“She's my Aunt. Why wouldn't I invite her.”
“I just thought, Stephen's parents might find her a bit different.”
“I don't see that they should have a problem with Aunt Elspeth, and anyway, I like her, and it's my wedding.”
“Have it your way,” said Mum
“I always do,” I smiled, standing in front of the long mirror trying on yet another wedding dress.
“You do look beautiful in that,” smiled Mum just a little bit too quickly, it was the tenth dress and even I was beginning to find that they were merging one into another. Problem was none of them was quite right. This one was the worst though, the assistant had talked me into trying a sleeveless one, the sort that's kept up by public opinion. No way was that me.
“I think we're just going to have to go away and regroup,” I started to say.
“But you have to have a dress,” howled Mum, the assistant looked startled.
“Of course I have to have a dress, but I think I've tried on enough for today.”
“Are there any that you like?” asked the assistant hopefully
“Not really,” I said shaking my head. “Sorry.”
“Do you have access to the internet, we do have a web site, maybe you could look at it and come up with some ideas, if we don't have the style in store we can always get it in,” the assistant burbled.
“Lets go home and I'll think about it.”
“OK,” said Mum. “But I'm not sure inviting Aunt Elspeth was very wise, you don't know what she'll do, especially if she has one or two drinks.”
“Don't look so worried Mum. It'll all be fine. Aunt Elspeth will be fine, I'm more worried about Great Aunt Mabel, she is getting a bit vague. Keeps calling me Carol?”
“Oh she's always been vague, half way through giving birth to my cousin David, she decided she'd had enough and was going to come back next day to finish it off. She was most disgruntled when they told her it didn't work that way. You've started now, you're not going home till you've finished. That's what they told her and that's what she had to do. Don't think she's ever forgiven your David for that.”
“That's another thing, she does tend to argue with him whenever there's a party.”
“Well, I'll try to keep her away from David. He should be busy, he said he'd do the photographs, are you sure you don't want a professional.”
“No Mum, what I've seen of the photographs taken by so called professionals, David can beat them with his eyes closed. You should have more faith in your cousin.”
“It's not his photography I'm worried about.”
“What then?”
“You know what he can be like sometimes.”
“Mum you worry too much sometimes. David will be fine, and the photographs will all be works of art.”
“I just want the family to make a good impression on Stephens relatives.”
“Why wouldn't they and anyway, you don't know what Stephens relatives are like.”
“I know what our relatives are like and Stephen's parents were very polite, respectable and I wouldn't want to shock them, make them wonder what their son, their only son, was marrying into.”
“And they were trying to look polite and all that because they didn't want to let their son down infront of his future in-laws.”
“In-laws? There was only us, Stephen and his parents there. Oh God, I forgot, we'll be Stephen's in-laws.”
“Yes, and Jessica and Brian will be my in-laws. You were both trying to impress each other, it might have been easier if you weren't.”
“What do you mean by that,” snapped Mum.
“Well, it was like you were all in some kind of exam. Fail and they take you out and shoot you.”
“This is serious. I don't want them thinking that their son is marrying into a family of,”
“Mum, they know me. I am the one their son's marrying. Not the rest of my family, and if that hasn't put them off nothing will.”
“There's nothing wrong with you,” said Mum just a little bit too quickly. “Nothing at all, any family would be proud to have you in it.”
“Yes Mum, purple hair and all,” I said with a smile as yet another passer by looked at me like I'd crawled out from under a very smelly cheese.
“I was thinking. Is there some way you could wash the purple out before the wedding, maybe get your hair back to its natural colour.”
“And that would be?”
“Well, erm, a sort of mid brown, palish mid brown, sort of,” Mum looked round for inspiration.
“You don't know do you.”
“Well you've dyed your hair for so long, its hard to remember what it looked like and hair colour can change a bit. Your brother was quite a little blondie when he was a toddler, now his hair is almost black.”
“I'd like to be able to recognise me in my wedding photos, and that means purple hair,” I said. I think it was then that I realised what was wrong with all the wedding dresses in the shop and decided to make my own. It was just a question of breaking the idea to Mum and now just wasn't the time. I'd also come up with an idea as to who could be matron of honour, Aunt Elspeth, she would be perfect, and she could help me with my dress.
The day of the wedding dawned bright and sunny. Which was pretty good for November. Everything was prepared. We'd been to the wedding rehearsals at the church, we knew what to do. The dress, and coat were ready, I had no intention of catching pneumonia on my wedding day. We had our honeymoon booked, Whitby in November. Bliss. The reception was booked, they didn't even blink an eye when we said we wanted the tablecloths and napkins in black and purple. The cake was wonderful, three tiers of white with black and purple flowers cascading down the side. The bride and groom figurines on the top, both dressed in black, were especially precious, they were borrowed from a friend of mine, she had them on her wedding cake. Now all that was needed was to do it, get into the wedding dress, mid calf, dark purple with a fitted bodice and full skirt covered with black lace and a black coat edges in purple faux fur, go to the church, get married and start the rest of my life.
The 1932 black Rolls Royce Phantom pulled up outside Aunt Elspeth's house and Dad and I got in, Aunt Elspeth had gone on ahead. The drive to the Church was magnificent, down roads lined with trees which still had their autumn leaves on. The car was just perfect, the long shiny black bonnet which looked like it would arrive long before us, topped with the spirit of ecstasy. The piano hinge down the length of the bonnet making it look even longer than it was. The perfect car, Dad had found it and it drove like a dream, so silent, effortless, we arrived at the Church. Not just any church, not the local parish church, but one about half way between both our homes. A mid Victorian Gothic revivalist church, with a spire to the right of the main door which looks like its trying to reach up to heaven. It was not the most used of churches, ours was the first wedding they'd had in over ten years, but it looks beautiful. I find it hard to understand why the locals prefer the modern church down the road from it. Anyway, half way between both families meant that neither side could complain. That was the theory at any rate.
The driver helped me out of the car, and Dad smiled.
“I couldn't be more proud of you,” he said.
“I hope you still think that at the end of the day,” I thought to myself.
“This is your day, your wedding and your wedding dress, any other style or colour would just not have been you, and I am glad you didn't go for any of the dresses your Mum was suggesting, they just weren't you and I'm sure deep down she knows that.”
“She just wanted to out fairytale cousin Fiona's wedding. That was so sugary I'm surprised we weren't all hyper by the ended of the day. But that's her thing and it was her day.”
“And this is yours,” he smiled, holding out his arm. We walked into the church to the sound of the wedding march being played on a slightly short winded church organ. The flowers looked beautiful, dark purple roses to match the bouquet, the button holes, my hair. Aunt Elspeth, resplendent in her wedding dress, which she had died black for Uncle Tom's funeral, was there, waiting, I handed her the bouquet. The church was full, family, friends and children, everyone in black and purple, everyone smiling except Mum. Mum in a pastel pink knee length dress and coat. Mum looked shocked at me, not that that was anything unusual. Perhaps I should have let her see the wedding dress before now, maybe it was a bit mean, but she should have guessed after all, I'd suggested she wear dark colours. Hadn't she seen the wedding cake. I looked at Dad.
“Don't worry about your Mum,” he said. “I'll sort it.”
Then I looked to the end of the aisle, and there was Stephen, my Stephen the most important person in the whole of the building. Nothing else matters, together there is nothing we can't face.
by J.M.Nye.
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