You Are The Reason

McKenna

I sat in front of the mirror as my mother fussed with my hair, trying her best not to cry. This was it. Today is the day I marry Seb. It was hard for me to believe it had already been a year since Seb had proposed to me on that beautiful beach. If I'd have gotten my way, I would have had Seb in front of the register as soon as possible to make him my husband. Seb had refused. He insisted we take our time and plan a proper wedding.

Of course I've dreamt of what my wedding would be when I was a little girl. I wanted to be a beautiful princess walking towards my handsome prince. Let's be real. Any girl who dreams of their perfect wedding probably has the same fantasy. The perfect dress, the perfect prince, the perfect setting to start your life as husband and wife. Life has taught me that nothing in this world is perfect. There's just no such thing, and that's okay. What you can find is the person that is perfect for you. Once you find that person, the one person you just can't imagine living without, none of those other things matter. You don't care if you have a big fancy wedding or stand in front of the register. All you want is to make that person yours for life. That's who Sebastian is to me. He's mine as I am his, and today is the day we stand up in front of our families and friends to pledge our love to each other forever.

We were in County Clare, Ireland at Dromoland Castle. We booked the castle exclusively for our wedding, meaning no one who wasn't invited to our wedding could stay. With how much our lives had been in the public eye since our time in the Villa, neither Seb or I wanted to have to deal with any paparazzi coming in and ruining our day. Our wedding was taking place in the Walled Garden among all of their beautiful flowers and the lush green landscape Ireland was famous for. It was May, and the weather was absolutely perfect for our outdoor ceremony.

Butterflies fluttered in my belly as I stood up and turned to look at my girls. My wedding party consisted of my childhood best friend Anna who was my maid of honor, with AJ, Elladine, and Genevieve serving as bridesmaids. Over the last year, Viv and I had grown much closer. She reached out when she heard of our engagement, and we slowly began to rebuild our friendship to what it should have always been. She'd forgiven Seb and I, and knew we never meant to hurt her.

Anna stepped forward and handed me my bouquet. It was a gorgeous bundle of roses, peonies, hydrangeas, and lambs ear in various shades of white, ivory, and pink. The stems were wrapped in Irish lace that matched my dress perfectly. I held my bouquet and turned to look at myself in the long mirror and my breath caught. I felt so beautiful. My dress was Irish lace, off the shoulders with an illusion scalloped neckline and delicate long sleeves. The mermaid fit hugged my hips perfectly, fanning out slightly as it reached the floor. The train was just long enough to trail just slightly behind me. My long brown curls were in a loose braid with tiny pink roses woven throughout, a few tendrils fell out of the braid to frame my face. My heart beat wildly against my chest as I imagined Seb's face when he sees me walking towards him. I hope he loves my dress as much as I do. I turn to look at my girls, each of them holding a miniature version of my bouquet. They wore soft pink, floor length dresses, each slightly different that flattered each of them individually. I felt tears prick my eyes and Anna rushed towards me. She tossed her red curls off her shoulders as she stepped towards me, fanning her face.

"Don't you dare!" She tried to laugh, but I could hear the tears in her voice. "If you start to cry then we'll all be crying."

"Besides, if you cry then you'll mess up all your makeup. It's perfect, and you can't mess with perfection," Elladine stepped forward and handed me a handkerchief with a Celtic knot embroidered on it along with mine and Seb's names in a soft blue. "This is from all of us. It's your something new and blue." I look at all of my friends, and my heart is near bursting.

"Thank you all for being here with me today." AJ and Viv stepped closer to me, the four girls encircling me with their love and friendship.

"We're always going to be here for you, babe." AJ blinks her hazel eyes quickly to try to keep her own tears from falling. My mom stepped towards me handing me a glass of champagne, then turned to my girls and handed them each a glass.

"A toast, to my beautiful girl. I just know you and Sebastian are going to have a wonderful life together. He loves you with everything he is, and your father and I know you two will be happy together."

"To McKenna and Sebastian," they all said in unison as we took a sip of our champagne. There was a soft knock on the door and AJ went to answer it. It was my dad. He held his hand up to cover his eyes.

"Is everyone decent?"

"Not really, but we're all dressed," AJ teased as she pulled his hand away from his eyes. She gave him a flirty wink causing his cheeks to blush. When he turned to me, he froze. Suddenly his blue eyes filled with tears. He covered his mouth with one hand as he reached out to take mine in his. My heart couldn't take it.

"Don't cry, Dad." I took a couple tissues from Mom and dabbed at his eyes. "I can't bear it." He smiled as he shook his head.

"They're not sad tears, baby. Well, maybe they're a little bittersweet." He gave me a smile as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. "I just can't believe that little girl who used to dance on top of my feet is about to become a married woman." He takes a deep breath, "Despite that fact, I just want you to know that you will always be my little girl."

"Always, Daddy." I fight my own tears as I give him a fierce hug. When he pulls away, he tucks my hand in his left arm, his right hand covering mine.

"Are you ready my girl?" I nod and give him my biggest smile.

"Absolutely."

We follow my girls out to the terrace. Genevieve goes first, followed by AJ, Elladine, and Anna. Once they were standing at the altar, the harpist begins to play Canon in D. I take a deep breath, then look at my dad. I give him a big smile and squeeze his hand gently. We begin our walk down the aisle, and the moment we round the corner my eyes lock with his. All of the nerves I previously had melt away. The look on his face was exactly what I had hoped it would be. When we reach Seb, he looks at my dad, smiles, and takes my hand from him.

"Take care of my little girl," he whispers and Seb nods.

"Always," he whispers back. Seb's eyes meet mine again, and we turn to the minister. He smiles down at us and nods.

"As you travel life together..."