~*~A Perfect Wedding~*~

"The tables are set for the reception. The DJ has his mix. The food is being prepared for this evening," Brent told Sophia as they hastened through the parking lot towards Sophia's car.

"Great. That's great. What about the wedding venue? Is the church ready? The pews decorated?" Sophia asked.

"Yes, the flower garlands are in place. The velvent carpet is on the ground. The priest has his speech ready. The pianist is on his way," Brent replied.

"Thank God. Have you been able to get a hold of Joey? I haven't heard from him yet," Sophia said. 

"I talked to him thirty minutes ago. He found two replacements," Brent said. Sophia let out a sigh of relief. At least things were going all right on her part. Now the only disaster she had to deal with was the bride's nervous breakdown at the beauty parlor. 

"Ok. That's awesome. I have to get to the salon to find out what's going on with Carly's hair. She's flipping out for some reason and she's been calling me every five minutes to get over there. Can you handle everything at the venue? Make sure things are running smoothly? It sounds like we've got everything in place. Just make sure people are showing up. I'll take care of the bridesmaids and flower girl. You make sure the groom is ready," she said to Brent.

"On it," Brent said, splitting from her and going towards his own car. Sophia pulled open the door to her car and sat inside. Just as she did so, her phone rang again. She let out a frustrated shriek and then answered it.

"Carly, dear! I'm on my way. I'll be there in 10 minutes. Just hold on," she said.

"It's ruined! My wedding is ruined! This is all your fault!" Sophia heard on the other line. It wasn't directed towards her. Carly was still yelling at her hairdresser. At least she wasn't on the receiving end, which meant that she was doing her job right.

"Carly?" Sophia asked, starting her car and backing out of the lot.

"Sophia! Everything is going wrong! I can't get married today!" Carly wailed on the other end. Sophia rolled her eyes and turned onto the main road. 

"Carly, I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it out to be. I'll be there very soon and we can fix this together, ok?" Sophia assured her client as she cried in the back.

Ten minutes later, Sophia realized that it was indeed as bad as Carly was making it out to be. It turned out that the stylist had accidentally burned off a chunk of Carly's hair with a curling iron. It was partially the stylist's fault and partially Carly's fault. The stylist had told Carly to wash her hair before she arrived at the salon and not to put any product in it. Carly, not wanting her hair to frizz, had put some mousse in her hair to keep it tame. The mousse, however, didn't double as a heat protectant, and the result was that Carly's hair got burned off. Hence the disaster.

What Sophia could do about it, though, was beyond her.

"Look, Carly. We can fix this. I just need you to calm down," Sophia said.

"Fix this? Fix this?! My hair got burned off!" Carly shrieked, still sobbing.

"I realize that, but crying and yelling isn't going to fix anything. Jenny is a professional stylist. She can fix this if you just calm down," Sophia said, a little more sternly.

"No. No. I want someone else. I want someone else to do my hair!" Carly yelled.

"You can't! It's the day of the wedding, Carly! We don't have time to find anyone else. Jenny is the one that knows the style that you picked. The wedding is in four hours. Please, just calm down, take a deep breath, and let Jenny do her job. Can you do that, Carly?" Sophia said gently. Although her voice was calm and collected, inside, she felt like she was going to explode. Another thing was going wrong? Why was this happening to her?

"But--" Carly began.

"Carly! Something is better than nothing, right? Just let Jenny fix this," Sophia said. The bride-to-be sniffled, her eyes watery.

"Fine," she said. She went back to her spot on the salon chair and sat down, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sophia pinched the bridge of her nose. She should have been used to bridezillas by now. Women in the Hamptons were very picky about everything. Their weddings had to be perfect and upscale. They were always trying to out-do one another and put on the biggest wedding in the area. Although it meant a lot of work for Sophia, it also meant that she was never out of a job or money. 

"Just so you know, I'm not happy about this," Carly called over from the chair. 

"You will be at the end of the day," Sophia said. She looked at Jenny. "Work your magic," she said to her. Jenny smiled bitterly.

"I always do," she said. 

Sophia sighed, running a hand through her own messy hair. She still had to go home and get ready for the wedding, as well. But she was an expert at getting ready at the last moment. In her line of work, she had to brace herself for last minute disasters and be ready to tackle them and then still show up looking presentable at the wedding. 

"As of now, you won't be able to get to your make-up appointment in time. I'm just going to have the make-up artist go to the hotel room where you're going to get ready. She'll meet you there. I'm going to go to the church and make sure everything is going smoothly and then I will meet you at the hotel. Does that sound good to you, Carly?" Sophia asked.

"I think I prefer it that way," Carly said, a frown still evident on her face.

"Ok, perfect. I'm just a phone call away if you need anything," Sophia said.

"Make sure there's champagne in my hotel room," Carly told her as she turned to go.

"Of course," Sophia said. I could use a drink or two, as well. Or maybe five, Sophia thought to herself. "See you in an hour!" she said, turning to leave before the needy bride could ask for any more requests. 

                                                              *~*~*~*~*~*

Sophia walked briskly up to the church. People were bustling around, putting final touches to everything. It was really quite a spectacular sight. Sophia paused to revel in the scene before going inside the church and potentially receiving bad news. She didn't get many moments to appreciate her own work, so whenever she did have a spare second, she used it wisely.

Sighing, she pushed open the door. The two sides of the aisle were decorated with lavendar rose petals. Admist the petals were different sized glass candle holders with floating tea lights. The lights weren't lit yet, but Sophia knew that they would add an elegant glow to an already enchanting wedding hall. 

Brent met her half way up the aisle, holding a clipboard in his hands and his Bluetooth headset pressed against his ear.

"Everything going all right?" Sophia asked.

"For the most part," Brent said, handing her a bottled water. She preferred something with some liquor added in, but at the moment, this would do.

"What do you mean for the most part?" Sophia asked.

"We only have three photographers," Brent said.

"What?!" Sophia exclaimed, whipping her head around to look for Joey. "Where is he? Where's Joey? I'll kill him! I'll murder him right here and now!" Sophia cried.

"We're in a church," Brent said flatly.

"Then I'll go to hell. But before I do, I'm going to put a damn good wedding on," Sophia seethed.

"You should calm down just a little bit. Joey said--" Brent began, but she cut him off, spotting the photographer across the room. She thrust the water bottle into Brent's chest, making him sputter, and then marched up towards her photographer. Brent followed closely behind, probably to make sure she didn't strangle the man in the church.

"Oh, hey Soph," Joey said, completely unperplexed.

"Hey, Soph? Hey, Soph?! Is that all you have to say?!" she yelled.

"Woah, calm down," Joey said.

"That's what I told her," Brent muttered.

"You don't tell me what to do," Sophia said, jabbing Joey in the chest with her finger. "Where is my fourth photographer?!" she demanded.

"I told you, I was under a time crunch. I couldn't find anyone else," Joey said.

"I don't care if you were under a time crunch! I specifically told you to find two more people! Carly is going to kill me!" Sophia said.

"Look, I have it under control. I'll work the video cameras. The other two will be more than enough to cover the photos," Joey said. "And Brent said that he'll help out with lighting. It shouldn't be a problem," Joey continued.

"You what?" Sophia asked incredulously at her intern. "You know I need you free at all times in case I need you to do something!" Sophia said. Brent winced at the volume of her voice and the proximity of her face to his.

"I'm s-sorry! I was just trying to help!" Brent stammered. She sent an icy glare at him.

"Useless! Completely useless! All of you!" she yelled. 

She shouldn't have been getting this worked up, but how else was she supposed to channel her frustration over the incompetence that she was working with? Carly was already stressed as it was and the wedding party would have 300 guests. Two photographers and one cameraman were not going to be enough to capture the whole wedding adequately. She needed to fix this. 

Sophia whipped out her cell phone and scrolled through her contacts. One of her friends from college had recently moved to New York City and she happened to be a photographer for the fashion magazine Belleza. The city was only about two hours away. If she was free, she could easily make it in time for the wedding, which wasn't due to begin for another three hours. Praying to God, she dialed her friend and put her phone to her ear.

"Please pick up, please pick up..." she muttered to herself. 

One ring, two rings, three rings...

"Hello?" she heard on the other line. Sophia let out a breath of relief.

"Madison? It's Sophia. Are you busy right now?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?" Madison replied.

"I need you to do me a huge favor..." Sophia said.

                                                    *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two hour and a half hours later, everything was set. Madison had made it to the venue and was getting ready in Carly's hotel room with the other bridesmaids. Carly was dressed and ready and doing a photoshoot with Joey and Lana. The groom was ready. The church was set. The guests were starting to arrive.

Everything was going perfectly.

"You should probably go get ready now," Brent said to Sophia as she scanned the room of the church to make sure there wasn't anything missing.

"Oh, shit! I completely forgot!" Sophia said. Brent closed his eyes and shook his head at her cursing. "Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting this is a church. Ok. I'm going to go get dressed. Make sure all the guests get seated. Get all these candles lit!" she said.

"I will! You go get ready!" Brent said, ushering her away.

Sophia walked hurriedly out of the church. She sped over to the adjacent hotel and in record timing, she got ready. As she fastened a string of pearls around her neck, she wondered why she hadn't received an award or recognition yet for being able to get ready so quickly. Thirty minutes and she was set to go.

Grabbing her clutch and dropping her phone inside, she went to the elevators and went to Carly's floor. Carly was alone in her room now, her father the only person keeping her company.

"Ready to do this?" Sophia asked, stepping into the room. Carly looked over at her, her hands shaking slightly.

"How do I look?" she asked. Sophia looked over the bride. Jenny had indeed worked her magic and had styled Carly's hair into an elegant bun. Her veil was secured to the crown of her head with a dainty diamond encrusted pin. Her make-up was beautifully done, giving her a soft glow. She really did look absolutely stunning.

"Like the most beautiful bride I've ever seen," Sophia said with a smile. Carly beamed back, her eyes slightly watery. She pulled Sophia into a hug.

"I feel so nervous," she said to her.

"You have nothing to be afraid of. Everything looks amazing. You look amazing. And Brad can't wait to see you. He's going to fall in love all over again when he lays eyes on you," Sophia assured her. 

"I don't think I've thanked you enough for all you've done," Carly said.

"You don't have to thank me. It's my job," Sophia replied. Carly smiled at her. "We should probably get going. Don't want to keep the groom waiting," Sophia said. Carly grabbed a hold of her hand and squeezed.

"Let's go," she said. 

                                                           *~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Another successful wedding?" Brent said from beside Sophia, offering her a glass of blood red wine, the finest she could order, imported straight from France. They stood together as they watched the newly wed couple saying their goodbyes to their families as they officially marked spending the rest of their lives together. 

"Another successful wedding," Sophia confirmed, clinking her glass together with Brent's. The two of them drank to their success and after eight long months of planning, Sophia felt a calmness settle over her. Her job was finished. Her client was happily married and had the wedding of her dreams. Sophia had fulfilled her Promise of the Hart business statement.

I promise to give you your dream wedding. No hassle. No stress. Just pure perfection. That is the Promise of the Hart.

Carly walked up to her, staggering slightly from consuming so much alcohol.

"Sophie! Thank you so much for everything! I couldn't have asked for a better wedding. You truly are amazing. I'm going to recommend you to all of my friends," Carly said to her. Sophia smiled.

"I'm glad you were satisfied with everything. As long as you're happy, I'm happy," Sophia said. Carly grinned and lurched forward, pulling Sophia into a hug. She was caught off-guard slightly and awkwardly patted the new bride's back. Brent stood by, grinning like a school boy. When Carly pulled away, her eyes were watering.

"Thank you," she said again.

"Anytime," Sophia replied, squeezing the bride's arm before letting her go back to her husband. 

"You see, Brent, that's the best part of all this. This part, this feeling of success and the gratitude of the wedding party, that's what makes all of the stress from the past few months worth it. All of that to work towards this moment. That's why I love this job," Sophia said to her young intern. 

"That and the paycheck," Brent said. Sophia rolled her eyes. He wouldn't understand. He was still young. When he was older and had his own wedding planning business, maybe he would understand what it felt like to put on a successful wedding.

________________________________________________________

A/N: There it is! Chapter 2! I feel like I kind of jumped into the story a bit. Do you guys feel that way? Or do you like it that way? I'm just trying to do some exposition and show Sophia in her job. Let me know if it feels too rushed or if you feel like I'm not doing a good job of character development.

Anyway, the title chapters are going to be things relevant to the chapters, but they're also things that a girl wants. Hence the title of the story.

Let me know what you think! Don't forget to vote!

Thanks to AmiliaAndersen for the banner!

XOXO