Chapter 3 Before the wedding

The next few weeks became busy for Joana and Andrew as they were both caught up making preparations for the wedding. They had a lot of things to do, starting from planning the budget along with the other sponsors, getting a license- she needed granny Jean’s parental consent for this as she was still a minor, choosing a location, creating the guest list, sending out invitations, choosing the right wedding planner, planning the reception, the rehearsal dinner, choosing the wedding attire, amongst other things. And they only had about a month to get everything done.

There was barely enough time for the couple to hang out alone anymore, as there were plenty of things that needed their attention. At some point, Joana thought that maybe she should have given more space to get things planned, but that would mean that she wouldn’t have her wedding on her birthday anymore. She had only one birthday in a year, and she couldn’t wait till the next year before getting married to Andrew. Planning in such a short time was hard, but she knew she could pull it off.

They had chosen the venue; a large garden not too far from where Joana lived. They would place a temporary structure in the middle of the beautiful garden, serving as the wedding hall. She loved outdoor weddings, but since it was a night wedding, she figured placing a tent would be best so the guests wouldn’t freeze from the night’s cold.

Things were beginning to take shape as they were in the final week before the wedding, and they had taken care of almost everything. They had help from grandma Jen and Andrew’s parents, along with a few friends and family members.

They didn’t even know if they would have time to plan their honeymoon. But one of Andrew’s wealthy relatives would not hear of it, and decided to give them one; a free one-week getaway for the couple on one of the private resorts owned by the relative. They had already started receiving wedding gifts even before the wedding!

Joana didn’t do much for the bridal party, as all she needed was her best friend standing beside her on her day. They had both gone to get their dresses fitted, and Joana had found the perfect wedding gown. After the fitting, she would meet up with Andrew for the cake tasting, then go back to making other preparations for the wedding.

The rehearsal dinner, on the evening before the wedding, was very simple and didn’t take a lot of time. Joana didn’t have a lot of family members as her father was the only child and her mother had been very secretive about hers. She wanted to scrap the dinner off before, as it would take time and money and she felt there was no point since she didn’t have anyone except her grandmother to invite but it was too late, Andrew’s relatives had traveled from far distances for the wedding and they were looking forward to the dinner, where they would meet her before the wedding. She didn’t want to disappoint them so she decided to leave it on the table.

They would have the bachelors and bachelorettes party in their respective venues after the dinner. Andrew chose to do his at a nightclub, he didn’t want to disturb the relatives who were staying in his home. Grandma Jen allowed Joana to do hers in the house, she would sleep in a hotel nearby and come back the next evening to lead Joana to the altar.

“Drink, but don’t drink too much dear, ok? I don’t want you having hangovers in the morning, I’ll be back tomorrow evening before the wedding starts to wish you a happy birthday,” grandma Jen said to her, giving her a peck on the cheek before leaving the house.

Joana had a lot of fun at her party, forgetting her grandmother’s instructions, she took a lot of alcohol. There was plenty of time to have a hangover as the wedding wasn’t until the evening, she thought. The bachelorette party had many of her high school friends. They had brought in some male strippers and Joana rode on them like a donkey, forgetting herself. The party lasted till the morning, and everyone had fallen asleep in the living room.

Sandra was the first person to wake up. She checked the time, it was almost 3 pm. Joana’s grandmother would soon be back and she definitely would not be pleased to see her granddaughter asleep with two naked men on the couch on the day of her wedding. She began to wake everyone up, but no one agreed to budge. She then went upstairs to the attic and brought out an air horn before returning to the living room. The sound from it made them all jump to their feet and they began to pack up and leave, cursing at Sandra. The house was a mess and grandma Jean would soon be back. They didn’t have much time to clean up and they still had to get dressed before the wedding.

“What do we do now?” Sandra asked Joana, who was still feeling a bit tipsy.

Before Joana could give a response, grandma Jen walked into the house, unable to recognize her living room.

“Did you just wake up?” grandma Jen asked them.

They both nodded their heads truthfully. Much to their surprise, she gave a hearty laugh.

“Well, I’m glad you had fun before your big day. I wish I was able to do a party at my time. The night before my wedding, I and your grandfather, along with the remaining family members, all went to church!”

The two girls started laughing upon hearing what grandma Jen said.

“You both should go upstairs and get ready, while I figure out how to clean this up. The guests will soon start arriving, and they might want to see the bride in her house before heading to the venue.”

“Thank you, grandma!” Joana said before going upstairs with Sandra. She knew she could always count on grandma Jen anytime.

They both went into Joana’s room. Sandra heading to the closet to bring out their dresses which had been nicely packaged by the designer and placed them on the bed.

They went to take their baths and then Sandra started doing her make-up first before she would help Joana with hers. After they had both done their hair and make-up, Sandra put on her dress. She was now fully ready and it only remained for Joana to put on hers.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. It was grandma Jen.

“You both look beautiful,” she said as she stepped in.

“Thank you,” they both responded.

“The guests have started arriving, some of them are bringing their gifts here. I have been the one receiving them as I was preparing the living room but now that it’s done, I need to go and change, I’ll need someone to be receiving the gifts while I’m upstairs.

“Sandra, I can see that you’re all done, can you be a dear and assist us?”

“No problem, grandma J!” Sandra said, before turning to Joana.

“You won’t need any more help with your dress, will you?”

“No, I won’t, thank you,” Joana said, “I will manage on my own.”

“Ok then,” Sandra said as she wore her shoes and left Joana’s room.

“Happy birthday my love,” grandma Jen said, walking towards Joana to hug her, before leaving her room.

“Thank you, grandma,” Joana said behind her.

Now that she was alone, she had a few minutes to think about how her day, or her night rather, would be. She walked to the door and locked it. A few more hours and she would be a married woman, she thought as she threw herself excitedly on her bed.

And then, the headaches started.