Alice jolted me from my trance-like state as she hugged me once and gave me a thumbs up in encouragement. She gracefully linked arms with Jasper and began their slow march up the aisle. Renee and Charlie both took a position at either side of me and grasped my arms. The music transitioned into a soft melody that I immediately recognized as the lullaby that Edward wrote for me.

If I had any control over my emotions at that point, I would have been fighting back tears. I could tell that Renee was already clearly sobbing, and Charlie looked like he was close.

We stepped out onto the pathway to my eternity and began out slow and deliberate walk towards my fiancé. Fiancé. I still wasn‘t used to it. I guess it really didn’t matter. In a few moments, husband would become the appropriate title. And I had the rest of my life and then some to get used to that.

As we walked, I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, but the only eyes that mattered were the topaz ones that belonged to Edward. I held his gaze, only focusing on him and on not tripping or fainting. I could see the overpowering happiness in his eyes, and judging from his small half smile, I guessed that he could see the same emotion in my eyes too. After a long moment, we reached the end of the aisle. I turned to hug Charlie and Renee, and then took Edward’s ice-cold hand. Edward and I stared intently at each other as Emmet welcomed everyone and began the ceremony with the proper speeches. I was so lost in Edward’s gaze that I didn’t catch hardly any of what Emmet was saying. I tuned in briefly to monitor the silence after the objection opportunity had been presented, and it wasn’t until then when I realized how much time had passed.

Vows, already? I gulped. This was the part I had been most worried about. Edward had insisted that we make up the vows for each other in the heat of the moment. It would have been much more preferable if I could have rehearsed the vows, but I was confident that I would find something to say. Emmet nodded in my direction, signifying that he expected me to begin. I trembled slightly as I started….