The Final Hours as a Bride

You wake up startled by the alarm clock. You realize that perhaps that blend of lemon balm and chamomile tea you drank to calm your nerves wasn’t as mild as you thought it would be.

You stretch, grab your phone, switch off airplane mode, and the messages you’ve been waiting for throughout the last 540 days of wedding planning begin to arrive:

“The big day is finally here!”

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You find yourself overwhelmed by the flood of messages from friends, family members, and vendors asking if you're feeling calm — which, ironically, only makes you more anxious.

You decide there’s no way you can reply to everyone and move on to your final bridal rituals: breakfast, a shower, your skincare routine, a checklist of everything you need to bring to the venue, and finally, a call to your Groom so you can share one last conversation before becoming husband and wife.

Upon arriving at the wedding venue, you wonder whether it was really necessary to be there six hours before the ceremony, as your makeup artist had asked. Still, you trust her and choose to prioritize living your day calmly.

You exchange kisses and hugs with the venue manager, the decorator who has been there since early morning setting up the scene, and then head to the bridal room.

The music box is playing nothing but hits: High School Musical, Hannah Montana, RBD, and the greatest pop divas.

Your makeup artist begins the day with a wonderful spa treatment — one you don’t want to end — and your makeup and hair are done exactly as you had planned during the trial, in peace and with calm.

Lunch break. You share laughs and wedding stories with the team, but you start to feel that familiar flutter in your stomach as you realize the ceremony time is getting closer.

Suddenly, the photographers arrive. The making-of has finally begun.

Two hours of photos and poses — both planned and spontaneous — lead to the most special moment: the groom’s gift.

He chose the flowers you love and the piece of jewelry you had been admiring online for months.

To keep the emotion of the moment alive, you are then surprised by the arrival of your bouquet.

After so long, you are finally able to see with your own eyes a small version of your entire wedding décor in your hands.

Now the moment has truly arrived — you are being called to put on your dress.

A shiver runs down your spine as you accept your makeup artist’s help to get dressed, since the gown has those beautiful endless buttons and a zipper that is difficult to close on your own.

As you step out of the room, you are met with gasps, compliments, and tears. You have never looked as radiant as you do today.

Your final photos are taken with the most iconic bridal accessory: your veil.

You look at yourself in the mirror, take in every detail of your bridal version, and try to etch into your memory the final minutes before saying “I do.”

You go over your vows in your mind, the music, and the order of the procession, and try to focus on your coordinator’s instructions on how to walk in with your father toward the altar. But your heartbeat begins to race, filling your chest.

You look at your father, who has tears in his eyes, and think: “I hadn’t noticed those lines near your eyes before.”

You realize time is passing far too quickly — even more so for him, who still sees you as a 10-year-old on your first day of school, carrying a Barbie Fairytopia backpack.

Deep down, you know it: you are still that dreaming little girl.

Linked to him, with your train being carried by your coordinator, you begin to walk.

With each step, each note of the processional music, each breath of your bouquet of lilies, you realize that all those nights spent planning, the endless Pinterest boards since you were 15, and all the savings made to afford it all were worth it.

After all, standing in front of the closed door, ready to enter, you understand this was the real goal all along.

To walk down the aisle, to find the only person in the world with whom you can imagine growing old, and to declare your love, surrounded by all your other loves.

What happens next, my dear, is a surprise I will only allow you to experience in real life, when your turn comes. The only thing I can tell you in advance is that there is no feeling quite like walking through a long flower-filled aisle, seeing your future ahead of you, with the heart of a young woman in love.