Now the part I’ve been avoiding. I look up and lock eyes with each of my men.
I’m desperately trying not to cry; my whole heart is standing in front of me. My three beautiful kids are standing on either side of the aisle, looking absolutely adorable. Then waiting for me at the end, the five men I plan to spend the rest of my life with. They are all in black suits, but their vest and bow tie colors are different.
Bodie, as the official groom, is first in an emerald green vest that brings out his red hair perfectly; Silas’s vest is burnt orange, making his blue eyes pop; Callum looks jaw dropping with a maroon vest, and then there are the twins.
Orin looks like a gothic god with his black hair and piercing green eyes, popping against his cream vest. Odin's only color is his white hair. His tux, vest, and bow tie are black. They all completely take my breath away.
Bodie locks eyes with me, and it doesn’t look like he’s holding it together well. All the guests are standing now, waiting on me to finish making my way down the aisle. I can’t believe this is it; I take my first step towards my future. I’m barely keeping myself from bawling my eyes out.
My grandmother is standing in the middle of the arch. She steps out, meeting me, and grabs my hand after I pass my flowers to Chris.
“Everyone, you can be seated. Isla, I thought it would mean more to you if I officiated than if it was some stranger, if that’s okay with you?” she softly asks, walking me the rest the way down the aisle.
“Oh, Maw-Maw, I’d love that.” I lean over and kiss her cheek.
As we make it to the end, she turns to face the crowd, and I walk up to face the next step in my forever.
Maw-Maw turns her mic on and addresses the group of our friends we have gathered. “Welcome, everyone, I want to thank you all for coming to celebrate my beautiful granddaughter’s wedding to these five wonderful men. Their relationship may not be what most consider normal, but seeing the pure amount of love they have for each other, it shows how even things that don’t make sense to most can be something amazing.
“A lot of y’all aren’t aware, but I had the privilege of raising Isla and her sister. I know we wish more than anything that her parents could be here to see the woman and mother she has become, but in dark times comes the light. Saige and Isla were definitely the light in mine. Bodie, Silas, Callum, Orin, and Odin; I can’t tell you how eternally thankful I am that y’all came into Isla’s life and have not only shown her what real love is supposed to be, but also made sure my great grandbabies know what a real dad looks like.
“I will forever be in y’all’s debt for giving them such an amazing family. Now let’s get y’all married!” She grabs the planner Nathan was holding for her and turns to face us again as the crowd claps.
I take a deep breath as she starts speaking. “Our lovely bride and grooms decided to write their own vows. Isla, go ahead dear.” She smiles at me with tears in her eyes.
“It took me days to decide how I was going to say what I wanted. It's hard to fit everything I feel about the five of you into one short speech, but hopefully, I’ll accomplish that task.” I look up and make eye contact with each of my men, all who have tears in their eyes. “When I moved back home, I was running from a past full of trauma and regrets, all I wanted was to be back with my grandmother and hopefully start the process of the kids and I healing and starting over. Then, one by one, each of you popped up into our lives, and I was so scared at first, but there was just something about each of you.”
I pause for a second, taking another breath and trying to hold in my tears. “I had never felt so safe before. Maybe it was the very extensive therapy, or the fact my soul just knew none of you would ever hurt the kids or me. I couldn’t understand why five gorgeous men would want a single mom that had more baggage than an airport, but you all took the time to show me what real love is supposed to be. You took every single scar and fear I had and made me stronger. I will forever be grateful for y’all coming into my life when you did. I think the universe knew I would need each of you.”
Now the hard part is to get through without ugly crying and looking like a raccoon. “Odin, you have shown me what a real protector looks like. You’re always the first one to make sure everyone is safe, not just physically, but you make sure I’m safe mentally and emotionally as well. You always make time to check in and give me a couple minutes to vent and talk through things, even when you’ve had a long day at work. The way you immediately jumped into dad mode with the kids blew me away.” I have to stop and wipe a tear from my face, but Bodie holds out tissue and softly dabs it away for me, being mindful of my make-up.
“Orin, my sweet sweet man, you’re my gentle one. My soft spot to land, you are the one who will hide away with me when the day gets too hard to face., my voice of reason. You remind me that it’s okay to not always be okay. You have helped me drop the wall I had around my heart, showing me for the first time that a man can communicate with more than anger and harsh words. That being gentle isn’t a weakness but a strength. Thank you for showing our kids how to deal with their emotions in healthy ways.” The man in question is now sobbing, and I’m not doing much better. Speaking is becoming more difficult being choked up.
“Callum, you refuse to let me forget the woman I can be. You push me to be better and stronger, and remind me that I can stand on my own two feet. You never back down when things are getting heated, but instead you show me how to have healthy disagreements. You teach me it’s okay for me to speak my mind. You’ve given me my voice back and ensured our kids will never lose theirs.”
“Silas, you remind me it’s okay for me to let go sometimes. It’s okay to let my childish side out. That I'm still allowed to have fun and be more than a mother. You have brought laughter and joking back into our lives. You’ve given our kids back their childhood full of fun and joy. You show them it’s okay for them to be silly and just be kids.” The tears are streaming down all of our faces now, and trying to keep from ugly crying.
“And Bodie, you are the epitome of a mother hen. You show more care and consideration than anyone I’ve ever met. You’re always the first one up to make sure your family has a good breakfast to start the day, you go out of your way to make homemade snacks so our kids always have something healthy to eat, and you're the first one to help when someone is sick. You’re the glue that holds us all together. I love you all so much and I just want to thank you for loving the kids and me.”
I’m sure by this point my make-up is running down my face. “The guys decided to write their vows together and let Bodie read it, so it doesn’t take ten years. So, Bodie, go ahead.” Maw-Maw turns toward the guys.
“Isla, we wanted to do this together to show our combined commitment to you. We had always said we wanted to be single instead of finding five separate women, since most people don’t understand our relationship with each other, and it’s always been an issue, so we had all given up. Then this beautiful, blue-haired, tattooed woman came barreling into our lives and showed us what we were missing. You have been the light in a dark tunnel, showing us how we were just going through the motions each day. You brought us three amazing kids, and they have shown us what unconditional love really is.
“You have brought out the best parts of each of us and balanced us out. We are so thrilled for you to be carrying our daughters and adding two more beautiful babies to our family. Watching you walk down the aisle looking so breathtaking will forever be one of the best memories of our lives. We never thought we would have families, much less getting to have one together. Our love for you and our kids is unlike anything we have ever experienced. Thank you for giving us the chance to show you how you and the kids should be loved. Thank you for coming into our lives and allowing us to step up in the role of dad to the kids.”
“Isla, you may place their rings now,” Maw-Maw says as she motions for Chris to hand them to me. Each ring is black with a different color band in the middle. Bodie’s is forest green, Silas’s is blue, Odin’s is all black, Orin’s is white, and Callum’s is red. The colors match their personalities perfectly.
“Bodie, you can now place Isla’s ring on her finger.” He takes the ring from Silas and slides it on. We chose a band to match my engagement ring, specially made so the stones that represent us on each ring sit comfortably together.
“Okay.” Maw-Maw has to take a minute to clear her throat since we all are crying tears of joy now. “It is with great honor that I now pronounce y’all… husbands and wife! You may kiss the bride!”
Bodie dives in immediately and pulls me in for a deep kiss, then Silas pulls me away and makes sure to nip my lip as well. Callum runs his hands into my hair at the back of my neck, so he doesn't ruin the style as he pulls me in as close as possible. Orin makes it short, sweet, and romantic, making sure to tell me how beautiful I look, and Odin–not to be outdone by the others–spins me and makes a show of dipping me for his kiss.
“Alright, alright, lovebirds. Save it for tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to introduce you to the Aarons!”
Here goes the first step into my happily ever after.
Isla
