Marianna sighed. Yet again, she questioned why she always had to be the one to deal with this sort of thing. "Why don't you just move the tree into UPChuck's yard? It's not like he's got terribly many trees there right now. One more would be nice. In fact, you could move half of the Foret into his yard without a problem." Note to self: call landscaper about own yard.

"But what if Shirley doesn't want to move?"

"Just ask! By the gods, girl, you are becoming more annoying by the minute. Now, will you just get into the dress already?" Mari still couldn't believe the dress that was lying on the couch in the Bride's Room. She also couldn't believe that UPChuck had rented a castle for the day. Dream had refused to help him in the plans for the wedding, except to say that the jewel-encrusted dress and the castle were way too much. Mari had contributed, "This is the weirdest, most backwards wedding I'm ever going to attend. And I personally have had two weird weddings!"

The dress, which UPChuck had picked out in the summer, had been adapted to become a winter dress. It was still covered with jewels, but with sapphires instead of diamonds. The back was no longer low-cut, the front was less low-cut, and the sleeves were full-length. Still, as Marianna now said, "It's a fairy-tale dress... for a fairy-tale wedding. And even if you're an elf and not a fairy, you're going to put that dress on right now and get your butt into the horse-drawn carriage waiting downstairs so we can get to the chapel on time!"

Dream bit her lip and slowly climbed into the dress.

"Checklist time! Something old?"

"Heirloom veil."

"Something new... the dress. Something borrowed?"

"I borrowed Uly's mother's heirloom earrings."

"Oh, his parents are coming? It's been a while since I've seen them. And I guess the sapphires count as something blue."

"Yeah, his entire family is coming... mine too, but I don't really have as much family. So the majority of our friends get to sit on my side of the chapel."

"You're so lucky," Marianna said wistfully. "I wish I could have had a real wedding, instead of that shotgun job in the Club."

"But you've got so many interesting memories, so many stories to tell your children. And I'm sure if you asked, Alan would let you have a second wedding on your first anniversary."

"Bloody hell, yeah. He'd have to." Mari grinned. "Do I look okay?"

"Well, sapphire blue isn't your best color, but you're pulling it off alright."

"Don't you feel like an ice queen in that?"

"Shh! You can't let Daniela hear that-- she wants to be the only queen around here! My leg can't take any more of her 'preventative medicine'." Dream grimaced. It had been almost two years since Mari had gotten Dream drunk at the dance contest, and when it rained, her leg still got sore. Shirley still complained about the drill holes, too.

Marianna smiled consolingly. "Well, forget that. Today's the happiest day of your life. Let's go!" She grabbed Dream by the wrist (the jewel-encrusted wrist, don't forget) and pulled her down the stairs.

"I don't know, I happen to like you pregnant and barefoot."

"Oh, shut up. Your tie's crooked." She reached up and adjusted the bow tie, the same blue as her dress. "There, that's better."

"How's Dream?"

"More nervous than a butterfly in a field of cats. Uly?"

"The captain is in his ready room."

"Excuse me?"

"Have you seen his 'tux'?"

"No... why do I get a bad feeling about this?"

"Be right back, I have to ush for a while." Alan took the arm of a newly-arrived guest, probably a relative of UPChuck since Marianna didn't recognize her, and led her down the aisle to her seat. Mari decided to check on Dream again.

"My parents aren't here yet," Dream said, on the verge of hysteria.

"Breathe. Calm down. They will be here. I entrusted Polly with the job of getting them here on time, so they will be here."

"A five-year-old is in charge of getting my parents here?!" Mari rolled her eyes. What was it going to take to calm her down-- an elephant tranquilizer?

"They weren't here yet, so I had to wait a while, then I had to usher your aunt to her seat. I finally got back to Mari, and Dream was in hysterics because her parents aren't here yet--"

"She's not going to back out, is she?" UPChuck looked as panicked as Dream had.

"No! Anyway, we finally got her calmed down-- you wouldn't believe the calming effect Amanda can have on a person-- and then Mari said she wouldn't let you gunk up your hair."

"Now what am I supposed to do?" he wailed. At Mari's insistence ("Trust me, you'll feel better if you do"), he had gotten his hair cut two days ago. It was still very... bouncy. It wasn't something he was used to. It didn't look bad, it was just different, and that kind of different didn't go well with the outfit he was wearing.

He'd gotten a white tux, trimmed with sapphire blue to match the overall color scheme. But his jacket was cut in what the ushers had dubbed "Prince Charming style." Essentially, he looked as if he'd just gotten back from Disney World after having mugged Prince Charming for his clothes. Alan thought it looked more like he was about to captain a yacht, but anyway... UPChuck was starting to have second thoughts about this fairy-tale wedding-- and about getting his hair cut.

"Don't worry, Mari said she'd be back here in a minute--" Just then, Marianna swept into the room, the giant bow on the back of her dress swishing with every move.

"Gotta tell ya, hon, this bow is a bad thing. But it's too late for that, I guess. Now, what's the problem with your hair? I think it's cute. Ye gods, what a get-up. Well, nothing we can do about that now. Sit." She put her hands on his shoulders and forced him into a chair.

"Nice to see you, too."

"Boy, you're just as petrified as she is." Mari grinned. "Too much preparation, I think, is what makes people nervous."

"No, I don't think so," said Alan. "I heard about your last-minute panic at our wedding."

"Hush ye. Now, for this hair... I refuse to put gel in it. Really, it's very cute."

"I don't want it to be cute."

"I know, you want suave, sophisticated, prince-ly. Well, you're not getting it. Cute works for you."

UPChuck stuck his tongue out in response.

"See? Cute. That's no witty repartee, there, that's a cute, childish response." Mari had her hands on his cheeks, rotating his head to get different views of the hair, and smacked him lightly as she said this. She ran a comb through his hair, parted it differently, then combed it so it didn't have a part. "Well, that's the best I can do for you."

"Better."

"Don't be so nervous, hon. What's the worst that could happen?"

"No foreshadowing!" UPChuck and Alan cried in unison. A huge silence followed.

"Yes, sirs," Mari said quietly.

"Mum, what are we going to do with the babies?" Polly asked. Mari wasn't really sure-- she and Alan were, of course, in the wedding party, and so was Polly, as flower girl. So far, the twins had been passed about the chapel, being gushed over and babbled to as adults are wont to do with bitty babies. This was fine with her and Alan wandering around taking care of last minute details, and it was great right now, with Dream and Polly sitting in the little room off the entry of the chapel holding them. But there needed to be something more permanent, and as Mari turned toward the chapel doors, she found it.

"Dani, I need a favor."

Marianna's younger sister was dressed rather soberly, for her, but was still stunning. She was wearing what would be termed a "little black dress," made of Chinese silk with a floral pattern woven in. The black-on-black pattern was only visible in certain light. She was also wearing flats, and as Mari approached her, she was stunned to find that she was nearly two inches taller than Daniela.

"What kind of a favor?"

"The kind where you watch my kids for the duration of the wedding."

"Oh, that kind! No prob, I love them kids." As if to prove this, she strode over to where Dream was sitting, and, after offering the same calming advice everyone was giving Dream, plucked Amanda and Jamie away and made her way to her seat.

"Mari?" Dream asked. "What was that all about?"

"She's going to watch the kids for the duration. I guess she's going to sucker her date into helping, too."

"Who is her date?"

"Beats me. Probably not from around here, since I don't know him." Marianna glanced out of the room and down the aisle of the chapel. At the altar, UPChuck, Alan (the best man, and Mari agreed with this wholeheartedly), and one of the other two ushers (both of whom Mari knew only vaguely from high school) were standing, occasionally leaning toward each other and saying something. Most of the chapel was filled now, and the few straggling guests were being seated by the final usher, who then scurried up the aisle to join the rest of the male half of the wedding party.

Dream was standing up now, rubbing invisible wrinkles out of her skirt, and being fawned over by Tianne and the other bridesmaid, a girl from the Newshregsburg Symphony Orchestra. Mari hadn't met her until the last fitting for their dresses-- again, she felt a twinge of guilt at not being able to throw a bridal shower or bachelorette party for Dream. I'll just have to surprise them when they get back from the honeymoon... gee, I wish I could go to Vail.

Polly was busy torturing the ring bearer, one of UPChuck's younger cousins, by telling him horror stories about ring bearers tripping and losing the ring. "Polly, quit that," Mari said absently as she moved across the room to where Dream's father was standing. He was dabbing at his eyes, apparently emotionally overcome by the weight of this event.

Marianna placed a hand on his shoulder. "Losing your little girl, huh?" she said.

"No, no, it's not that," he replied. Then he said the one word that summed up everyone's feelings about this day. "Finally!"

Ohmigod, Mari thought. It's Father O'Dreery. Alan and I never went to that counseling thing. She glanced over to Alan, wondering if he'd noticed. He winked at her solemnly.

The ceremony was the short, secular version of the traditional Catholic wedding, wherein Dream got a chapel and a priest, but no religious requirements to bother UPChuck with. It lasted less than half an hour, getting to the important part quickly. Dream and UPChuck had written their own vows, but neither of them had written anything long or terribly gushy. Mari silently thanked whatever powers there were in the universe.

"Dream, it's been a roller coaster crossbred with the scrambler," Uly said, "and I'm thrilled to finally say I will love you, cherish you, and enslave myself to you forever." Gentle laughter followed, and Mari and Alan snickered.

"Hmm, I like that last part!" Dream said, eliciting more laughs and snickers. She smiled nervously and softly cleared her throat. "Uly, all those years ago, when I first met you, I knew we had something special. And even with all we've been through together, that initial feeling persisted. I promise to you that it will last forever."

Father O'Dreery, and indeed most of the congregation, was now close to tears. Mari knew she would be sobbing in a moment. Besides finally seeing these two married, this had been the most touching ceremony she had ever attended. The priest finally composed himself and spoke the final blessing. "By the power vested in me by the Town of Layla:), I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may--"

But he was too late. The newlywed couple were already liplocked, wrapped in each other like no one had ever seen them before. Soon, they stopped with the kissing and just clung, Dream sobbing happily into Uly's shoulder.

"Um, girlfriend, we still got a recessional, and you're ruining your makeup," Marianna said softly, tapping Dream on the shoulder.

"What? Oh, yeah." She grinned sheepishly, reached up and kissed UPChuck one more time, then walked down the aisle and out of the chapel.

As they made their way out, they were showered with bird seed. But this was nothing compared to the unexpected snowfall that had started while they were inside. Everything was covered with white powder, and in the late afternoon sunshine, it sparkled rosy. Mari looked up into the sky, snow falling onto her face, and couldn't see a cloud anywhere. Where was the snow coming from? She leaned down and grabbed a handful-- cold, and it started melting. It was real...

"Well," she said to Dream, "I always did say you two would get married when Layla:) froze over."

"That you did," Dream said gleefully. "I wonder how this happened. It hasn't snowed in Layla:) since we were in high school, at least."

"Quite right, my dear. Quite right..." She watched as Dream stepped through the snow, clinging to Uly's arm, then stopped at the horse-drawn carriage. Mari watched as all the single girls gathered round, and Dream tossed her bouquet. Daniela was standing right next to Tianne, and as the bouquet flew through the air, it was evident that one of them would catch it. At the very last second, as the bouquet almost hit Dani's fingers, she dropped her arms and let Tianne catch it.

When Mari asked her about it later, Daniela shrugged. "I had to let her get it. She's engaged. I'm nowhere near ready to settle down." It was appropriate, anyway, for a moment later when UPChuck threw Dream's garter, Marlboro caught it.

Mari grinned. "I guess we know who's slated for the next wedding."

"When will you be back from Vail?" Mari asked.

"I don't know... in time for the dance contest," Dream replied.

"Mid-January." Mari shook her head in disbelief. "With that long a honeymoon, you'd better come back pregnant."

"We'll do our best," interjected UPChuck.

"Congrats, sweetie," Mari said, reaching up and kissing him on the cheek. "You kids have fun, okay? Send me a postcard if you find the time."

"We will," Dream smiled.

"Hurry up, or we'll miss our plane." UPChuck was jumping up and down impatiently.

"Mac's taking you in a private jet, UPChuck, I don't think he'll leave without you." Mari rolled her eyes. "Buh-bye!" She wrapped an arm around Alan's waist, and he slung his arm around her shoulder. They stood in the mysterious ankle-deep snow, still in their formal outfits, and waved as the plane lifted off the ground, heading north.