OH MY GOSH!!! OMIGOSH!!! Ohmygosh!!! I can barely breathe!!! The International Hotel is the dream spot!!! Rooftop ballroom overlooking the Lights!!! Can this really be happening??? Am I awake?
"Are you serious?" I ask.
But, shit. What happened? Why did it come available? Did some other couple call off their wedding?
Would it be bad karma to take their place?
Do I really care about karma?
"May I ask why the event got cancelled?"
"It was scheduled for an annual company holiday party, but you know with the way the economy is a lot of companies are cutting back. They've decided to cut out their party this year."
"Wow, okay." AHHHHH!! "What date is available?"
"Saturday, January the thirteenth."
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like a bolt of lightening just flashed straight down from heaven into Phillip's office.
January the thirteenth!! My parents' anniversary was the twelfth.
"The thirteenth would be perfect," I hear myself say. I'm beyond thinking. I'm just doing. "Wait. Are the Plaza Lights still up then?"
"Yes, it's their last weekend," she says cheerfully.
"I'll take it."
I can't believe my luck, my being blessed, I'm not sure, but wow. I'm sooooo excited.
It gets even better when she says, "I don't know if you're interested, but the wedding and event planner who normally does this function is free now as well. She's very talented and has other vendors you might be interested in hiring. Would you like her number?"
OMG!!! YES!!! A wedding planner AND the dream location!??!! Is this really happening?
Thank you, God.
Thank you, Mom and Dad.
Thank you, whoever listened to my prayers and made this happen.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
"I'd love that," I say.
I do want a wedding planner. I want to go over my ideas with her, my colors, the scrapbook of stuff that I've been collecting in my mind, and have her fret the tiny details. I want us to enjoy our wedding weekend. I think a wedding planner is exactly what we need.
Then she says, "The company also had a block of rooms held. Would you be interested in those?"
Uh, yeah!!!
"Yes, it will be a destination wedding, so we'll definitely need the rooms."
Before I know it, I'm giving her my credit card number to put down a deposit, and she's faxing me over a contract.
This isn't just any venue that became available. This is the dream one. This is the gorgeous hotel with the view of the Plaza Lights. It has a rooftop ballroom, great food, and sparkly chandeliers.
All of a sudden, I can see my wedding again.
I know what I want. I know what colors I want, and I can picture it.
I hang up the phone and scream with joy.
Phillip comes rushing into the doorway.
I look at him and can't help it.
Happy little tears start trickling down my face.
I look up to the sky and say thank you again.
I'm pretty sure I just got a wedding gift from my parents.
I excitedly tell Phillip what just happened.
He tilts his head at me. "But that means we're gonna have to do couple's counseling. I thought you were vehemently opposed to that?"
SCREEEECCCHHHH!!!
CRASH!!
BOOM!!
I'm pretty sure the truck carrying all my wedding dreams just crashed into a brick wall, burst into flames, and blew to pieces on impact.
My heart drops.
Oh my gosh. He's right. I can't have this wedding. I'm going to have to call her back and cancel.
I cover my face with my hand. "You're right, Phillip. I forgot. I got so excited that I forgot I can't afford it. I'll have to call her back and say no."
Phillip pulls me into his arms. "Princess, you want the big wedding. You never let anything stand in your way of getting what you want. Why are you gonna let a few couple's counseling sessions get in our way?"
"You know why, Phillip."
"I talked to Danny about it. He said couple's counseling was a breeze. They met with Lori's pastor like twice."
"It's who they want me to do the counseling with."
He pushes my chin up gently, so I have to look at his gorgeous brown eyes. "What do you want?"
"I want the big wedding, Phillip. I really do."
"Then let's do it. We'll go to counseling, make everyone happy, and we'll have the wedding of our dreams."
"What if counseling breaks us up?"
He looks at me seriously. "Really? Nothing will ever break us up. And I'm calling Mr. D right now." He grabs his cell, calls Mr. D, and says, "Hey, it's Phillip. We're considering going to marriage counseling. I agree a big wedding is what her parents would've wanted, and it's what she wants. But before we agree to your terms, I want to make one thing clear. We'll go to couple's counseling. We'll talk about our future marriage, but we will not be talking about her parents. You cool with that?"
Phillip nods his head and smiles at me. "Awesome. Then you can be the first to hear. We're getting married on January thirteenth at the International Hotel in Kansas City."
"Yes, sir. I'm excited too. I'll tell her."
Phillip gets off the phone and gives me a smug grin. "Done."
I wrap my arms around his neck. "I love you, Phillip. You always know the right thing to do. How do you always know the right thing to do?"
"You used to hate that about me, remember?" he teases.
"That's true. Sometimes it got in the way of my fun. It's funner when we're on the same team."
"It is. I think you better call the wedding planner right away, and then I'm taking you out for lunch. We seriously need to celebrate."
I call the wedding planner. Her name is Amy, and we connect right away. I can't wait to meet her! We talked about my budget, how I want the event to flow, and all of my ideas. I email her a powerpoint full of all my wedding inspirations.
She tells me, "We have exactly ninety-nine days until your wedding. Normally, the Save the Dates would go out ninety days in advance, so that's the first thing we need to do. Do you have a guest list you can send me?"
"Uh, well, no," I say. Then I give her the quick version of our first date engagement, how we've been engaged for less than a month, why we want to get married quickly, and how adorable Phillip is.
She's like, "Wow. Well, I'm glad you're used to moving fast because we have a lot of decisions to make and a short time to do it. Your wedding will be here before you know it."
I can't even believe it.
I'm going to be Mrs. Phillip Mackenzie in ninety-nine days.
I start to sing in my mind. Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety-nine bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, your wedding will soon be here. Hey!
I agree to get our guest list to her by next Sunday. She'll order the Save the Dates, go through all our ideas, and make a plan.
I immediately call Phillip's mom and tell her we have a date and a location. Normally, my first call would've been to Danny and Lori, but I was afraid since Mr. Diamond knew, she might get pissed if she heard it from them and not me. Then I called Lori and Danny and gushed about it some more.
I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Like in case no one noticed.
I know I should do what it says in the wedding magazines and take each one of my bridesmaids out for a drink or a special lunch and ask her to be in my wedding in a very personal and loving way.