I look down the aisle at the beautiful way the staff had decorated everything with Nina's instruction. It was absolutely gorgeous and exactly how I had imagined everything coming out. Sure, I didn't exactly plan my wedding since I probably would've just messed everything up, but this was exactly how I had hoped that everything would turn out. The room was filled with beautiful white flowers on every side of the room, some of them roses, some of them peonies, but most of them a mix of everything.

The wedding venue that Julian and I had picked was pretty modern since that kinda was Julian's thing. The floor was just a gray carpet that allowed you to add whatever you wanted to make it your own. We had put down a long, white sheet type thing that created our aisle we would walk down. We picked out silver chairs to place on either side of it and all of them had flower petals in a jar that people were expected to throw at the end of the ceremony.

The venue had the most beautiful ceremony room that as soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to marry my man here. The three walls you look at when you walk in and the ceiling were just made of glass, showing you the outside that was surrounded by trees and a clearing that showed a lake that was absolutely gorgeous. Julian and I loved the natural light that came in and it wasn't super blinding that it would be distracting, but it did make everything glow even more than it already did.

Up at the altar was an arch that Colton and Matthias had built for us. It was filled with light colored flowers and vines along with some little spots of white lace fabric that they must've decided to add on a little bit ago. It looked very professional and would look absolutely amazing in the pictures that our photographer would be taking. Next to the arch were two huge bouquets that were filled with light pink colored roses and peonies since those were Julian and I's favorite flowers. And behind the altar was a huge sheer piece of lace that spread out across almost the entire wall and it really forced your eyes to look at the people that would be standing up there – the officiant, Julian, and me.

The florist that we hired had really decked out the place beautifully. There were long strands of different kinds of white flowers hanging from the ceiling, completely encapsulating you in the beauty of the room. You could probably tell that Ivy, Nina, and Andrea all went out and I was happy about their decisions. As I looked at the room, I was filled with a sense of accomplishment and happiness because it had finally come together. After all the months and months of planning, it was finally here. We had been through so much ever since we got engaged that we really deserved this one day to be spectacular.

"Okay, your room's ready, you can come back now. They apparently switched things up and put some of your stuff in Julian's room and some of his stuff in your room, so we just had to get things back to normal, but everything's good now," Nina says, linking arms with me and escorting me to one of the private rooms.

As soon as we get in there, there's two huge couches that were already littered with different things. I saw my suit hanging up on the far wall, just waiting for me to put it on so I could marry the love-of-my-life. But that would be a while before I put it on because we still have four hours before the ceremony actually started. For now, we would just be focusing on getting everyone else ready since the girls would take so much longer to prepare since they had to do hair and makeup.

"Okay, so for right now-" Nina starts, but is interrupted by the door opening. As soon as it swings open, I see that everyone essential had arrived. Since Julian and I didn't have a ton of friends, we were just having three people each in our wedding party. I would have Ivy, Mia, and Bradlee all by my side while Julian will have Nina, Andrea, and Jonah by his. We didn't want anything to be too crazy, so we just stuck with our close friends.

Even though our wedding party was small, we had so many guests coming. I didn't even realize how many friends Julian had until we were making up the guest list. Everyone that he's basically ever worked with closely was coming, which made up more than half the list. I didn't have too many people from my side coming since I wasn't as friendly as Julian. My guests mainly consisted of old teachers that I worked with, friends from college, and the kids from Home Our Community. I would've loved for all the kids from all 16 homes to fly out to be with us on our wedding day, but we felt like that was too much, but we had decided to have someone live stream with them so they could watch so they still felt included.

"Are you excited?" Ivy asks, rushing over to me to give me a huge hug.

I chuckle as I hug her back, loving that she had a big part at creating this wonderful day. "I'm super excited."

She pulls back from the hug, holding onto my shoulders as she looks over my face for any inclination that I was lying. When she doesn't find anything, her frown turns into a smile and she bounces up-and-down a bit. "You're getting married!"

I chuckle again, nodding my head. "I am."

For the next three hours, the room is filled with people coming in-and-out to get their hair or makeup done. Andrea and Ivy had been in charge of keeping me distracted since they knew I was freaking out because of the huge crowd that would be watching me in just a few hours. But when they had to leave to get ready, Mom took over.

"My baby boy's all grown up. You have a wonderful job that's truly remarkable, you found the person you're meant to be with, and now, you're marrying them. Life goes fast, baby," she whispers to me, holding both of my hands in hers tightly.

"I know, Mom, and I'm kinda shocked that everything has happened so quickly. I feel like I've stressed for 50 years already," I joke, making both of us chuckle.

"Well, baby boy," she whispers to me and I can tell that she was desperately trying to not start crying just yet. "all of those bad things that have happened just this year are in the past. We shouldn't dwell on them anymore. The things that matter is that you have amazing people by your side, you're safe and healthy, and you are happy with where you're at."

I smile, loving the wisdom that my mom has been sharing with me for 23 years. "I'm so happy, Mom. I don't even think I can explain it. I love my job and the kids I work with, I love Julian so much, and I love the group that I've surrounded myself with. I have the best mother and sister in the world, you know?"

She nods her head with a huge smile. "Oh, I know."

After that, everything starts to move quickly. Nina forces me to get dressed in the little room that would give me privacy. I look in the full-length mirror at the beautiful suit that Julian and I had decided I would wear a few months ago. I was wearing a light gray suit to match the colors of our wedding. It was a three-piece suit with a vest underneath along with a black tie while Julian was wearing a three-piece black suit with a gray tie.

Once I got dressed, I made sure everything looked good before I left the room. The entire room froze when I walked out and everyone's face broke out into huge smiles. Andrea was the first person to speak while she lightly bounced up-and-down. "Oh, don't you look so handsome!"

Everything kept moving very quickly. I got my hair done and everyone else got dressed in their suits or dresses. Ivy and Mia were wearing gray dresses while Bradlee was wearing a slightly different gray suit than I was wearing. Andrea and Nina were wearing black dresses and Jonah was wearing a black suit to match with Julian. I think we all would look pretty great up at the altar and I was already so excited to see all the pictures.

After about another hour of waiting, it was time to walk down the aisle. I had gotten word that Charlotte had already walked down Julian and he was already standing up there, waiting for me. Now, it was just my mother and me standing outside the doors that led to the ceremony, waiting for word from a staff member of the venue to tell us when we were able to go. My mother turns towards me, running her hands through my hair to make it look better since I had been constantly running my fingers through it.

"You feeling okay?" Mom asks, a slight smile on her face as she checks how I'm looking.

I nod my head, even though I was feeling like I was buzzed, even though I hadn't even had a sip of alcohol today. I think the fact that I was about to get married mixed with the huge crowd that I was about to face was making me pretty nervous. I knew I would be okay, I just had to focus on Julian. That's all I had to do. "I'm okay."

"I'm so proud of you, my beautiful boy," Mom whispers, settling her palm against my cheek as she gives me a very affectionate smile. I reach out, settling my palm against her cheek as well while we just stared at each other.

"I'm proud of you too. You raised two crazy kids by yourself for the past 14 years, so I say that you did one heck of a job," I remind her, making tears come into her eyes.

"Oh, my boy, you know that I had your help with Ivy. You did some of the work, so thank you. You have no idea how grateful I am for you being there after your father passed. You were just a kid and dealt with so much and I should've been a better mother to you, but I am so appreciative that you were there to help," she whispers.

I smile, running the pad of my thumb across her cheekbone. "You are an amazing mother – always have been and always will be. I am so grateful that you were there for me after Dad died. You never once failed as a parent when you definitely deserved to. You went through a lot when we were kids and you never dropped the ball. I'm appreciative of you, Mom."

"You two go, Mr. Brigg," the staff member tells us, meaning we were finally able to walk down the aisle. Mom doesn't say anything else, just taps my cheek with her hand before linking arms with me. The double wooden doors were opened for us and then we took our first step on the white sheet that we called the aisle. I was met with many, many pairs of eyes staring at us, all of them dressed in suits or dresses, but I wasn't freaking out. The beautiful man's eyes up at the front of the room were keeping me steady.

Julian looked absolutely gorgeous in the black suit that hugged his body just right. His hair was styled perfectly on top of his head and his beautiful smile was keeping me grounded. His smile widened even more when Mom and I started walking towards him and I wanted to just rush forward to him, but I knew that that wasn't what I was supposed to do. 

I recognized a few of the people in the crowd, including George and Simba Brock, Colton and Matthias, who were Nina and Andrea's partners, Ned, who was Mia's husband, and a bunch of other familiar faces. The kids from Home Our Community sat in the front rows on the left side with all the volunteers from the center and the homes. I caught Derek's eye and winked at him, making his smile widen even more so than it already was.

Once we got up to the altar, Julian steps forward and gracefully grabs my hand. He kisses my mom on the cheek before ushering me over to my place that I would be standing throughout the whole ceremony. He grabs both of my hands in his, his thumbs running against my skin that was bringing a more serene feeling to my body. His eyes stare right into mine while I do the same, not ever wanting to look away from his beautiful face. I barely even notice the officiant telling everyone to be seated before she starts to introduce the ceremony.

I just focus on the man in front of me while he mouths to me, I love you.

I love you more, I mouth back, making him shake his head lightly to not let anyone see. My smile widens even more and I squeeze his hands, letting him know that I was so unbelievably happy at this moment. I love this man so fucking much and I'm so happy for Stigma for helping us meet two years ago on the stage at the old school I worked at. I was so thankful for everything that lead to this moment, good and bad.

Throughout the whole ceremony, Julian and I barely took our eyes off of each other. The only time we did was when we had to take the rings from the officiant, but that was just for a brief second. We did everything that we needed to do, the vows, the statement of intent, the rings, everything. When it was finally over, I fully listen to the officiant and not on Julian. "By the power vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you married. You may kiss your husband!"

And with that, Julian reaches forward to wrap his arms around my waist before pressing his lips against mine. With our bodies pressed close together and our lips connected as one, I settle my hands on either side of his face and lose myself in the kiss. I could hear the people in the room clapping for us and could feel flower petals lightly hitting us, but I didn't focus on them. I focus on Julian's soft hands pressing against my back, his hard chest flush against mine, and the small smile on his lips pressed against mine. When we break away after our first kiss as husbands, he settles our foreheads together, lightly rubbing our noses together.

"I love you, my husband," he whispers in a husky voice that tells me that he's close to tears.

"I love you too, my beautiful husband," I whisper back, letting my tears fall freely because I was so happy. I don't remember ever being this happy, so I basked in the fabulous feeling of my heart beating rapidly in my chest and the smile that was now permanently taped to my face.

After we left the ceremony, we were escorted to a little private room while our guests were taken to the little cocktail portion of the day while the staff kept setting up for the reception. As soon as we were alone in the room, Julian settles me in his lap before pressing his lips against mine again. We move together beautifully, the feeling of our mouths working in sync now a familiar one. After a few minutes of that, he pulls away with a smile to look at my face.

"We're married," he reminds me, like I had just magically forgotten what had just happened.

I chuckle, nodding my head. "You're my husband."

"And, soon, we're going to celebrate. All alone. In a hotel room. On our honeymoon," he says, teasing me since he still wouldn't tell me where he had planned our honeymoon. The only thing he told me was that it would be a long flight with multiple stops, but he would definitely distract me with whatever means necessary.

I groan lightly, hitting his arm to make him chuckle a bit. "Come on, it's our wedding day. Just tell me where we're going."

He chuckles, putting his hands up in surrender. "Fine, since you've been asking so nicely for the past two months, we're going to the Maldives in South Asia."

My eyes widen, but then I realize, this man is a fucking billionaire. Well, I take that back – we are fucking billionaires, which means we could easily afford a trip like that. Now that we were married, Julian had decided that he would get me comfortable with the amount of money we had, which meant he wanted to take me on multiple trips to see all the things he owns in the world. Of course, he would have to do it in sections since I'm still new to the whole traveling experience.

"Really? We're going to Asia?" I ask in shock.

He chuckles again, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before nodding his head. "We're going to Asia, my boy."

We stay there for about 15 more minutes, just wasting time kissing and embracing the fact that we were finally married. When a staff member comes to collect us so we could go into the reception hall where our guests already were, we break away from our kissing to stand up. Before we leave the room, I grab his arm to pull him back. He gives me a curious expression before I give him one more kiss that only leaves both of us wanting much, much more. When we pull away, I give him a pleading look. "Don't leave my side."

He gives me a sympathetic look, realizing that I was already starting to freak out because of the crowd. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I just... we need to-" I start, but Julian cuts me off by placing one more kiss to my already puffy lips. When we pull away, he gives me a cute smile.

"Minute-by-minute, baby boy. That's how we do this, right?" He says, making a huge smile appear on my lips since he's adopted my mantra that I've taught him over the past two years. I chuckle lightly, nodding.

"Right, my husband," I whisper before grabbing his hand, prepared to take on whatever life hands us, as long as he was by my side. I would do anything if it meant that life stayed exactly like this – him holding my hand with absolutely amazing people by my side. This day, this one single day, made all the bad memories worth it. I didn't care what our past looked like because marrying this man, marrying Julian, made every single thing worth the pain. 

***

cliché wedding chapter. epilogue coming soon!