Sweet Till The End

22 - Shopping and preparations

"How about this one? It's too much, isn't it?" I asked.

The girls – Lucy, Juvia, Levy and Mavis – were sitting on the couch, staring at me in yet another wedding dress. I had tried on at least eleven dresses and this was the third store we had visited already. I never knew deciding a wedding dress would be so hard. I would think that one was good but then the girls would disagree and back into the changing room it was. It seemed that the girls had turned into serious people today and they were acting like judges.

"Hmm," Juvia tapped her chin in thought. "Turn around for us."

I sighed but did as told. The dress I had on had a ridiculously large, poofy skirt that was full of ruffles and sequins. It wiggled awkwardly as I turned and when I faced my friends again, they shared the same look of displeasure as I did.

"Yeah, I don't think it's working," Lucy commented, a serious look in her eyes.

"Something less... out there," Levy agreed.

I sighed but nonetheless waddled back into the change room. Earlier, we picked out many dresses that we thought might work and piled them into the fitting room. Now, the pile had shrunk since so many were already done and disliked.

I put on the next white dress, a slimmer shape with a weird wavy, silver pattern around the chest. The zip was a struggle but once it was good enough, I walked out to model it.

"What do you think?" I asked with an exhausted huff.

Juvia tilted her head to the side in thought and then scrunched up her nose in distaste. "It's not a really nice style I think. It doesn't suit your face and figure that well," she said.

"I agree. Now, next," Mavis instructed.

So I went back to the fitting room once more. I swear, these girls were having way too much fun – most likely because it was the first wedding we get to plan and they were excited. I couldn't wait until it was their turn; I wonder how they would feel when they have to try on so many dresses. But really, they act like they're experts or something. Since when did they know so much about dresses?

I know, they're being great friends and I do appreciate it. Planning weddings are just stressful, that's all. I love them and I'm glad they're doing this with me and helping me. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Unfortunately, the next dress was rejected. We went through a few more dresses and they still weren't good enough. I was starving and tired when I lazily tugged on another white dress. When I looked in the mirror, I was slightly shocked. The dress felt like my style – it was simple yet elegant with a subtle sparkly pattern and lace trimmings. I spun around, glancing at it from all sides. It was definitely something I could see myself wearing at my wedding. Maybe this was the one.

I walked out to show my friends as they actually looked pleased. Lucy twirled her finger and I turned around as per told.

Juvia nodded. "It hugs your figure nicely, no bad puffiness, and it has a sophisticated design. Yes, I think this could work."

"Indeed," Levy agreed. "What do you think Erza?"

"I like it," I said, a smile automatically appearing on my face.

"Great. Then this the one. You look absolutely beautiful and Jellal will think so too," Mavis told me.

I blushed and thank her shyly. Just thinking about Jellal and I's wedding was making me nervous yet excited. And to think that I was wearing the dress that I would wear on that day.

Now that my dress was sorted, I had a fitting to make sure it fit right and we adjusted anything that wasn't a good length or something like that. Next, I gathered the rest of the outfit. We journeyed to many different shops and bought shoes, and accessories. We bought silver earrings and a silver hair clip with a shiny flower on the end of the same colour. As cheesy as it was, I planned on wearing the necklace with the red gem that Jellal gave me. I cherished it greatly since I got it from Jellal and it reminded me of all our times together and I wanted to wear it on my special day.