25. Emory
EMORY
The sound of my phone buzzing at seven AM should be annoying, but when I see it's a text from our Tulum venue coordinator confirming timeline details for next month, I can't stop grinning. In exactly four weeks, I'm going to marry Vada in the most romantic destination wedding ever planned.
"Good news?" Vada asks, rolling over and immediately zeroing in on my ridiculous smile.
"Just thinking about next month," I say, tightening my arms around her. "And how we're going to pull off the wedding of the century while documenting every moment for our business."
"No pressure or anything," she says, but she's smiling as she says it.
"Are you kidding? This is going to be incredible," I say, reaching for my phone to check our latest vendor confirmations.
"Look at this—the cenote ceremony space is confirmed, the beach reception is locked in, and our photographer just sent preview shots of similar setups. It's going to be magical."
The past month has been absolutely surreal. We've been coordinating our dream destination wedding while simultaneously turning it into the ultimate business showcase. Our followers think they're watching us plan our wedding, which we are, but they have no idea how strategic every decision has been.
"Speaking of magical," I say, showing her the latest social media notifications, "our engagement announcement post is up to three million views. People are obsessed with our love story."
"I love that we're giving them exactly what they want," Vada laughs. "A fairy tale romance with the most gorgeous destination wedding ever."
"And the best part is that it's completely genuine," I point out. "We really are madly in love, we really are planning our dream wedding, and we really are about to showcase exactly what we can create for clients."
An hour later, we're finally vertical and caffeinated, sitting at our kitchen counter with laptops open and vendor coordination spreadsheets that would make a military operation jealous.
"Okay," Vada says, switching into her professional planning mode, "one month countdown check-in. Venue confirmed, caterer locked in, florals designed, photographer booked. We're in great shape."
"Perfect," I say, making notes in our planning document. "What about Maya and Stella's travel?"
"Maya's flying down two days early to help with setup, Stella's arriving the morning of with our parents. Everyone's coordinated and excited to be part of this."
"And they understand the content strategy?" I ask, because this level of documentation requires serious coordination.
"They understand," Vada grins. "Maya's actually excited about being part of what she calls 'the most romantic business plan ever conceived.'"
"I love your best friend," I say with genuine affection. "She gets how perfect this is."
"Speaking of perfect," Vada says, pulling up our vendor confirmations, "we need to finalize the ceremony timeline. The cenote lighting changes throughout the day, and we want to hit that golden hour magic."
The wedding we're planning is honestly incredible.
We've secured a stunning resort built around natural cenotes, coordinated with amazing local vendors, and designed an experience that will blow our clients' minds while giving our followers the fairy tale content they're craving.
It's also going to be the best business promotion we could ask for.
"I still can't believe we're documenting our own wedding as a business showcase," I say, looking at our content creation timeline alongside our ceremony schedule.
"Best marketing strategy ever," Vada agrees. "Though I have to admit, sometimes I forget about the business aspect completely. This is our actual wedding, and I'm getting so excited I can barely focus on anything else."
"Good excited or nervous excited?"
"Good excited," she says immediately. "Like, we're-about-to-have-the-most-incredible-day-of-our-lives excited."
My phone buzzes with a video call notification from Stella, and I answer it immediately. She appears on screen looking perfectly put-together but obviously thrilled.
"One month countdown check-in," she announces without preamble. "Is everything ready for the most romantic wedding in paradise history? Do you need me to coordinate anything from this end?"
"Everything's under control," I laugh. "Just bring yourself and prepare to witness the most beautiful ceremony ever."
"This is so exciting," Stella says, practically bouncing in her chair. "I can't believe you two are getting married in Tulum. It's going to be absolutely magical."
"It really is," Vada agrees, sliding into frame beside me. "Thank you for being part of our celebration."
"Are you kidding? I've been waiting eight years for this wedding," Stella says with obvious delight. "Though I have to ask—how are you two handling planning your own destination wedding while running your business?"
"Very carefully," I say. "And with a lot of strategic multitasking."
"The vendor coordination has been incredible," Vada adds. "Everyone wants to be part of this because they know the content is going to be amazing."
"Plus," I say, "we're basically creating the ultimate portfolio piece while getting married. Every vendor relationship we build for our wedding becomes a resource for future clients."
After we hang up with Stella, Vada and I spend the morning creating more wedding planning content for our social media. It's weirdly satisfying to document our actual wedding planning while knowing how perfectly it's positioning us professionally.
"Should we post the ceremony details today?" Vada asks, editing photos from our latest venue walkthrough.
"Perfect timing," I agree. "Our followers have been asking for specifics for weeks."
We create a gorgeous post about the cenote ceremony space, complete with stunning photos and romantic captions about "finding the perfect place to say forever.
" The response is immediate and overwhelming—hundreds of comments about how beautiful the location is, how perfect it looks for our love story, how excited people are to see our wedding content.
"They have no idea how incredible this is going to be," Vada says with obvious excitement, reading through the enthusiastic comments.
"And wait until they see what we actually create," I agree. "This is going to set a completely new standard for destination wedding content."
The afternoon passes in a blur of final vendor coordination and content creation. We confirm timing with our officiant, finalize floral arrangements, and coordinate with our photographer about capturing every moment of both our ceremony and the incredible setting.
"This is the most elaborate wedding we've ever planned," I say around four o'clock, looking at our detailed timeline.
"It's the most important wedding we've ever planned," Vada corrects. "Our own."
"When you put it like that, it makes perfect sense that we'd go all out," I say, standing up from my desk to stretch. "Though I have to admit, I'm ready for next month to get here."
"You want to marry me that badly?" she asks with mock surprise.
"I want to marry you so badly that I planned a destination wedding showcase just so we could have the most incredible ceremony possible while building our business," I point out, which makes her laugh.
"Fair point," she agrees, then her expression turns more serious. "Emory, are you sure about this? The timeline, the pressure, all of it?"
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," I say honestly, moving to where she's sitting and pulling her up into my arms. "The only thing I'm not sure about is how I'm going to wait four more weeks to call you my wife."
"Three more weeks after next Friday," she corrects, settling against my chest. "But who's counting?"
"I'm counting," I admit. "Days, actually. Twenty-eight days until we're married in paradise."
"You're such a romantic," she says, but she's smiling as she says it.
That evening, Maya calls for what she's dubbed "final coordination before the final coordination." She appears on our kitchen tablet looking organized and slightly manic in the way only Maya can pull off.
"Okay, lovebirds," she announces, "I've been thinking about your wedding non-stop, and I have thoughts."
"We're listening," Vada says, settling beside me with dinner and obvious amusement.
"First, the content strategy is brilliant," Maya says with obvious admiration. "You're basically getting married and launching the ultimate business showcase simultaneously. It's genius."
"We're pretty proud of ourselves," I agree.
"Second," Maya continues, "I've been coordinating with Stella about bridesmaid duties, and we're both prepared to help with any last-minute coordination while looking absolutely stunning in our dresses."
"Perfect," Vada says. "Though honestly, most of the vendors are so excited to be part of this that coordination is going smoother than any wedding I've ever planned."
"That's because you two are social media gold," Maya points out. "Everyone knows this wedding is going to be legendary."
We spend the next hour going over final details and timeline coordination.
Everything is falling into place perfectly—vendor relationships secured, content strategy planned, family travel arranged, and most importantly, two people completely ready to commit to forever in the most beautiful setting imaginable.
"It's going to be perfect," Maya says when we've confirmed every detail. "Romantic, gorgeous, and the best business launch ever."
"That's exactly what we want," I say, taking Vada's hand because I can, because in four weeks she's going to be my wife. "Something that's completely us and completely professional."
Later that night, as Vada and I are lying in bed reviewing our final planning timeline, I catch myself thinking about how different this feels from anything I ever imagined when I thought about getting married.
"What are you thinking about?" she asks, probably sensing my contemplative mood.
"Just that this is nothing like what I thought my wedding would be," I say. "And it's perfect."
"How did you think it would be?"
"Smaller, probably. More traditional. Definitely not a business showcase," I admit. "But this feels right in ways I couldn't have planned."
"Destination wedding in paradise with our favorite people while launching our careers?" Vada muses. "Yeah, it's pretty perfect."
"Plus we get to be married while running the business we built together," I add, which makes her smile.
"That's definitely going to be the best part," she agrees. "Being married while we help other people celebrate love."
As I drift off to sleep with Vada in my arms and our destination wedding just weeks away, I realize that some of the best things in life happen exactly the way you don't expect them to.
We're planning our dream wedding, launching our business, and building a life together, all while creating content that will help other couples believe in love.
The countdown can't go fast enough.