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I don’t miss the glare Shelia shoots her mother.
“Do I need to do damage control?” I touch Shelia’s shoulder, offering a calm hand.
She sighs at my presence. “Wish you were here five minutes ago, Cassie,” she mutters.
I give her a soft smile, but she adds, “Not your fault. It all escalated so quickly.”
I nod, understanding that fact to my core. I level a look at Beth and Martha. The two are a hoot but have been up to no good every time I’ve seen them together. “Please, check with me, Rosie, or Shelia before you give any member of the party any more medication. Deal?”
I can’t help the twitch of my lips and the two older women notice and grin. Martha, the paternal grandmother, gives me a salute. Beth nods solemnly in agreement. I turn to Shelia, trying not to laugh at the death glare she is giving her mother-in-law.
“Do you know how Melissa handles Valium? Has she had it before?” I pull my phone out of my pocket, prepared to Google the shit out of how to handle what’s coming next.
With a long, drawn-out sigh, Shelia closes her eyes and takes a calming breath. “I don’t believe my daughter has ever had one before. That’s why I’m worried. I don’t know if it’s gonna cause her to pass out and sleep or if it will just give her a bit of numbness and allow her to still experience her day.”
I pocket my unused phone and find Rosie nearby. “Can you…” is all I get out when Rosie smiles and waves her phone at me.
“Already Googling.”
I nod my thanks. I’ve trained her well. On event days, it’s like we can communicate with just a look alone.
I put my hand on Shelia’s elbow as we walk to where Melissa is, still teary-eyed.
Shelia mutters, “I could just strangle my mother-in-law right now, Cassie.”
In a low tone, I tell her, “I know, but that wouldn’t help matters. Just take a deep breath. It’s time to smile and pretend everything will be okay for Melissa.”
“Oh, Cassie, you’re here. I’ve been asking for you. This is all just horrible.” Melissa whines and reaches out for me. I step up to her and give her a hug. Hugs seem to do wonders when you’ve got a bride on a path to meltdown.
“Melissa, it’s going to be fine.” I lean back, looking into her glassy eyes. “Now, I hear Grandma gave you something to take the edge off.”
“Yes, I can already feel it working.” She hiccups.
“That’s good. Can you tell me, have you ever had a Valium before?”
“Hmmm. No, I haven’t.” She bites her lips.
“Okay, well, let’s just go with it and see what happens.” It’s time to get things back on track. I let go of Melissa’s shoulders and snap out to no one in particular, “Let’s dry her face and touch up the makeup. Then let’s get this beautiful dress on our gorgeous bride. We’ve got ten minutes until the photographer is ready for photos.”
As if I snapped my magical fingers, everyone around me jumps into gear.
Makeup is fixed quickly and to everyone’s surprise, the dress goes on like a glove without so much as a grumble and doesn’t cause a single second more of an issue.
Twenty minutes later, a starry-eyed bride poses for pictures with her family and bridesmaids. The Valium definitely helped calm her down, and Melissa will be able to get through the wedding. I’m not sure how much of the details she will remember. Good thing we’ve got a fabulous videographer here today. Everything she can’t remember will be immortalized in a video. Everything but her meltdown in the bridal suite.
* * *
“Wow, that was one hell of a bullet we dodged today,” Rosie says next to me while the newlyweds drive away in the limo. All the guests mingle around as we head back inside to wrap up.
Chuckling, I nod. “Tell me about it. Though, I won’t pretend those grandmas didn’t keep the day from feeling stale.”
Truth is, when you’ve been planning weddings for nearly ten years like I have and plan about forty a year, sometimes they run together. Being based out of a single location, we often plan weddings at the same venues. So it’s always fun when a bride wants something a little different or out of the box. A new venue, a new challenge when it comes to details. I’ve taken on more and more destination weddings just for the change in scenery. But just when a wedding starts to feel a little like the one before, I pray for something exciting to happen. In the case of today’s wedding, two feisty grandmas made my prayers come true.
“I’d take two up-to-no-good grandmas over caterer issues or drama between the bridal party any day,” Rosie adds.
“Same.” I laugh.
Rosie and I go our separate ways. I need to make sure everything is good with the coordinator here at the hall, while Rosie checks in to make sure the leftover cake and gifts end up going home with the correct people tonight.
