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The attractive wedding planner smiles. “Just let me make a few phone calls.” She picks up her phone and begins speaking Greek to someone. It’s odd because I feel like Sem can understand what she’s saying. Does he speak Greek and didn’t tell me?
* * *
“No, you can’t come in! It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding!” I tell Sem as he tries to come in where I’m getting my hair and makeup done by a local Greek woman.
“But I miss you.”
The stylist comments, “Aww, that’s so sweet.”
“I miss you too,” I say, rather embarrassed to be saying that out loud for everyone to hear and a bit ridiculous as we’ve only been apart for a few hours, but it’s the truth. And that’s why I think it’s right to marry him, even if it’s not real. I know from talking to him every day for the last five months what kind of man he is, and physically, my body wants to be near his all the time. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I’m sure we will have our bumps along the way, but right now, I love him. “But you have to wait.”
“I’ll be here outside the door.”
The stylist and I share a look that says, ‘that-is-the-sweetest-thing.’ Then she gets back to my makeup. I look in the mirror as she works, and I don’t think I’ve ever looked so attractive. It’s all very natural but, at the same time, accentuating my green eyes and full lips.
When she’s finished, I survey her work and allow her to help me with my dress. There wasn’t much choice in my size, but what I found fit perfectly and has a whimsical art nouveau feel with a lot of white lace and a mermaid shape. I would’ve never picked this dress had I been given more options, but it was perfect when I saw my reflection. I feel it’s even more right with my hair and makeup done now.
The stylist looks at me and nods her approval. “You look like a beautiful bride.”
I smile and thank her for all her work. Then I say loudly, “I’m ready now!” The door opens, and Sem immediately steps in.
I thought he’d be amazed by me. What I didn’t expect was me being dazzled by his appearance. To say he cleans up well would be an understatement. In his wedding attire, he looks like the model groom, wearing a tan suit that I question whether he already had in his suitcase as the fit is perfect and a white flower in his lapel. His long blonde hair is loose and falls down his back as straight as an arrow. But my real moment comes as our eyes meet, and his striking grey eyes are fixed on me with his mouth open.
I do a fun little spin. “What do you think?”
Sem says nothing but takes me into his embrace. He smells like the hotel soap and a little bit of a clean scent I can’t put my finger on. Then he leans down and kisses me.
However, as he does, the stylist says from behind us, “Not too much kissing before the pictures,” and then runs over to fix my makeup.
We both smile. “You look amazing,” he says. “You wear this dress like a goddess.”
Just then, the wedding planner from the hotel arrives to usher us away for an hour of pictures with the photographer. She reminds us of our schedule as we’re walking out. “Then you will exchange your vows in a special location overlooking the island. Afterward, we’ll have a private romantic dinner waiting for you near the same place you exchanged vows with a superb view of the ocean and the coast by candlelight.”
From when I woke up this morning until now, everything still seemed like a bit of a joke we were doing this, but now, seeing him like this, I know this is all very real, even if it’s not legally real and I am both ecstatic and nervous. I take out my phone and put it on selfie mode, “We need to take a picture and let people know what we are doing.”
Sem gives me a concerned look. “I’d rather we tell people in person. I’m supposed to let my work know of any marital changes. Of course, I will tell them of my change of residence and our marriage, even if it’s not officially legal, as soon as I return, but I don’t want them to see anything on social media and think I was going against my contract.”
“I understand,” I say, momentarily disappointed. “But, let’s take one for ourselves then. I want to remember this moment with a picture by my own hand.”
He poses with his face next to mine in the most sincere and serious fashion. I almost lose my focus. I snap the picture. Then, without giving him any warning, I take another where I’m kissing him. Suddenly, his serious expression disappears, and in that picture, he looks ecstatic too. Satisfied, I close my phone and put it back in my little lace bag. Those two pictures encapsulate this moment for me and will mean more than the others the professional will take. The photographer will only see us from the outside. Those were the real pictures of our emotions.
For the next hour, we do all the romantic shots a newly married couple in Greece would do. Now, it’s time for our vows. We wrote them together last night, so I don’t know why I’m feeling as nervous as I am now. We both know what we are going to say, and we’re going to be alone when we do it.
Although Sem did say he was still working on his and, I wouldn’t hear his final version until now. We begin once the wedding planner gets us into position, and she moves off to a private distance with the photographer. My heart is beating a mile a minute as I look up at Sem, and he takes my hands in his large ones.
In this moment and in this location, I can’t help but think about couples pairing off before there were state religions and such a thing as marriage sanctioned by the government. What we are doing now must be reminiscent of how two people committed themselves to one another when it was just this simple pair bonding. I believe Sem and I are truly meant to be for one another, even though I’m not the superstitious one. And here, in this setting on the mountainside and almost completely alone, it definitely cannot be wrong.
Sem begins with his vow, “From the moment I met you, I knew I had to protect you. And I never wanted you to leave my side. Over the months, my first instincts have only been fortified by our personalities and hearts getting to know one another and becoming so intertwined I could never imagine a future without you. So Ivy Jefferies, with this ring,” he takes the plain silver ring that matches his that we found in town for less than twenty Euros yesterday. “I promise to protect and cherish you, to be your fortress in life, and to always keep a flame alive for you in my heart until my last breath.”
I’m overwhelmed with emotion as he gently slides the ring on my finger and tries to kiss me. “Not yet,” I whisper. “I have to say my vows, and then we kiss.”
“Sorry, I forgot,” he whispers back.
“Sem,” I say, looking into his grey eyes, wondering if this is all really happening because it seems too good to be true. “I vow to love you as you love me, through all difficulty, darkness, and worry. To always strive with you and not against you, and to work together with honesty. I also vow to celebrate our happiness, hopes, and dreams together every step of the way and to be always with you on our path in life. With this ring,” I slip his plain silver band on, “I pledge all of this to you.”
Sem watches me as I slip the ring onto his finger and then leans down and, just before kissing me, whispers. “Now Wife?”
“Now, Husband,” and he kisses me. I swear to myself while his mouth is on mine; this is the most romantic thing that has ever happened in my life.
