Leave it to Me (Mavin)

Chapter Forty-Three: The Mavin Wedding (Part Two)

"Oh my god, I'm nervous," I muttered to no one in particular.
"Gavin, you're gonna do great. The more nervous you get, the worse performance you're gonna put on. Just relax and stay calm," Barbara reminded me.
I sighed and nodded, knowing she was right. She smiled at me, beginning to tie the tie around my neck. Meg brushed off my vest, slipping it over my shoulders while Barbara tucked my tie into the vest. They then slipped my blazer over my shoulders, straightening that out as well.
They both stood back and admired how I looked. I gave myself a quick glance in the mirror and smiled, knowing that I actually looked pretty handsome.
There was a knock at the door, making me whip my head around. My mother poked her head in, stepping all the way in when she saw me. She instantly walked closer to me, grabbing my hands and squeezing them.
"Oh my goodness... Look at you... My little baby is all grown up," She said. Tears came to her eyes as she pulled me into a hug and buried her head into my chest.
I smiled as she squeezed me. Whenever my mother hugged me, I felt so relaxed and little again, like I was still that young child I used to be. When she finally let me go she ran her hands down my cheeks, pressing her forehead against mine.
"Michael is a very lucky man. He better treat you right," My mom told me. I giggled slightly at her, smiling even more.
"And the same goes for you. You treat him right as well. No more cheating," She told me playfully, kissing my cheek gently before pushing the flower into my suit pocket and leaving the room.
"Gavin, you almost ready?" I heard Dan say. I looked back at him, noticing Meg and Barbara were standing near the door, ready to go.
"Yeah," I told him, walking over to him.
We walked down the hall and into the lobby. People walking in smiled at me or gasped, making me smile back. Once all the guests were inside, the doors were closed and Michael and I's groomsmen partnered up, preparing to walk down the aisle.
Dan patted my shoulder and wished me luck, finding Ray and standing next to him. I smiled at everyone, walking to the end of the line.
Once I saw Michael, I instantly smiled all the more. Michael smiled too, offering me his arm. I took it and looked down at my shoes, feeling Michael squeeze my arm with his other hand.
"You nervous?" He asked me. I nodded and looked over at him, instantly smiling again once I saw his bright and happy face.
"I know I'm gonna mess up on something," I told him. Michael nodded in agreement, making me gasp and hit him playfully.
Suddenly, the doors opened and the first groomsmen walked out, Ryan and Jesse. Once they made it to the alter, Geoff and Jack walked down. After that it was Dan and Ray, then Millie walked out, throwing the flower petals, then it was Michael and I's turn.
"This is it," He whispered to me, making me nod in agreement. I turned to him and smiled, making him smile as well.
"I really love you, Michael," I told him.
"I love you too, Gavin," Michael told me, squeezing my hand again.
We stepped out to everyones view, making everyone turn their heads to us and smile. A few people took pictures, while others recorded it. Barbara stood up on the pew and waved her hand dramatically, making me giggle slightly as she pointed to her phone.
Once Michael and I were in front of the alter, the officiant allowed everyone to be seated.
"Today is a celebration. A celebration of love, of commitment, of friendship and of two people who are in it for good," The officiant started. I heard some giggles from the crowd and I smiled slightly, relaxing my shoulders a little.
"You don't have to have a ceremony to have a marriage. And when you think about it, the whole thing is kinda weird, right? You're standing on stage, looking fancy, and being stared at by pretty much everyone that's meant something to you in the past twenty-something years. So, why do we do it? The marriage ceremony has been an important feature across nearly every culture, religion, generation and society. We have thousands of important moments in our lives, but this one is regarded as one so critical, we acknowledge its special status by sharing it with others. Why this moment?" The officiant continued. Once again, I heard some giggles from the crowd and I smiled again. When I looked up, I saw Michael smirking at me, which made me smile all the more.
"Because despite all our differences, love is what we all share. It's the great unifier - our one universal truth. That no matter who we are, where we've come from, or what we believe, we know this one thing: love is what we are doing right. That's why you both are standing here. That's why you are all here to watch them stand up here. We have all loved in our lifetimes, and in this moment, we are reminded that the ability to love is the very best part of our humanity," The officiant continued.
I let the words he said sink in. Everything he said was very true. And by the way Michael had a clouded look, I knew he was letting the words sink in as well. When he finally snapped out of it, he gave me a gentle smile, and let out a tiny sigh, like he was breathing out all his frustrations and worries.
"All of us here today have our own love stories. Some are short, others are long. Some are still left unwritten, while others are just getting to the good part. There are chapters in all our stories that are sad or disappointing - and others that are exciting and full of adventure," The officiant said. Michael and I both looked at him as he smiled and went into the next part.
"The two standing before us now have their own love story, like many of you here today. Although it is still fairly short, it is still a story of love and commitment to each other. I'm sure most of you here can agree that they overcame many trials to get to where they are today, standing before each other, about to marry one another," The officiant said. I smirked, hearing the groomsmen mutter quiet agreements.
"However, those trials bring them here. A time to pause, look back, and smile at all the moments that brought them here. And a time to look ahead at all the moments still to come," The officiant said. Slowly, he looked into my eyes and then Michael's, continuing on with the ceremony.
"I'm here - we're all here - because we want those moments for you. We're here to hope with you, to support you, to be proud of you, and to remind you that love isn't always happily ever after, love is the experience of writing your own story. It's not one moment - not even this moment. It's every moment. Big ones like saying 'I love you,' moving in together and getting engaged - but mostly little moments that come between the big moments. Falling asleep next to each other, making dinner together, binge-watching Netflix and getting a big hug after a long day at work. These everyday moments fuse together to create one big experience. And even though this experience is so incredible, words fail us when we try and explain it. That's just the way it is with love - it's meant to be felt, not described," The officiant continued. Michael and I looked back to each other and smiled.
"But trying to describe love is one of our favorite pastimes. We use the words we have to write stories, and poems, and songs about love. And even though we describe love in different ways - and even though love can look different from one person to the next - we all know it when we see it. And we see it here," The officiant said, smiling slightly. He gestured for Michael and I to take each other's hands, which we did, as we prepared for the vows.
"You fell in love by chance, but you're here today because you're making a choice. You both are choosing each other. You've chosen to be with someone who enhances you, who makes you think, makes you smile, and makes everyday brighter," The officiant continued, leading into the promises.
"You're about to make promises to each other that you intend to keep. You're going to vow to take care of each other, to stand up for one another, and find happiness in the other. There's a simple premise to each of these promises; you're vowing to be there. You're teaming up and saying to the other, 'Every experience I am going to have, I want you to be apart of,'" The officiant said. Michael smirked and cleared his throat dramatically.
"Team Nice Dynamite," He said, making me and some of the others that knew about our team name giggle.
"That aside, Michael, will you keep Gavin as your favorite person - to laugh with him, go on adventures with him, support him through life's toughest moments, be proud of him, grow old with him, and find new reasons to love him everyday?" The officiant said, smiling.
For a moment, I felt as though time stopped. I gazed into Michael's eyes, wanting this moment to last as long as possible.
Michael smiled broadly and answered with a clear and powerful voice.
"I will."
"Gavin, will you keep Michael as your favorite person - to laugh with him, go on adventures with him, support him through life's toughest moments, be proud of him, grow old with him, and find new reasons to love him everyday?" The officiant asked me.
I looked at the officiant for a moment before turning back to Michael and smiling again. Michael gave me a half smirk in return, making me blush at how adorable he looked.
"Don't screw up, B," I heard Dan whisper from behind me, making me and the crowd giggle.
"I will," I said through a giggle strained voice.
"Michael and Gavin, will you be each other's partners from this day forward? Will you bring out the best in one another, share your happiest moments together, and love each other absolutely - for the rest of this lifetime and whatever may come next?" The officiant asked. I gazed into Michael's eyes and in perfect sync we said our answer.
"We will."
The officiant smiled and gestured to Dan and Ray to hand the rings up. Ray handed Michael my ring and Dan handed me Michael's ring. I held onto it tightly, being incredibly careful not to drop it and embarrass myself.
"You've both chosen to wear rings as a reminder of these promises. People often say wedding bands are a perfect circle, with no beginning and no end. But these rings did have a beginning. The stones were formed a long time ago, deep within the earth. Eventually, a series of lucky events caused them to rise to the surface, where someone dug them up. Metal was then liquefied in a furnace at a thousand degrees - molded, cooled, and painstakingly polished. Something beautiful, was made from raw elements."
"Love is like that. It comes from humble beginnings, and through a combination of serendipity and effort, imperfect beings shape into something extraordinary. It's the process of making something beautiful where there was once nothing at all. As you look at these rings over the years, I hope you remember that. You've created something invaluable, and just as I know you'll protect these rings, I'm confident you'll protect the commitments you've made to one another today," The officiant finished, allowing Michael and I to slip the rings onto each other's fingers.
"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you married. You may now kiss your groom," The officiant said.
Michael immediately wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I smashed our lips together, giggling and smiling through the kiss. Michael smiled too, pressing his lips harder against mine.
Everyone stood up and clapped for us throughout the kiss. When we pulled away from each other, I felt Dan pat my shoulder, congratulating me. I looked back at him and smiled, nodding my thanks.
Suddenly, I felt an arm loop around my legs and back and I suddenly wasn't on my feet anymore. Michael smiled broadly and kissed me again, making me giggle and wrap my arms around his neck as he walked back down the aisle, the groomsmen following behind us.
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This took so long to write. Oh well.
Thank you for reading! I apologize if this chapter was kind of... Too much? I guess you can say. I actually recently went to a wedding and I got the entire ceremony script so... That was pretty cool. I basically copied that word for word cause I knew I wouldn't be able to write a good wedding script.
Anyway, part two is finished! One or two more chapters (and maybe an epilogue?).
Thanks for reading!