Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
Joylyn didn’t know what to expect from the wedding consultation.
She knew time was tight, and Holly would have to take what could be put together in days rather than weeks or months.
When she and Chandler had planned their wedding, they’d taken almost a year.
She and her mother had gone over every detail, and the day had been exactly as she’d dreamed it would be.
She arrived at Weddings Out of the Box right on time. Wynn arrived seconds later and parked next to her. They walked in together, passing several decorated Christmas trees and a dozen or so freestanding, six-foot-tall candy canes.
“I’m looking forward to this,” Wynn said. “All my friends are in the wedding business, but I rarely get involved in the actual planning. Maybe one or two weddings a year. This is going to be fun.”
“I know Holly’s excited,” Joylyn said. “I hope we’re able to make the day special for her. It’s really last minute.”
Wynn smiled. “Renee knows how to work a miracle. I think you’re going to be pleased with what she’s pulled together.”
They walked into the conference room. It was plain, with a long table and a large video screen at one end. Renee was already there, looking pulled-together in a beautiful dark green suit. Her thick, long, red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She smiled when she saw them.
“Hi. I think I have everything ready. It’s been a whirlwind, that’s for sure.” She waved to the empty chairs. “Have a seat and we’ll get started.”
Joylyn and Wynn sat across from her. Renee typed on her laptop and the screen lit up, showing the same view as her computer. She dialed a number and they connected with Holly. The screen on the wall split, showing Holly on one half and the display from Renee’s computer on the other.
Joylyn waved at her friend. “Hi! I can’t believe we’re doing this. Are you excited?”
“I am.” Holly smiled. “Rex and I are so happy we’re going to have a real wedding.”
“You are,” Renee said with a laugh. “I’m Renee by the way. Nice to see you in person, Holly.”
“Nice to see you, too.”
“This is Wynn,” Joylyn said, pointing to her. “She’s my dad’s neighbor. She’s the one who suggested checking with Renee about putting on the wedding.”
Wynn waved. “Nice to meet you.”
“Now that everyone has met,” Renee said, opening her tablet, “let’s get busy with planning. Holly, are we still at fifty guests?”
“Yes. That number is firm. Joylyn is going to be my attendant. It’s more complicated for Rex.” Holly grinned. “He has five Marines who are going to be co–best men. So we’ll need room for them there.”
Joylyn looked at Wynn and Renee. “They all served together and they’re like brothers. Ben S, John, Ben Z, Peter and Will.”
“We will make that happen.” Renee typed on her tablet.
“So let’s talk about the overall structure of the day.
We have a large room that we can easily partition.
We’ll use part of it for the ceremony and part for the reception.
For the ceremony with fifty guests, we’ll do a center aisle, with say seven rows of ten chairs.
I know that gives us more seating than you’ll need, but sometimes people like to leave a seat empty. ”
She put a picture of chairs up on the screen. Large lanterns sat on the floor, along the aisle.
“We have these in our warehouse,” she said. “They’re about eighteen inches high, so substantial but they don’t get in the way. We also have flameless candles that go inside. The only cost is for new batteries.”
“They’re lovely,” Holly said.
“Good. Now I’m thinking we’ll do a cluster of deep red dahlias on the backs of the chairs along the aisle. Probably every other chair, so it’s not too busy. The florist will add ribbons and some greens to make them pretty.”
“I like the look,” Holly said, her tone hesitant, “but there’s a cost factor.”
Renee glanced at Wynn, then back at the screen. “Let me explain all my suggestions and we’ll talk money at the end. For now you can simply enjoy the show.”
Holly nodded. “Okay. Sure.”
Joylyn thought the slide with the lanterns and flowers was beautiful, but she was with Holly. No way could they afford that.
“We’ve reserved a local minister to perform the ceremony,” Renee said. “Now about your bouquet—what are you doing for a dress?”
“I don’t know,” Holly admitted. “I found a dress at David’s Bridal I really like. It’s on sale, but it’s still three hundred dollars. I think that money might be better spent on the wedding itself.”
“Do you have a picture?” Renee asked.
Holly reached to her left and came back with a printout of a strapless dress. The style was simple—fitted to the waist, then gently flaring out to the floor. Joylyn leaned closer to study the sweetheart neckline and the pleating at the bodice.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “You’ll look amazing in that.”
Holly smiled. “It’s taffeta and looks great on. I don’t need much in the way of alterations, but the cost...”
Renee typed on her tablet. “It’s lovely and very classic. I think a teardrop bouquet with cascading flowers would be best. Red roses.” She smiled. “They’ll look fantastic against the simplicity of the dress.”
Joylyn met Holly’s gaze on the screen. A bouquet like that was going to be expensive. Roses? Really? Maybe Renee didn’t understand Holly didn’t have a lot of money. But before she could figure out what to say, Renee had moved on to the reception.
“We’ll do rectangular tables forming a loose square,” she said, putting another picture on the screen. “More dahlias down the center with votives floating in glasses. The long-stemmed glasses will give height and interest, but won’t get in the way of conversation across the table.”
Holly nodded. “The centerpieces are beautiful.”
“For the dinner, I’ve spoken with the caterer. Are there any vegans?”
Holly smiled. “No. All our friends eat meat.”
“Good. We’ll have a vegetarian option, just in case. Risotto is always good. For the first course, given the time of year, we’re thinking soup. A butternut squash soup with an Asiago truffle mac and cheese muffin is very popular.”
“It sounds delicious,” Holly said. “But expensive.”
“No thoughts of money just yet. Don’t forget, our previous bride has paid for a lot of this.”
“Okay. I’ll just listen.”
Renee went through the rest of the menu, including filet mignon and a potato gratin.
“I was thinking simple for the dessert,” Renee said, putting another slide on the screen. “Chocolate dipped strawberry towers. They look incredible, they’re light and delicious. Plus it’s fruit. The serving plates are tiered, so the stacked strawberries take the shape of a Christmas tree.”
“They’re beautiful,” Holly murmured.
“Great.” Renee made more notes. “The cake is problematic. We are stuck with what the previous bride ordered. It’s a four layer cake.
There’s no time to get anything fancy, so what I suggest is a simple white frosting and then we cascade red roses down the side.
It’s elegant, it’s easy and it meets our time constraint. ”
Holly nodded without saying anything.
Joylyn could see her confusion and worry. Even with the deposit money waived, there was no way Holly and Rex could afford even a portion of this.
“On to the drinks,” Renee said. “We’re thinking traditional. A champagne toast after the ceremony, then an assortment of champagne cocktails to start, with red wine at dinner. Is that all right?”
“It all sounds wonderful.”
“Good,” Renee said quickly. “Now, last but not least, the wedding favor.” She put up another slide. This showed a round red ornament personalized with Holly’s and Rex’s names, along with the date.
“I have someone who can do the fancy writing,” Wynn said. “We’ll use a gold marker and tie a gold bow on the top. We can put them in big bowls by the door and people can take one as they leave.”
Holly pressed her lips together. “We can’t afford this. I’m sorry you put all this work into the presentation, but our budget is—”
“There’s no cost,” Renee told her. “Everything’s already paid for.”
Holly’s expression of surprise was nearly comical, although Joylyn had a feeling she didn’t look any different.
“What? No. That’s not possible.” Holly’s eyes were wide. “Rex and I can’t let some poor bride who had to cancel her wedding pay for ours.”
“She’s not.” Renee smiled. “I told a few people about you and Rex, and they offered to chip in. Word spread and even more people wanted to help out. The bride who had to cancel is getting all her money back, and you’re getting the wedding I described.
You might want to head to David’s Bridal and buy your dress. ”
Tears filled Joylyn’s eyes. Holly had a bit more control, but she still looked shaken.
“I don’t understand,” she whispered. “Joylyn, did you know about this?”
“Do I look like I knew about it?” She turned to Wynn. “What happened?”
“What Renee said. People wanted to be a part of this.”
Renee nodded. “I’m serious, Holly. It’s all being taken care of. You and Rex just have to show up. Oh, and his five co–best men, too.”
The rest of the meeting was a blur. When they were done, Joylyn drove to the Happily Inc police station and asked to see her dad. She was shown back to his office. When he saw her, he immediately came to his feet.
“Are you all right? What’s going on? Do you need to go to the hospital? Is it Chandler?”
The tears returned and she couldn’t speak, so she held open her arms. Her father came around his desk and hugged her.
“Talk to me, Joylyn. I’m freaking out here.”
“We’re all f-fine,” she managed to say, then gave into the sobs.
He held her against him, angled so there was room for her belly. She cried until she was empty, then took the tissues he offered her.
“I’m fine,” she repeated. “It’s just I was at a meeting for Holly’s wedding and everything is paid for.”
“Oh, that.” He looked relieved. “Why is that a problem?”