Bette wrung her hands as she waited nervously at the end of the aisle. Friends and family of her and Tina had filled the room that they had hired in a local hotel. They had hired a wedding planner to take care of the decorating, and she had done a great job. Now all that was missing was the bride. When she thought about it rationally, the brunette had no doubts that her bride to be would be walking down the aisle, but she couldn’t help the nerves from creeping in as the minutes until the scheduled start for the wedding passed by.

Stood beside her the brunette had Kit and Shane, and they were doing their best to keep her calm. The fact that Alice was involved in getting Tina to the venue was doing little for Bette’s confidence.

She had chosen to wear a white tuxedo for the big occasion, and was eagerly anticipating her first glimpse of Tina in her wedding dress. If her reaction to seeing the blonde in the dress that she bought for her marriage to Henry was anything to go by, then the brunette was likely to be stunned.

“You ok baby sis?” Kit asked, her hand resting on her sister’s back.

“Yeah…I just want to see her, you know?”

“She’ll be here any minute. They’re only coming from your house”

“I just wish we could have travelled together so I didn’t have to wait around like this”

“Come on Porter, even if you’re not traditional, you can’t ride to the wedding with the bride” Shane pointed out.

“Fine, but I make no promises about not throttling Al if she makes them late”

“Behave baby girl” Kit warned with a smile.

Luckily, there would be no need for throttling or any other form of violence. The back door to the room and Alice stepped in, grinning and giving the women a thumbs up. The sounds of classical music filled the room as Alice started to walk down the aisle, unable to control the grin that was plastered across her face. The rest of the room stood and turned to wait for their first glimpse of the bride.

As Tina stepped into the room, her arm linked with that of her mother, Bette felt as though she’d stopped breathing. The blonde was like an angel, practically floating down the aisle. Her hair hung in loose ringlets, framing her face perfectly. Her hazel eyes immediately sought out those of the woman that she loved, and the second that they locked together neither woman could see anyone else.

The brunette’s brow furrowed as her eyes filled with tears, but the smile on her lips showed the true joy that she felt at that moment. Finally, she took the time to take in the rest of the blonde’s appearance, and just as she had expected, this dress was even better than the last one that she’d seen Tina in. It was white and strapless, with beaded embroidery on the corsetted top. The dress flowed out from her hips, hugging her figure perfectly as she moved gracefully towards her fiancee.

It felt as though the walk down the aisle took forever, but neither woman cared as it gave them both the opportunity to take in every inch of their lover. When Tina finally reached the brunette, she kissed her mother on the cheek and let Bette take hold of her hands. They gazed at each other intently as Dana, Helena and Carmen joined Alice at the front of the room. Even as the registrar stood and began to speak, the couple couldn’t take their eyes off each other.

“Welcome everyone, as we join together to celebrate the commitment that Bette and Tina have decided to make to each other”

Finally the couple were able to turn and look at the middle aged woman in front of them, their fingers remaining intertwined as they tried to focus on the ceremony.

“Before we get to the vows, we have some tributes from some of those closest to Bette and Tina. First we have a reading from Helena Peabody”

Helena took a couple of steps so that she was at the front of the room. She took a piece of paper from her purse and smiled at everyone.

“This is piece by Wilfred Arlan Peterson” she stated, before beginning the reading.

“Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say “I love you” at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with the honeymoon, it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.
It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humour.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.”

The couple smiled gratefully at their friend as she took her place back with the other bridesmaids.

“And now we have a poem from the maid of honour”

Alice smirked as she moved to the spot that Helena had been in moments earlier. Bette was hit by a sudden bout of nerves as she realised she hadn’t approved whatever Alice was planning on reading.

“Just a little poem I found to dedicate to my dear friends” she grinned at the couple who smiled back nervously. She cleared her throat dramatically before she began to read.

“Yes, I’ll marry you, my dear, and here’s the reason why;
So I can push you out of bed when the baby starts to cry,
And if we hear a knocking and it’s creepy and it’s late,
I hand you the torch you see, and you investigate.
Yes I’ll marry you, my dear, you may not apprehend it,
But when the tumble-drier goes it’s you that has to mend it,
You have to face the neighbour should our labrador attack him,
And if a drunkard fondles me it’s you that has to whack him.
Yes, I’ll marry you, You’re virile and you’re lean,
My house is like a pigsty you can help to keep it clean.
That sexy little dinner which you served by candlelight,
As I do chipolatas, you can cook it every night!
It’s you who has to work the drill and put up curtain track,
And when I’ve got PMT it’s you who gets the flak,
I do see great advantages, but none of them for you,
And so before you see the light, I do, I do, I do!”

The room was filled with laughter as Alice gleefully finished the poem. Bette attempted to glare at her, but couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the humour in her reading. Normally she would have been mad at her friend, but nothing could shake the overwhelming happiness that she felt to be stood next to Tina.

The registrar appeared a little surprised at Alice’s choice of reading, but recovered herself to proceed with the ceremony.

“And now we’ve reached the time in which Bette and Tina will make their vows to one another. Do we have the rings?”

Shane nodded and pulled two silver wedding bands from her pocket, handing them to her two friends.

“Bette” the registrar indicated for the brunette to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Bette began to speak “Tina, T, I give you this ring today as a symbol for the never-ending, all encompassing love that I feel for you. I loved the girl that you were all those years ago when I was blessed to have you walk into my life, and I love the woman that you’ve become. To me your like…a limb…something that I wouldn’t know how to function without. And I stand here today to make a promise to you, to respect you, to be faithful to you, to protect you from harm, to support you in whatever decisions you make in your life and to be by your side to make those decisions with you. And most of all, I promise to love you with everything that I am”

She slid the ring onto the blonde’s shaking hand, seeing Tina bite her lip, trying to stop herself from crying. She swallowed deeply before she herself began to speak.

“Bette….I stand here today before our friends and our family for one reason…and that is, that I’m so proud to love you and have you love me in return…” the blonde paused, fighting back tears “You’ve taught me that it’s always ok to be who I am, and to never hide myself away. You’ve showed me a love that I never thought possible, and I intend on showing you every day how much you mean to me. With this ring, I promise to honour you and the love that we have for each other, to stand beside you in everything that you do, to be there when you laugh and be there when you cry. I promise to never let a day go by when I don’t show you how much I love you”

Tears were flowing freely down Tina’s cheeks as she slid the ring onto Bette’s finger. Their eyes met in the most open and honest gaze that either woman had ever experienced.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that you have made this commitment to one another here today in the presence of family and friends, so without further ado, you may now kiss the bride”

With love in her eyes, the brunette cupped her new bride’s cheeks and softly pressed their lips together. Both women had to resist the urge to get carried away with the kiss, remembering that they were in fact stood in front of a room full of those closest to them. They pulled apart and smiled at each other before the brunette took hold of Tina’s hand. They walked down the aisle still smiling at each other to the sound of applause which seemed to be started by Alice.

Once they had left the room they were joined again by the registrar, who took them to sign the necessary affidavit to legalise their domestic partnership. They then proceeded through to the dining area to greet their guests.

They stood side by side as their guests filed past them, each congratulating the couple in turn.

Alice came past and still had the same grin on her face that she’d had when she gave her reading “Aww just look at you two”

“You’re lucky it’s my wedding day Al, or else I might just have to kill you” Bette told her.

“Come on Porter, it made everyone laugh”

“Weddings aren’t exactly supposed to be funny” Tina scolded.

“Well you guys wouldn’t let me speak at the reception, so I had to get my
jokes in somehow”

“Alright Al, move on, the rest of us want to speak to them” Dana nudged Alice in the back, causing her to move forwards.

“Thanks Dana” Bette smiled at her.

“No problem. And I swear, I knew nothing about the poem”

“I have no doubt that it was all Alice’s doing”

“You both look beautiful”

They smiled as Dana gave each of them a kiss on the cheek.

When Shane came through and indicated that she was the last to come in, Bette turned to the blonde and gave her a chaste kiss.

“Let’s get this party started baby”