Dear Diary:                                                                        April 9, 2014

          Another wedding was happening at our place. Alice was extremely busy so this one I took over writing myself. Besides, I don't think the hubby minds much. He told me he thought it was cute to see me with my forehead all scrounged up as I write away in his diary. My Carlisle is so very silly but sexy as well. But this entry isn't about us; it's about Kim and Michelle's wedding. A festive and joyous occasion that has finally come to pass. But in our supernatural world, there is never a dull moment. This proved to be one of those cases.

           The wedding itself was put together by none other than Alice herself which is exactly what Michelle wanted but Kim having a say in it too, kept the reigns tight. We were very surprised how well she managed to keep Alice from making it into the grandest events of all time. After all, when it came time to pick the theme, Michelle had decided that she wanted a Cinderella themed wedding. Or rather as Cinderella as Kim would be able to handle; which meant there was no way in hell Kim was wearing the Prince's outfit. She went for a white Chanel suit that was very appropriate and was elegant enough to be feminine but not too much so. Having a total aversion towards heels, Kim chose to wear blue Lacoste keds. And with her jet black hair—which she had smoothed over with gel—she looked the part of a marrying spouse. Regardless of the fact that she was the masculine one in the relationship, Kim knew her strengths in wardrobe and how to put herself together to look fantastic.

           Michelle on the other hand, being the girly girl, went for a Cinderella style dress. With her hair curled to one side and a veil to fit the dress nicely; what Alice was able to find for her were practically weightless glass slippers that were incredibly comfortable. Of course all of the photos are in the Holy Weddings Album and below. You think I would actually not add photos here? Come on ya'll should know better by now. We're all for the visuals here. There's even a picture of Michelle's engagement ring since you haven't seen it yet.

        Anyways, maid of honor was Nessie of course. But because this was not your regular wedding, nothing looked the way you would be used to seeing it. The alter or section where they were to be married was round so the wedding party could stand in a circle as opposed to a straight line. Kim's side included her best man which was her brother Pierre. We didn't know that she even had a brother. But he was a Watcher as well and lived in Colorado now. Another thing we didn't know was that Kim was originally from France and her last name was Bordeaux. Her full name was Eloise Kimberly Bordeaux which she changed when she got here to just Kim Bordeaux as Eloise was way too girly. She was named after her grandmother whom she had admired very much but the name just didn't fit. Considering that she and her brother were both Watchers for the last 300 some odd years, that didn't matter much. Turned out her brother was married to another Watcher and they and a few others were living in Colorado Springs for the last at least 100 years.

              She had moved around a lot as she worked with the American Red Cross and didn't want to show her never aging look. Sometimes she worked for other charitable foundations and in different parts of the world. Like the time she spent a lot of time in Thailand after the Boxing Day Earthquake and Tsunami of 2004. She had fallen in love with Thailand and had even thought of possibly getting a house there some day when she got married. By then she and Michelle had already known each other but they hadn't started dating. In fact, Phuket, Thailand was where they were going on their honeymoon which Kim revealed to all of us much to Michelle's delight having never been there herself.

           Kim and her brother didn't get along for a long time. Her brother had a problem with her homosexuality and just didn't respond or respect her as much as he should have. It was only about 10 years ago that through the proper education and the changing of times, that he got his head screwed on straight so to speak. Michelle was a big catalyst in this. She and Kim were only friends at the time but it was when Michelle had revealed to both Kim and Pierre that she also was gay and that being gay wasn't a mortal sin or some evil thing or an emotion you could fix. You were born this way and it was fine. She had accepted herself and most importantly was accepted by her parents and Rogue. That last one hit Pierre big time. If Michelle and his sister's sexual orientation was accepted by the Queen of the Watchers, he really had to get his priorities reorganized.

                What ended up happening was that he had some private sessions with Rogue and Alexander. Alexander took Pierre under his wing and told him the story of his own best friend which I believe he had recounted to Carlisle in one of these entries previously. It took a lot of rewiring so to speak but Pierre finally understood the most important part of this whole thing; that Kim was his only sister and that was the most important and crucial aspect of this. Who she was with was not his business really and he just had to love her for who she was regardless of that. He finally understood and they had a tearful reconciliation.

               So that's a bit on Kim's backstory. I'm sure you are wondering how she and Michelle finally got together as they didn't at the time because Michelle was seeing someone else. But the rest of that story you will hear in Kim's wedding vows as both wrote their own. Rogue was officiating as usual. So as I was saying for I got a bit sidetracked with Kim's story, the alter is circular or squared rather and the way the guests are sitting are in circular pattern as well so that the bridal party and grooms party is mixed. Other than Nessie, Michelle had asked Amy, Corin, and Alice to be her bridesmaids. Kim other than Pierre had asked Rosalie, Emmett, and Jacob to stand up for her. All of the women wore light blue strapless simple dresses with the same color shoes. The colors of the wedding were, blue, white, and gold. Edward was asked to play something classical on the piano for the processional. He gladly agreed. Maria wore a golden mother of the bride number and John wore a gray tux so he fit with the groomsmen more or less.

             As everyone was getting ready for the ceremony, I saw Michelle crying in the arms of her parents and both parents had tears in their eyes too as they held their only child. I assumed that it had to do with the wedding as I walked past them to join Carlisle and the others in our seats. There were no more than 100 people in attendance. Other than our family and the wolves, there were more Watchers than usually. A lot of Michelle's family and friends came from Italy, the ones that were Watchers that is. Kim's side came from Colorado, Oklahoma, and France. But this wasn't a mega wedding that's for sure. Finally we all took our seats and Edward took his place on his piano. The ceremony was being held behind our house and the reception in our Great Room. Rogue and Kim walked down first. Then and unlike all the other weddings, the rest of the wedding party walked separately down the aisle as opposed to together. You couldn't tell who belonged where when they stood around Kim and Rogue with only the actual aisle visible for Michelle and her parents to finally walk down.

                Then we stood for Michelle's walk down the aisle. I briefly glimpsed at Kim to see her reaction and that was the first time I saw this tough woman cry. Tears slid down her cheeks as she couldn't keep her eyes off of her bride. Michelle's eyes weren't dry by any means either; as Alice likes to say "thank God for waterproof makeup!" This was truly an emotionally heavy moment. You could hear sniffles coming from every which side. For just a moment, I thought to myself how lucky I was and we all were to be a part of something so truly special and how fantastic for the state of NH to have legalized marriage equality for everyone. All of the New England states did it about the same time so it was wonderful. I know that Alexander sat not far from me and hearing my thoughts he, turned to me, and smiled and nodded.

                When John handed Michelle's hand off to Kim, they stood facing each other as both parents gave their blessing and took their seats in the front row. Rogue cleared her throat as the air was still heavy with energy of emotion she said:

"Ooooo I'm so happy this day has finally come and I could marry you two!" The way she said it came out in a happy little squeal that made everyone laugh and instantly lightened the atmosphere. Kim wiped her tears as did Michelle and they smiled at Rogue as she continued:

"It is my distinct honor and privilege to be here and perform this wonderful ceremony for two of my favorite Watchers. I know you both wrote your own vows so Kim would you please read what you wrote?" Kim nodded, unfolded a piece of paper that was in her suit pant pocket and started to read, occasionally glancing up to look Michelle in the eyes.

The day you first walked into my life

I knew there was something different about you

Yes there were your parents

But I noticed how you treated other people

No one was above or beneath you

You made everyone feel welcome, appreciated, even loved

After you stood up to my brother for me

I felt true camaraderie for the first time with someone

When I finally got the nerve to ask you out

And you said yes

I felt like I was flying

My whole body became enveloped in this warm glow

You've become my warm glow

I fell in love with your heart

Your soul

Your whole internal being

Being by your side for eternity

Is the greatest gift the powers that be could have given me

I love you more than I can ever tell or express to you

My darling Michelle

I will take care of you forever and for always

          Her voice cracked with emotion as she finished speaking; there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Alice had once again provided tissues for everyone; even Rogue had hers near her. Michelle just kept gulping as tears streamed down her face she finally started to wipe them with a hanky she had when they started falling onto her dress. She had to get her composure as she knew it was her turn to speak to the love of her immortal life. Rogue, who is like never speechless, just waved her hand toward Michelle making everyone giggle a bit. We all got a chance to tease her later about not being able to speak; let's just say there was nearly a chair launched in our direction for that one hehehe. Michelle took out her own paper, her hands shaking so hard that she actually dropped the paper which Kim promptly picked up and handed to her while trying to soothe her. Michelle had to take several deep breaths and then began to speak:

My dear sweet Kim

You come off as a hard ass to everyone (cue the giggling in the crowd and a smile from Kim)

When in reality you are one giant softy

But part of the hard exterior is what makes me feel safe

You are my protector

I think I fell in love with you way before

You even noticed me (cue Kim's eyes bugging out of her head)

You took charge

Owned up to your mistakes

Showed that you were not just the real thing

But had the heart of gold

I thank the powers that be every day

They brought you into my life

When I needed a savior

Now as I face this world alone

You are the tether to my kite

You are my spouse for all life

My lover

My friend

My heaven on earth till the very end of eternity

Only in your arms do I feel whole

Thank you true love of mine for making me thyne

          As she finished speaking she was smiling broadly with the tears of course. Her parents were sobbing openly. One thing though I noticed in her vows that made me have a question and I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed a certain sentence in there. What did she mean by 'now as I face this world alone'? No idea but then again her vows were a mix of humor, poetry, and even some Old English. Rogue cleared her throat again and said:

"May I have the rings please?"

           Everyone started laughing as Sparkles in a doggy suit came waltzing down the aisle with the rings tied to a pillow that was attached to the suit. Everyone thought that involving him in the ceremony would add some much needed lightness to the whole thing. Vows were usually a very emotional process and having Sparkles there just added to the uniqueness of the whole thing. I know for a fact that Nessie had already told Jacob, Edward, and Bella that she wants Sparkles to do the same at her wedding someday. Bella and Jacob nodded enthusiastically while Edward grumbled something about that happening in the next century to which everyone just rolled their eyes. Edward will never stop being The Father.

           As my wonderful husband loves to say but I digress. When Sparkles marched very confidently up to Rogue, she bent down, untied the rings, rubbed his little head and sent him over to where Bella was sitting and he sat very obediently next to her. Then Rogue holding the rings in her hands she held them out to Kim and Michelle. Each took the ring meant for the other and without a word slipped them on each other's fingers. After the rings were on, Rogue put her hands on both of the women before her and closed her eyes and started mouthing something as both women were enveloped with a very warm bright glow. Then Kim's glow vanished as Michelle continued to glow; though we were all a little confused, Kim seemed to know what was happening and was watching Michelle with pride in her eyes. Finally Michelle stopped glowing and opened her eyes with shock and amazement and looked at Rogue who explained with a smile:

"Before I completed the ceremony, I have made Michelle into a full Watcher. She deserves it. We need more of them then the junior Watchers anyways. Now ladies, by the power vested in me by the state of New Hampshire, I pronounce you very legally wed! Kim, you may now kiss your spouse!"

           We were all shocked by the new development but knowing it was a huge deal in the Watcher community, we all hopped off of our chairs and started cheering and clapping as Kim kissed Michelle long and hard! Everyone was still wiping tears off their faces; those that could I mean. This had been definitely a unique and amazing ceremony but we were only half way there. Time for photographs with Rose as usual; while the wedding party went to do their thing around the property the rest of us had cocktail hour around the ceremony location. Finally it was time for the reception so we all made our way to our Great Room.

           We took our seats as the wedding party danced in to some of Michelle and Kim's favorite music. Just as the DJ/Emcee (another Watcher) announced the now blissfully wed couple, everyone stood up and cheered. They headed straight for the dance floor for their first dance as a married couple. The song they both chose was John Lennon's "Imagine." It fit them both perfectly as a couple as well as the message they were trying to send to the world. There's a line in the song that goes 'a brotherhood of man'. Well when that line was played, the couple on the dance floor yelled out simultaneously 'and women' to cheers and applause from the crowd. The rest of the night went by deliciously; we had called in a great catering service that combined French and Italian cuisine. Both cultures were very well represented by food and music. The cake was also very much toward the Cinderella theme and looked like it came out of that Disney movie.

           Finally at 3am, after stuffing ourselves with delicious food, dancing until I think we wore the floor out, and taking a ton of photos, it was time to send the newlyweds off to their romantic 2 week honeymoon. Michelle changed into a dress resembling Bella's when she was going off on her honeymoon. Everyone threw flower petals at them as they walked outside. Michelle stood for what seemed like an endless time period hugging her parents. Then they along with their luggage flew off into the night. I saw Rogue standing with John and Maria off to the side as they wiped their eyes and looked toward us and nodded. Then she came over to the rest of us meaning the Cullen clan and wolves. The rest of the Watchers obviously knew and had started to disperse except for those that lived near us; they just stood by. When Rogue got to us, without beating around the bush, she looked us in our eyes and said simply:

"John and Maria are going to die."

To be continued.....

Sincerely yours,

Esme

~Carlisle Cullen