‘And it’s our dream to start a family as soon as we get back from honeymoon,’ gushed Miranda. ‘I entered the competition on a whim and who’d have thought we would actually win? We thought our wedding planner was called Jenny though. Will there be two of you?’ Miranda swung a glance around the studio as though expecting Jenny to appear at any moment.
Thinking quickly on her feet, Libby said, ‘Jenny has moved to another position but I’m so excited to work with you to make your wedding dreams a reality.’
‘That’s such a shame. We got on like a house on fire when she called to tell us we had won and even had a little chat about our plans for the wedding.’
‘I’d love to talk through your ideas for the wedding and work together to make this a very special day for you both,’ Libby said encouragingly, reaching across to the table to grab a notebook and balancing it on top of the file on her knee. After spending time with Julia and her scrapbook, Libby was thinking cosy winter elegance with a red ruby bouquet boasting a mix of King Protea, roses, gerbera daisies, fritillaria, waxflower, silver brunia, tulips and gorgeous greenery, or an exquisite frosty blue theme, again featuring roses, anemones, berries, dusty miller and silver brunia.
‘Black,’ replied Miranda.
‘Black?’ queried Libby, not quite understanding and taking a quick sideward glance towards Guy.
‘Black,’ Miranda repeated. ‘Everything has to be black. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always wanted a black wedding; it just seems like it would be so elegant and elevated. I’ve never conformed to the status quo or social expectations. I’ve always enjoyed being bold, being different and trendsetting, and I can’t believe you’re actually going to make this happen. I can’t thank you enough, Libby.’
Libby looked between Miranda and David, waiting for their faces to break into a smile and tell her that they were joking, but after a few seconds had passed, Libby realised they were deadly serious. She was hoping that she didn’t look as shocked as she felt. Trying not to get flustered, she wrote BLACK in capital letters on the top line of the notebook, remembering Flynn’s words:Whatever the client wants, the client gets.
Libby couldn’t understand why they’d been selected if they’d stated this on their application form. Surely Flynn and Jenny would have had a meeting about the image that Flynn was looking for? She knew he wanted a wedding that would appeal to the masses, with winter berry blooms and burgundy bridesmaids’ dresses. Or black-tie elegance with a beautiful, classy interior, twinkly lights, winter warmers and possibly a horse-drawn carriage that would deliver the bride to the entrance of the countryside manor house.
‘Black,’ repeated Libby again. Just in case she hadn’t heard right the first few times.
‘Black,’ echoed Miranda. ‘Black dress, black cake, black flowers. No colour at all.’
‘But with lots of sparkles and all things shimmery,’ added Libby. Despite the challenge ahead, Libby was not going to be beaten. With sparkles at least she might have something to work with.
‘No sparkles, no shimmer. Just black. Plain black.’
Libby looked sideward at the rails of gorgeous wedding dresses on the far side of the room. Not one of them was black.
Miranda gave David a loving smile and placed a hand on his knee. ‘It’s not all about the bride though, is it? There’s two of us getting married here. David has had his own wedding dreams too and it’s only fair we should both be able to have what we want on our special day.’
Libby had no idea what was coming next, but she had a feeling that whatever it was, it was going to throw another huge spanner in the works. She turned her attention to David. ‘Absolutely! Tell me all, David.’
‘Neon green,’ he replied with a huge smile, putting his hand under his tie and flicking it upwards.
‘Neon green,’ repeated Libby, turning the words over in her mind. Her mind flicked back to a few years ago when actress Blake Lively had stepped out in a neon green Versace suit, which she wore with a chic pair of multi-coloured pumps to promote her latest film. Unafraid of taking risks when it came to fashion, she’d looked self-assured, and the look became even more vibrant as the night went on, with the bright lights accentuating the outfit’s unusual colour. But David wasn’t Blake Lively … or even Harry Styles, another global superstar who could pull off any outfit.
Miranda began to laugh. ‘We had you there for a moment, didn’t we?’
Libby exhaled then threw back her head and laughed. Relieved. ‘You did! I mean, a black and neon green wedding!’ She placed her hand on her heart.
‘Even though it’s David’s favourite colour we do appreciate that it may be a little out there, so we have decided to stick with just all things black.’
Libby could feel the smile sliding from her face again. For a moment she’d thought they’d been joking about the whole colour scheme. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Hearing a stifled cough from the corner of the room, she knew that Guy was finding this all very amusing.
‘If it’s black you want, then it’s black you shall have,’ declared Libby, trying to stay upbeat about the whole situation but wondering how Flynn was going to take the news.
‘Just to clarify, the whole theme is black, even down to the baubles on the Christmas tree,’ added Miranda with a smile.
‘I’m sure we can do whatever you want,’ replied Libby, silently processing it all. ‘This is one of the most special times in a couple’s life, planning a celebration of your love and sharing it with your nearest and dearest. I’ll work with you as best I can, bringing everything together for your special day. Now, do you have your diaries with you? We need to pencil in a few dates where we can chat about your flowers, cake, guest list and invitations…’
Miranda reached down to her bag. ‘I’m one step ahead of you there.’ She pulled out a ream of paper and handed it Libby. ‘Our guest list, along with their addresses.’
Libby was surprised and impressed at how organised Miranda was. With the wedding being on Christmas Eve the invites would need to go out as soon as possible, so it was fantastic to already have all the addresses to hand.
‘Everyone invited to the day is invited to the reception and here are some extras for the evening.’
‘Thank you,’ replied Libby.
‘And as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, the invites are to be black with white writing to maintain the theme. Oh, and before I forget…’ She delved into her bag once again and pulled out a folded piece of paper. ‘Here’s the contract. Signed, sealed and delivered.’
