I let out a long sigh. My work day now included being TV-ready, which added a layer to my already tough job. But then again, Kristen wasn’t even close to being a bridezilla. I liked her, even if her other half could be a loose cannon.
I hovered in the wings because there wasn’t much for me to do in the scenario. But Kristen seemed to like having me along for the ride, to be her defender if other vendors gave her any trouble. Carter was off in a different part of the salon, getting an old-fashion straight razor shave.
It wasn’t necessary, but apparently, capturing the shiny blade coming down on his cheeks made for good TV and he loved being on camera, which made me wonder how much of a personality he had once the cameras weren’t pointed his way. Kristen saw something in him and that’s what mattered.
The salon had their shit together because they moved through all ten hairstyles in record time. One of the junior stylists even came over to me with a brush and hairspray, to tame down the back of my hair.
“Hey everyone,” I said in my tour guide voice, clapping my hands to try to break through the noise.
The chatter was at a fever pitch so I grabbed a champagne glass and spoon and tapped until the group finally quieted.
“Okay friends, we all need to get on the bus so we can head to our next stop,” I shouted. “We have to stay on schedule, folks! Let’s go.”
Thankfully the group listened and loaded up, and I breathed a sigh of relief as the bus pulled out.
“Ready?” Nora asked me.
“Onward,” I answered with a nod.
Our next location was the bridal dress shop where the bridesmaids were trying on their gowns for the first time. Once again, I was there to supervise and hover in the wings. Kristen’s gown was finished but she needed to do some last minute adjustments to the length of the veil. The film crew was busy capturing Carter’s comical reactions to the bridesmaids’ fitting, so Kristen and I had a few quiet moments to ourselves while we waited for the seamstress.
She gazed at her beautiful veil, which was hanging from a high hook and sort of looked like an elegant ghost.
“Come look at this lace,” Kristen said to me.
I joined her as she studied the gossamer fabric.
“It’s stunning.”
She nodded. “And there’s a story to it. My great grandparents were from Ireland. When my grandparents got married, my grandmother’s relatives in Limerick stitched violets for the trim of her veil. They’re a symbol of faithfulness. The bad news is that the veil wasn’t stored properly, so it’s not usable anymore, but I still wanted to honor the tradition. I tracked down some craftspeople in the same town and had them recreate it. So I’ll be wearing a tribute to my grandparents when I …”
She broke off as tears filled her eyes.
“Oh, Kristen, I’m sorry,” I said as I swooped in to give her a hug.
I thought about my own grandfather, and how devastating losing him would be.
“I can only imagine how hard this is,” I said.
“I miss him so much,” she sniffled as we pulled apart.
An idea occurred to me. It was pretty out there… but watching Kristen mourn her grandfather pushed me to at least give it a shot.
“Do you have many photos of your grandfather? Or videos?” I asked tentatively.
“Yeah, I’ve got tons,” she nodded as she wiped away her tears. “He was shockingly tech savvy for his age. He used to send me video notes all the time. Just silly stuff. He even got into sending me ‘fit videos.’”
“He worked out?”
Kristen laughed at me. “Not quite. ‘Fit’ like ‘outfit.’ He was a dapper dude. Hats and everything.”
“That’s actually perfect,” I said as the idea started to take shape.
“What is?” Kristen frowned at me.
“Stay with me, because this is going to sound weird at first,” I began. “I worked with a couple a few years back who absolutely loved the movieAvatar. They went to see the movie on their first date and it became a theme for them. So much so that they incorporated it into their wedding. There were references to it on the invitation, and their cake toppers were the characters dressed in bridal outfits. Oh, and she walked down the aisle to the theme song from the movie.”
“Big, blue aliens,” Kristen said slowly. “Okay. That’s a choice.”
