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‘Mum – maybe you can do the flowers for the church and bistro, and Lilian can do the posies for me and Abi?’
They both nodded in satisfaction. Each thinking they had a superior role to the other.
‘Sounds like the best idea, love,’ Mum said. ‘The venue will be where we spend the most time, so it needs to be right.’
‘It would be my honour to do your bouquet, Holly. Something modern and fresh, avoiding the obvious. A hydrangea-focused bridal bouquet for my new daughter-to-be.’
‘Daughter-in-law-to-be,’ Mum corrected, putting her arms around me.
‘OK, well that’s that sorted,’ Abi said, raising her glass to change the subject. ‘Happy Wedding Day, Holly!’
Mum hugged me and whispered, ‘my little girl all grown up and getting married.’
Lilian blew me a kiss. ‘Welcome to the family, Holly,’ she said. ‘The new Mrs Ballinger, just like me.’
My phone was pinging every other second with messages of good luck, love, and other random questions. Auntie Pam asking for directions, George’s cousin had food poisoning, the girls from school were having a WhatsApping frenzy to agree a venue for prinks. It was bedlam. I switched it off and threw it in the bedside drawer so I could concentrate on getting ready. I’d showered, shaved, moisturised and Spanxed, and it was time to chill out and have my hair and make-up done. Abi was a miracle-worker when it came to slapping on the slap. She’d worked in theatreland for years and knew exactly how to optimise the female face – any face, in fact. I handed myself over to be transformed from pale-faced mannequin to cherubic-bride, sitting eyes-closed in the light as she brushed on foundation, blusher, highlighter and bronzer, and spritzed me with face-hairspray to make sure everything stayed put.
‘OK Mrs B-To-Be, I think I’m done,’ Abi said, spinning my chair around to face the mirror. I stared at myself for a good ten seconds, looking my whole face over in confusion. I couldn’t believe it was me. My bridal face. Enormous eyes and cheekbones for the first time in a lifetime, and a lighter, brighter look about me. I was the same and different all at once.
‘Oh. My. God. How did you do this? What did you…? I hardly recognise myself,’ I said, hugging her tight. ‘Thank you so much, I love it.’
My red bob had been pouffed up and wound around big Velcro rollers in the hope of creating a magnificent hair mushroom once it was set, and Abi was brushing my shoulders and arms with sparkly powder.
‘Alright love?’ Dad called, peeking around the door and giving me a big smile. ‘Bloody hell! Look at you!’ I jumped up and hugged him, his grey beard tickling my face.
‘Look at me? Look at you! You look so handsome,’ I said, brushing a speck of lint from his shoulder.
‘I’ve got something in my eye,’ he said, shaking his head and wiping away a tear.
‘Wait until you see her in the dress,’ Abi shouted from the en suite.
‘Jeff’s already here,’ Dad said, looking at his watch, ‘nice and early as always. We should probably leave at 11.30 a.m. to be on the safe side, so you’ve got half an hour.’
Ahmagadddd. It was time to put my dress on. I was a bundle of butterflies with a stomach full of Champagne. The lady in the shop said not to underestimate the amount of time it would take to do up the sixty-eight buttons. I shimmied it on and felt extremely proud as it slunk down into position. Over the past six months, I’d slowly morphed into someone else’s body, and now Abi had given me someone else’s face. George was getting an entirely new me. I wondered if he’d found the card I’d hidden in his blazer pocket yet. I’d written him a little message and popped in a Polaroid from our uni days, when we were fresh-faced and obsessed with each other. And thepièce de résistancewas that the card played our song. Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’. He’d love it.
Abi finally emerged from the bathroom in her bridesmaid’s outfit. A vision in sparkling navy with a plunging neckline and a mermaid fishtail.
‘Beautiful,’ we said to each other in unison.
‘Can you do me up?’ I said, pointing at my back. She wiggled over and stood behind me, taking time to make sure every single pearl button was perfectly in place.
‘Absolutely gorgeous,’ Abi said, smiling at me in the mirror. ‘Are you ready?’
‘Eight years of ready,’ I nodded.
We made our way downstairs to Mum, Dad, Lilian and Jeff, who were ready to go and looking immaculate. Mum and Lilian had chosen different shades of purple with Dad and Jeff suited and booted in top hats and tails. Jeff smiled at me and tipped his hat.
‘Your carriage awaits, m’lady,’ he said, pointing outside to his be-ribboned Volvo.
Dad held his arm out, this time with something in both his eyes.
‘I’m not giving you away, you know that, don’t you?’ he sniffed. ‘You’re out on temporary loan as far as I’m concerned, and we’ll see how George gets on.’
‘You’ve had plenty of time to put him through his paces,’ I said, rolling my eyes. ‘We’ve been living like an old married couple for years. This is just the official bit that we didn’t get round to.’
Mum, Lilian and Abi gave me a kiss and we had a quick selfie before they jumped in their cab.
‘We’ll see you up there,’ Mum said with a wave.
