The Happy Couple

Last One As A Miss

LILY

My eyes slowly blink into focus and the morning light streams in from behind me. I get married today. It's been a long time coming, almost two and a half years to be exact to get to today. Planning a wedding is no walk in the park. But finally, my and Aidan's wedding day is here. To say I'm excited is a complete understatement, I'm ecstatic, I feel electric.

Surprisingly, I slept like a baby. I expected to be tossing and turning all night. Restless and panicking about the last-minute, finicky details. But I feel completely relaxed. And most importantly, ready. I'm ready to marry Aidan and step into the next chapter of our lives together, as husband and wife.

Rolling over, I find my mum is still asleep in the opposite twin bed. I can't help but smile to myself. She's been incredible every step of the way. She's helped me plan almost every detail of today and I couldn't be more thankful.

Letting her rest a bit longer in prep for the big day, I pull the duvet off me and swing my legs to the side. The cool air sends shivers down my spine and goosebumps rise on my legs. Pressing to stand, I stretch my arms above my head. My arms and back crack evenly, pushing away the night aches.

Slowly, I pace towards the bathroom attached to our room. Me, Mum and Dad stayed over last night to make things a bit easier so we're all here, ready for the ceremony. We enjoyed a lovely meal together in the venue's restaurant before spending the night in the bar until we went to bed.

As soon as Aidan and I viewed this place, we knew this was where we wanted to get married. It has everything we're looking for and was well within our budget. We both agreed after I'd said yes that we wanted to get married in South London. It's where Aidan grew up and out of the two of us, he has much more a connection with his home area than I do. That's probably because I've moved a few times whereas Aidan hasn't, apart from moving in with me.

We found this place simply by Googling. It's a place called The Ravenwood Estate. A 15th-century Manor House, located in West Sussex, surrounded by lush, green rolling hills and countryside. Inside, the eighteen-acre grounds are all landscaped and manicured around four different lakes. It's like our own, private castle for the day with endless opportunities for magical photos and memories.

There's a total of three ceremony spaces, including a marital garden but given how British weather works and its unpredictability, Aidan and I opted for The Old Georgian Suite. It's breathtaking in there. We fell in love with it the first time we saw it on our scoping visit.

The suite is a round room, capped with a wooden ceiling, low-hanging, elegant drapes and large windows overlooking the grounds. Not only will we be tying the knot in there, but we'll also be having our wedding breakfast and evening ceremony there too. So our whole day will be centred around one area. From the moment we set foot onto the estate, we knew it was perfect. We put our deposit down the day we first saw the place.

Me and Mum have shared the venue's exclusive 'getting ready cottage'. My dad's somewhere else in the main manor. The next time he sees me will be when I'm in my dress and ready to be walked down the aisle.

I switch on the bathroom light, hearing the hum of the extractor fill the air. A soft, warm glow illuminates around me while stepping into the lavish white, tile-filled room.

Standing in front of the large mirror, I take hold of my toothbrush and begin to rinse it under the tap. I squeeze a blob onto the brush, rinse again and start to clean away my morning breath. The minty fresh taste takes over my mouth, cleaning away the night as I brush and rinse alternatively. Taking one last look at my teeth, making sure they're pearly white, I rinse my toothbrush and mouth one last time before placing everything back into the holder attached to the white, marble effect tiles.