding was prepared, they realized and were proven once again that he and Samantha were really down to earth people - holding a destination wedding with only close friends and family members present.
Daniel walked like a King on the aisle and compared to his usual imposing aura, he looked really calm and gentle. Reaching the end of the aisle, the crowd got silent and waited for the bride to show up while the music still played in the air.
But after five very slow minutes later, Samantha still did not show up.