Page 114 of Fathers of the Bride

That was enough for me to say, “I think Miles and I will handle telling people what’s happening.” To Miles I said, “I think we should get this over with.”

He inhaled deeply and pulled himself together. “Yes, we should.”

I was actually quite nervous as we walked down the terraces to the altar at the very bottom of our backyard. Near the altar, Lucas lingered—apparently no one had clued him in. The Lincoln-Collins crew followed us. When we reached the altar, Miles and I turned to face the guests. We looked at each other a moment and then I began, “I—we, have an announcement to make. The brideandthe groom have decided not to get married today.”

The guests made distressed groans.

Miles took over, “The wedding has turned out to be just a bit more than the kids were looking for, so… they’ll be getting married at City Hall.”

The guests made some relieved noises then began looking around awkwardly.

“Everything’s fine. Everyone’s happy,” I quickly added. “So, we’re going to go ahead and have the party as planned.”

Obviously, you can’t return catered food, so why not?

Miles said, “Andy—Andrew and I have decided to renew our vows since we have an officiant right here.”

“We’d like to invite anyone of you who’d like to reaffirm your marriage to come up and do so.”

We turned around to Lucas, and as we did, I noticed the Lincoln-Collinses getting up and coming down the aisle behind us. Terry and Pudge, Bradford and Lissa. There was something wrong with that picture, though, and they realized it just as I did. Giggling a bit, the couples reformed into their current configuration: Terry and Lissa, Bradford and Pudge. I noticed several other couples lining up behind them.

Lucas had a terrified look on his face. I glanced back and saw guests filling up the aisle. He asked, “Can I charge you by the couple?”

“You’re not charging us at all.”

“Damn, I knew I forgot something. Well then, let’s make this fast. Do you—say your name—”

“Andrew Lane.”

“And you—say—”

“Miles Kettering-Lane.”

“Take each other to be your lawfully wedded spouses—”

“We do!”

And that’s when the guests released the butterflies. They floated and fluttered above us. Magical and perfect.

Epilogue

Kelly Collins

All right.So I wasn’t exactly truthful. I didn’t tell my fathers what I really wanted. I lied and I plotted, and I kept doing it until I got what I wanted. I mean, that’s what a good daughter does, right?

By the way,mywedding was perfect. There is a gorgeous little chapel in Yosemite. It was just Avery and me, and a witness we paid. We’d gotten the license two weeks before. I did wear the dress we’d had made. I loved it. I know it was silly to bring it camping with us, but it did make me feel just like a princess. And sometimes that’s just what a girl wants to feel like.

At first, we’d planned to take a few selfies and let that be it. But after a barrage of texts, emails and phone messages from my dads and Avery’s family, we relented and allowed them to attend the wedding via Zoom.

The ceremony was simple and straightforward, and would have come off without a hitch, but my fathers were crying so loud we had to stop for a moment and mute the volume on our phones. Afterward, we went to this little hole in the wall restaurant just outside the park for veggie burgers.

They were delicious.