Though they'd tried to keep their guest list small so as not to end up hopelessly over-budget, there seemed to be an infinite sea of faces that Joey's eyes swept over as he walked up to the altar. They had considered inviting some of the kids from camp who had watched their relationship blossom over the years they continued to work there, especially since so many of them had played a part in pushing them closer, but agreed in the end it would be better to send them all a postcard with one of their wedding photos. But present were friends both old and new, including Isaac; Jackson and Ellie both there with their boyfriends; and Megan and Elise, who had gotten married the previous year. The eagerness of those in attendance to witness the wedding of two people they held so dear was palpable - though none of them nearly so eager as Joey himself. He was practically falling over himself to get to the end of the aisle, where he hugged first his parents, and then Lauren's.
"I would tell you to always make her happy," her dad said to him in a low voice. "But I know I don't need to. You've been doing that for the last five years."
Joey felt his throat tighten again, dangerously close to tears even before Lauren walked down the aisle. "I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life. That's a promise."
It was an effort to keep himself calm as the commotion died down and Lauren's entrance music began. A few soft gasps and whispers broke the otherwise awed silence; he recognised his mom's quiet crying. Joey turned around slowly.
Though he had seen Lauren already, the sight of her walking down the aisle towards him, hands shaking as she cradled Diane tightly against her chest but still smiling radiantly, was enough to make him bawl again. But he pulled himself together as much as he could so that by the time she reached him, after sitting Diane in her own seat at the front with her grandparents, he could take her hands. Her eyes darted around nervously, so he pulled one of her hands to rest on his heart, knowing it was a little fast, a little unsteady, but that it would be a reassurance to her nonetheless.
"Look at me," he whispered, and she did. She seemed to relax immediately, her eyes softening, and he smiled.
"It's finally here," she whispered, and her voice revealed just how much excitement there was beneath the surface of the nerves, and he'd never felt more sure that this was the best decision of his life.
They'd agreed beforehand that she would read her vows first. "Or I'll be too nervous to listen properly to yours," she had told him. So he waited as she took a deep breath and unfolded hers.
"Joey," she began, her voice cracking immediately, and she had to take a moment to pull herself together.
"I love you so much," she continued, this time the crack worse than before, and a few tears spilled from her eyes again. "Shit, this was a bad idea," she said, and everyone laughed, Joey with immense affection.
"I love you so much," she tried again, persevering through the tears. "And I have for almost as long as I've known you. I wish I could say I've loved you the whole time, but as some of you know, we got off to a little bit of a rocky start."
There was laughter from selections of the crowd, and that seemed to relax her even more.
"But now things couldn't be more perfect, and I'm so grateful that I get to spend every day for the rest of my life with my best friend in the whole world. You're always right behind me to support me, lift me up when I need it, give me a reality check when I need it, celebrate my accomplishments with me, or sometimes for me when I can't. You've never given up on me, no matter how difficult things have gotten. You've always made me feel like this relationship is exactly where I belonged. So I'm the luckiest to be marrying you today. You have the biggest heart, and I still can't believe the amount of love you show me every single day. You're the best friend, the best partner, the best dad, and I know there couldn't be a better husband. And I promise to never take that for granted, and to always give you the love you deserve in return."
He could tell she was desperate to kiss him, but settled for kissing his hand instead, and he didn't want to let go of hers. But now more than ever he needed her to be his wife, and for that he had to get through his own vows.
"Lo. I have loved you from when we first met, but I've continued to fall more in love with you every day since. I love you more than I'll ever be able to tell you, but I'll still make it my life's goal to make sure you know."
He could feel himself starting to cry, wishing more than anything that there was a way to get her to understand what he felt in his heart, but it defied any explanation. She had carried on through tears, though, and so would he.
"You've changed my world in ways I never thought were imaginable. You taught me what it felt like to have someone give me as much unconditional love as I gave them. You made me a dad," he said, struggling over the word and unable to even look at his daughter, though if he had he would have seen her looking attentively at her mama as Lauren gave her a brief smile.
"It hasn't all been easy, but it's all been worth it. Because getting to laugh with and be loved by you every day is the greatest joy of my life. Getting to spend every day with my best friend, who I can talk to about anything, is everything I could ever ask for. When I've had a bad day? You're the first person I want to talk to about it. When I have good news? You're the first person I want to celebrate with. When I was nervous about my proposal? Guess who I wanted to talk to?"
She giggled softly at that, tears falling from her own eyes, and he wasn't sure if it was residual from her own vows or the words he was speaking now. Either way, he desperately wanted to kiss her, and they were so close, so he pushed himself through to the end.
"I'm so excited to spend forever with you. And you know you've met the right person when even forever with them isn't long enough. But I promise to cherish every single day that we have, and never let you forget how much you mean to me."
Half of their friends and family were openly crying, but Joey was only focused on Lauren, blinking rapidly as she stood in front of him, gripping his hands.
"You have to let go, baby," he whispered, and she giggled again slightly, letting go so that he could slide her ring onto her finger. When it was her turn, he couldn't stop staring at the ring on his own finger, marveling at how it looked as though it belonged there already, because she was the one who had put it there. Finally managing to look at Lauren again, he saw her biting her lip, trying to hold back tears that had never really gone away throughout the entire ceremony.
The officiant declared them husband and wife, and without another moment's hesitation Joey moved in to kiss Lauren, her arms barely even wrapped around his neck before he swept her off her feet, holding her as close as he could as he kissed her in the moment he'd dreamed of for years. The dream couldn't even compare to the reality, though.
"I love you," he murmured, breaking the kiss just to tell her before he kissed her again, not giving her a chance to say it back but not needing to hear it when he could feel it in the way she deepened the kiss, unabashed in her love even in front of so many people, something for which he had untold admiration for her.
Once he set her back down on her feet he found it impossible not to keep pressing his lips back to hers in tiny, soft kisses, but they eventually managed to get back down the aisle.
"You're my husband," she whispered, her voice awed, when they got a moment away from the congregation.
"You're my wife," he said, equal awe in his voice. He repeated it, laughing with the simultaneous absurdity and rightness of it.
"I'm your wife," she said, kissing him again in an effort to hide her tears. When she pulled away, she interlocked their fingers and then held their hands up so their rings were on display. Seeing his next to hers, he couldn't help crying again.
"Stop it, JoJo," she said, but there was only affection in her voice, and her fingers wiped his tears away with impossible gentleness.
"I just love you so much," he said.
"I love you," she murmured, kissing his cheeks, then his eyelids, his lips, his nose, his forehead, his jaw, his neck, his hands, his chest. Each one a promise of a lifetime of happiness, not a day that wouldn't be filled with love.
