The 22-Year Friendship

Ch. 16: Elvis the Groomsman

A week after G.I Blues premiered in the U.S, James and I surprised the public with our wedding. Before we were finally able to say, "I Do," the process before actually getting married was stressful to complete in five months.

My mother and manager helped me plan my wedding. My manager was in charge of all of the wedding's details, such as decorations, cake, food, and the guest list. My mother helped me pick out bridesmaids dresses. I went to pick out my wedding dress with Madison and Elvis. Madison was my female best friend, while Elvis was my male best friend. It made sense to bring them along. It took a long time to find my perfect dress because I would looked beautiful in any dress I tried on. I was being hard on myself. Some how, I would manage to find the faintest flaw, but the flaw would be unrecognizable to anyone else.

I put on a long wedding dress that was lace. It had a unique design to the dress, but it was still elegant and simple at the same time. The store assistant helped Madison put on my vail and train for the dress, and I added my pearl earrings. After that, the assistant and Madison stared at me for a while.

Me: "Do I look ok? What do you think?"

Madison: "You look beautiful! This has to be the dress, I'm all for it. Turn around and see yourself in the mirror!"

I turned around and saw myself looking like a royal princess. This was the wedding dress I imagined wearing when I was a little girl. I began tearing up, but they were tears of joy. When Elvis came out from the bathroom and saw me in the dress, he was in total shock.

Elvis: "Lovie, you look gorgeous. Y'all see a beautiful youngin' here?"

He gently touched my face and stared at me for a couple of seconds. He let out a slow sigh and continued talking.

Elvis: "You sure look pretty. Mama would have loved to see you in that dress. I never told ya this, but she wanted me to marry you someday, but the timin' was off for the both of us. Anyways, James will have the same reaction as we did today. Possibly even better!"

I smiled. Elvis and I reminisced about how our friendship all started. We saw so many things have gone through a lot of changes since 1955. Elvis' career skyrocketed, he became rich, and was well-known to the public. He sadly lost his mother in 1958, while I grew up to be a young lady almost to be married. My career skyrocketed as well, and I was well-known as a dancer, choreographer, actress, and model. My mother now had three more children to take care of, and Jack was no longer single! He was now dating Madison, which was not as bad as I had expected it to be. Madison moved to California after transferring Colleges, which meant more girl time for us!

Picking bridesmaids and groomsmen with James was difficult for me, easy for him! For his Best Man, he picked Jack.

Me: "Honey, why did you pick Jack instead of your own older brother, Henry?"

James: "Henry has been so busy touring with his band, I rarely talk to him. Jack and I are very close now, and I think he should be my Best Man. For my groomsmen, I know I want Elvis, Wilson, and Henry to be one."

Me: "Elvis will be excited when you ask him to be one of your groomsmen. Madison will be my maid-of-honor, while Elizabeth, cousin Luna, and Yvonne Craig will be my bridesmaids."

James: "Sounds good to me, hun."

James and I wanted a small wedding, so we agreed on only close friends and family members to attend. When my manager helped us make sure everyone was on the list, she revealed that we had 55 people on the list. I thought, not bad!

James, our parents, and I looked for a perfect venue to have our wedding at. The Whitelake Chapel was a fancy church that was beautiful on the inside and out. The outside of the Chapel had beautiful white roses and a abundant garden in the back. It was more like a forrest of flowers and it took our breath away! The inside of the church had beautiful stained glass windows that were illuminated by the sun's rays. The walls were eggshell white and the seats were brown mahogany. The setting was just beautiful, and I knew this was the right venue to hold our wedding.

*******

Wedding Day!

When I woke up the morning of my wedding, Madison, Luna, Elizabeth and Yvonne were already wide awake and getting my dress, shoes, accessories, and make-up ready. I slowly peered at the clock and it was 8 o'clock. I immediately got up, and was greeted by the girl, squealing and jumping on my bed.

All: "Today you're getting married, Lily!"

The girls helped me get ready. My makeup artist, Lexa, dolled me up for my special day, while Madison helped me fix my hair in an up-do hairstyle. Yvonne and Luna began to get dressed. The bridesmaides were wearing a pastel-light pink dress with white heels. Elizabeth was still asleep, as this was the result of her late-night sugar rush she had.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I was already fully dressed with my make-up and hair finished. Madison looked through the peephole to see who it was.

Madison: "It's your mother with Michael, Nat, and Susan."

Me: "Let her in, but make sure Nat won't play with anything. And keep anything valuable or small enough for Susan to eat away from her."

She opened the door and in came my mother. She stopped after she saw me all dolled up and ready in my wedding dress. She began to tear up! Michael and Nat looked handsome in their tuxedos, while Susan looked adorable wearing a replica of the bridesmaids dress with a small tiara. My mom acted like she was calm, but in her eyes was a sense of excitement and nervousness. The girls gave us alone time, and we quietly had a brief conversation.

Mother: "Lilly, you look beautiful. Your father would be proud of what you've grown into... A beautiful young lady that has achieved many great things. I know you wish that your father was here to walk you down the aisle and witness you marry a handsome and nice guy. You know that engagement ring James gave you? That was the wedding ring I wore when I was married to your father."

I gasped. I was in shock when my mother revealed that my engagement ring was her wedding ring when she was married to my father. It somehow made me feel closer to my father.

We finally woke Elizabeth up and she immediately got herself ready. It was now 11 o'clock. Only one hour until the wedding started! Somehow, it didn't take Elizabeth that long to get herself ready, so we headed quickly to the church when she was done.

We arrived at the Chapel just in time to quickly and carefully get out of the car and get ready to head into the church. James was already inside the church with the priest. I must of look really nervous, because Elvis told me not to be nervous. The bridesmaids and groomsmen linked arms and waited for the cue for when it was their turn to walk down the aisle together.

Robert walked me down the aisle, and seeing James smile made me not nervous anymore. I glanced at Elvis, and he gave me a smile as well. My mother was tearing up, and so was my grandparents from both sides of my family.

James and I exchanged vows, kissed, and were officially married. Word of the wedding was out, and a bunch of the press and paparazzi were outside the Chapel. I was surprised by how many of them showed up, but then I realized it was because Elvis and I were in one place at the same time. But I was now married.

We headed to my family's mansion for the reception.We only allowed two professional photographers we were close to into the property. Everyone was having a blast! Music played while people ate lunch and talked to one another. James and I were greeting everyone who came and gave us gifts. Everyone complimented on how I looked stunning and how James looked handsome. We took pictures with our families, bridesmaids, and groomsmen. Then, everyone did a toast to the new couple. Elvis looked handsome in his white tuxedo, but he always looked handsome no matter what! Elizabeth was excited to link arms with Elvis, and I could tell she almost fainted!

He walked up to me and James, and congratulated us on becoming a married couple. I noticed a woman hiding behind Vernon and Dee.

Elvis: "James and Lilly, I would like you to meet Gabriella Duncan. She's a friend of mine."

James and I: "Hello Gabriella, nice to meet you."

Gabriella: "Likewise. By the way, you can call me Gabby for short. Gabriella is only when my mother gets real upset at me."

She was really funny and sweet. But, I wondered how she associated with Elvis. I didn't pay much attention to it because it was my wedding day. Wondering about a random girl Elvis knew wasn't my business.

I was now Mrs. James Prescott, an eighteen-year old who was married to her Prince Charming.