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Benedict and Sophie’s wedding came around a lot quicker than they’d been anticipating.
It seemed like one moment they had months, the next moment it was merely days away.
They had everything planned out, they were marrying at Aubrey Hall, they talked about hiring somewhere but everywhere they visited felt wrong, nowhere had felt right and it had felt like they were never going to find a location for the wedding.
It was only after a weekend at Aubrey, celebrating little Miles’ Christening, after a glass of wine too many later that afternoon Sophie and Kate had been talking about wedding plans for and Sophie just complained about being able to find somewhere suitable.
“Why not here?” Kate had said.
Sophie had spilled her wine, “what do you mean?”
“Well you get someone ordained, file the papers with the registrar's office and you and Ben get married here in the summer…” Kate had explained.
Sophie had squealed with excited joy and threw her arms around Kate exclaiming how she was a genius so loudly that she woke Artie from his sleep and his annoyed barks woke Edmund, Miles and Amelia.
She’d gotten a grumpy look from Mary and Violet having just settled the three children but when they learned the reason for Sophie’s excitement, they were soon forgiving her and on board with the idea.
Benedict had thought it was perfect. He loved the idea of them getting married in the place they grew up, the place they fell in love. There wasn’t a more perfect location and as they wanted a summer wedding, they could host it outside and they could curate it to be the day they wanted, rather than what a venue could afford them.
And little Artie would be able to come and be their ring bearer.
Within three weeks of Miles’ christening they had everything planned and a date set and Sophie had set about trying to find a wedding dress.
Sophie felt like she’d tried on over 100 dresses trying to find the right one but whenever she, Violet, her Aunt Becky, Kate and the rest of the girls had gone shopping, she’d not found the right one. Everything felt wrong.
That was until she was going through some boxes at her father’s house ready to move into the home she and Benedict had bought together, My Cottage was its name, something the rest of the family had found hilarious and Henry had said was rather fitting for the two of them.
It was a cottage of sorts, out in Kent, a lot of land for Sophie to have her own animals and there was space for her and Lily to open their own Veterinary practice, space for Benedict to grow his art and photography business, it was close to the rest of their family and was beautiful. It was every bit the countryside home they wanted.
It was everything they wanted but it was going through some old boxes that Sophie had come across an old sketchbook that belonged to her mother.
She’d known her mother had been creative, that she’d been training to restore historical art pieces but she’d not realised how creative her mother actually was and it was seeing the book that she found her wedding dress.
It had been a design that she’d created herself, that had evidently been her dream wedding dress for when and if she got to marry Sophie’s father.
Richard had been shocked to find the books that Esme had drawn in, and had been even more shocked to find the dress plans, they’d talked about getting married when they’d finished University, but what shocked him the most was the plans had been drawn after she’d been sent away by his father.
There was a little flower girl and little page boy outfit also drawn in the book. Richard had broken down in tears at this point, knowing that she’d been planning for a life back together, including their unborn child in their wedding…
Sophie had known at that point that she had to honour her mother, the dress that was designed was everything she’d wanted in her wedding dress. It was elegant, it was cottagey, it was vintage and it was perfect.
She’d called Gen and Lucy and begged them for help, Gen being a fashion designer, or on her way to being a fashion designer. She knew it was a long shot as Wedding Dresses were harder to design and create but they’d promised to help her.
It had taken a while but they’d finished the dress about a month before the wedding and Sophie had finally agreed to let her wedding party see it.
Lily, Kate, Violet, her Aunt Becky, Mary, had stood in the room with Gen and Lucy when she tried it on for the first time since it had been finished and there hadn’t been a dry eye in the room.
It was after that everything fell into place.
Gen had managed to make the Flower Girl dress for Ameila, who was now 3 years old, the page boy outfits for 3 year old Neddy and nearly a year old Milo.
Sophie had found beautiful green bridesmaid dresses for the rest of her bridesmaids and everything was set.
They’d had their stag and their hen-dos, which had been considerably tamer than Kate and Anthony’s had been and now they were set for the big day.
Sophie was in her old room at Aubrey Hall, Benedict had been set off the Summer House with the rest of the boys and as the sun rose on June 16th, their wedding day had finally arrived.
2 years after getting engaged, months of planning and waiting had all come down to this and it was with a bated breath that Sophie had opened her curtains to look outside, praying for a sunny day.
As she pulled the curtains open she was nearly blinded.
It was bright, it was clear and it was perfect.
She let out a grateful sigh as the door flew open and Kate, Lily, Edwina and the Bridgerton girls and Lucy came running in squealing excitedly about it being her wedding day.
The next few hours were spent getting ready, Lucy and Becky helped with her make up and hair, her nerves never seemed to come. She was giddy and excited about marrying the man she’d been in love with for nearly 10 years, her best friend, her soul mate, her entire world.
They were marrying at lunchtime, when the sun was at the highest point, where it would look the most serene and beautiful by the lake where they would shortly become man and wife.
Gen and Kate helped Sophie into her dress and she was finally ready.
Benedict had asked Hugh, one of his friends who worked with him to come and take photographs, and he captured every moment so far of Sophie getting ready, Henry had been tasked with the photos of Benedict and the men before he would officiate the ceremony.
Peter was serving as an additional Maid of Honour with Kate as her two best friends; he was waiting with her father for the first reveal. She had wanted to keep her dress secret from them both, she hadn’t told her father what design she’d gone for, only that she’d found it, and she had a feeling that Pete would have told Henry and Henry would have told Ben so she kept him out of it.
But the moment Pete and her father saw her in her dress. She knew Benedict was going to be a mess as she walked down the aisle.
“You look beautiful Princess” Richard said as they waited, everyone was assembled, the moment was upon them.
The music was starting, Sophie’s heart was pounding. This was it, “thank you Papa… thank you for everything, for being the first man i loved, for loving me… for being mum and dad… and just… everything”
“Stop, are you going to make your old man cry sweetheart” Richard said a little choked up.
“Papa… it’s inevitable today” Sophie sniffed, feeling her eyes filling with tears.
“True but at least let me make it to the speeches” he said which made her giggle.
“Ready?” he asked her
“I’ve been ready all my life,” she smiled.
Gregory, Hyacinth, Lucy and Richard Jnr were ahead of them, Kate, Pete and Lily had already started walking down the aisle with Amelia, Edmund and Miles and Hyacinth had tight hold of Artie on his lead and they started to walk down towards Benedict.
They’d set the walk up so that Sophie would have to round a corner before Benedict would be able to see her “last chance to change your mind” Richard said half-heartedly.
Sophie giggled “Papa, Hell would have to freeze over before i’d change my mind…” Sophie said with a bright beaming smile and Richard knew she was right, he’d known from the moment Sophie and Benedict were small children together that they were destined for one another, they’d always complimented one another, in the same way that Kate and Anthony where the same, similar in the way they approached life and needed that to be complete…
Sophie and Benedict were different but fit together like a puzzle, from the moment Sophie was all of 8 weeks old when she was placed in Benedict’s crib and he’d reached out and taken her hand… they’d found the other half of their soul.
It was true and utter soulmates.
Richard had to fight back his own tears as he walked his daughter down the aisle. Benedict’s tears fell freely down his face when he saw Sophie, her beauty had always taken his breath away but today she looked like a fairy.
Everything about the ceremony was perfect, Artie had sat nicely by his papa and mama, the rings in a box around his neck, waiting for the moment they’d been needed and by the time they recited their own vows, there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.
“Sophie, you are everything i’ve ever wanted in life, even when I didn’t know what I wanted, you knew what I needed, you’ve completed me in ways I never thought were possible and you’re the girl who saw the man that I could be, the woman who has helped me to be the man I am today and you’ll be the woman to help me become the man and hopefully, one day, the father I will be. You are the other half of my soul. From the moment you were placed in my cot, it was like everything changed, I don’t remember my life before you were in it and I never want to imagine my life without you in it. You are my muse, you are my best friend, my soulmate, you complete me and without you there is no me. We’ve had our ups and downs and a lot of people said we were too young but those people didn’t know us, they didn’t know just how long we’ve loved one another… how long I plan to love you. You’ve been the only girl I've ever loved, my heart was made for you, my soul was always yours and I vow for the rest of our lives, everything I am belongs to you…” Benedict had said, tears falling down his eyes as he spoke and Sophie had cried and been grateful for the waterproof mascara.
Then Sophie had spoken “Ben… you are the light of my life, you always have been, the joy and love of my life. You saw me when no one else did, you loved me when I couldn’t even love myself… you’ve been my staunchest protector, my fiercest guard… you and Kate, but you’ve always been there by my side. No matter what you’ve always been there for me, the first one by my side whenever I’ve needed you… you are my Prince Charming. Today I become your wife and words can’t describe how proud that makes me, how happy that makes me. My heart has always been and will always be yours, my soul has always been yours, it has been connected with yours since the day I was born. You are the reason I was born, you are the reason I exist. I promise to love you every day for the rest of our lives, I promise to be your muse, to encourage you, to remind you to eat… and be whatever you need me to be. Everything I am, I owe to you, everything I will be, will be because of you, we are a team, we always have been, we always will be and no matter what life throws at us, I know we can get through it, as long as we are together, we can accomplish anything. I love you, always have… always will”
Henry was choked up and had to clear his throat before he was able to continue, they exchanged their rings, quoting lines of Lord of the Rings and some of their favourite films to one another before finally, they were finally pronounced man and wife.
Their kiss had to be interrupted by Henry tapping their shoulders as it went on a bit but they were just laughed at by their friends and family.
The rest of the day was more relaxed, an outside party, all the food was buffet style and they had a big BBQ and it was everything they’d dreamed.
Anthony and Kate surprised them with Fireworks right at the end of the night.
It was everything they wanted, the start of their happily ever after, before babies, before the drama that those babies would bring them. It was a perfect end to the perfect day.