Since I was a small girl I have always had a picture of my dream guy but this guy seated cross from me in a restaurant in town was nowhere near that. But my heart was racing and I didn’t know what to expect. One might want to ask “who is my dream guy? “Well, tall, dark (not so dark), and very very handsome. A killer smile and well-built body will be added advantages for him. The guy sitted across me in one of the finest restaurants in town was much more than that.
“You enjoying your food
darling?” “Yes I am, it’s really nice and very tasty thanks for the treat and
you are the best and I love you so very much.” I said still not believing that
God had given me someone so amazing, so sweet and so loving, much more than I
had ever asked for or had ever dreamed of. Here we were in one of the finest restaurants in town
,having a dinner date as we called it, once a week to catch up on our lives and
to remind each other how much we loved each other, about our future plans……..
I spent 4 years of my
life in campus pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in
accounting. Did I really enjoy those classes? I’d say no, I opted to specialise
in accounting because I thoroughly enjoyed mathematics lessons from way back in
primary school, it only came naturally that I would pursue a mathematically
related course at the university. I scored very nice grades in the option and I
opted to specialise in accounting. However I knew deep down in my heart that my
passions lay elsewhere, specifically weddings. I have always loved weddings,
the décor, the flowers, the gowns, the colour schemes, anything big or small to
do with weddings I loved. I stored a collection of photographs in my laptop and
I would make sure I attended at least one wedding should an opportunity avail
itself. I however completed my degree and graduated, landing a job in one of
the prestigious accounting firms in the country. An attractive salary, hefty
allowances and a very competitive and challenging work environment, all good
perks for a graduate if you ask me .However I was not satisfied, one would ask,
why is that? I never really had the urge and desire to go to work every
morning, I soon got fed up with the monotony and long work hours associated
with an accounting career. I decided to ask one of my closest friends, Yvonne
for her advice and hear what she would have to say if I told her I was planning
to resign and venture into the wedding planning industry.
“You must be joking,
hahahaaha; you want to quit your well-paying job for what?” Yvonne asked me in
a rather sarcastic manner. We arranged a quick lunch meeting in town 5 days
later, and I told her exactly what was on my mind; however this was not exactly
the kind of reaction I was expecting from her, considering she was one of my
closest friends who had always been there to support all my ideas and thoughts
since our campus days. She was now a high flying lawyer in one of the leading
law firms locally and was about to make a big career switch to one of the big
international firms.
“So why did you spend all those years in
campus only for you to quit only a year later?”
“But you of all people
have always known that I have a desire for weddings and that I never really had
a desire to pursue an accounting career.”
“Go ahead, just don’t
say I didn’t tell you, bye I have a plane to catch,” Yvonne said and left me
all alone to analyse what she had just told me.
I handed in my
resignation letter a week later to the dismay of my colleagues and my boss who
all shared the same opinion that I would be back at their offices within six
months seeking fresh employment. I then gave myself a 2 week’s break to think,
pray and meditate about my life and seek a clear definition as to where my life
was heading. I then applied for a month long study package at one of the many
centers that offer wedding planning courses.
A year later, I had
only managed to plan 2 weddings, both very small with a guest list of only 50
people. I must say am a bit tad disappointed as the pay is not even half of
what I used to earn back while I was still employed. Most of my bills remained
unpaid and to top it all up, I was still a single woman. Many of my close
friends avoided me like the plague saying that for a graduate I was a complete
failure for a graduate. Pressure was also mounting on from my family’s side to
settle down quickly as they said “your biological clock is fast ticking away”.
I only Yvonne as my close friend to turn to and talk to, and she did help me in
more ways than one, offering me financial support and the occasional shoulder to
cry on.
However, things took a
turn for the better when one day, Yvonne called me up and asked if I could plan
a wedding for one of her clients, a high profiling musician. I was elated and I
literally jumped at the chance to plan the wedding. A week later I got to meet
the musician a week later and we began the planning process. The guest list was
pretty impressive, more than a thousand invited guests and that only meant I
had a lot of work to do, what will all the jumping around and ensuring that every
detail has been taken care of. A blue, yellow n a slight shade of black was
chosen as the theme colours for the wedding and I only had a month to plan the
wedding.
The day of the wedding
finally came, a bright Saturday morning it was. The wedding is to be held in a
garden setup and I am at the grounds by 7am to ensure all is well .I then head
to the reception area to ensure all is well and I must say the décor and flower
setup has been done meticulously well. The ceremony is due to start in a couple
of hours and so I opt to head to a nearby restaurant to have a cup of coffee
when I see him…..
A group of 5 or so guys
are already huddled up in a tent bust practising and preparing for the day’s
activities; my eyes are however drawn to one of the individuals, a slightly
tall and dark guy on one of the microphones singing his heart out. I do admit
he has a beautiful voice and a nice stage presence and I am transfixed on the
spot. I am pleasantly surprised with myself because I never appreciate music,
especially bands. I stare at him, impressed by what I am hearing. He must have
noticed me staring at him because he signals the other band members to stop the
music and starts walking towards me. I quickly snap out of my reverie and turn
to give one of the decorators as to how to arrange the flowers on one of the
tables.
“Please place the
centrepieces like this; they need to look elegant, “I say. I can clearly hear
footsteps behind me ,I dare not turn
behind and I continue engrossing myself in doing a bit of nothing, arranging
flowers as I would later on say.
“Excuse me?”
“Yes?” I manage to
stammer after what seems like an eternity.
“Hi, I’m Maxwell, and I
have been informed that you are the wedding planner today, I just wanted to let
you know that am in charge of the music for the day, in case of any question
feel free to ask me, okay Miss….??”
“Grace,”
“Fine, and thanks,
please excuse me I have to get back to work.”
“What a fine
gentleman?” I find myself rooted to the same spot five minutes later. I must
admit he has quite a charm, look at me, silly me mesmerised by a complete
stranger. Snapping out of my reverie I pick myself together and continue
arranging and finalising the small details. And did I mention he has the most
adorable eyes I have ever seen???
The wedding soon
started and I quickly forgot all about my crush what with the flurry of
activities going on. I was exhausted at
the end of the day and as such I did not wish to attend the evening party. I
just wanted to go home, take a long relaxing bath and unwind by reading a novel
then heading to bed. Luckily I had an assistant that day so I asked her to
attend the party on my behalf and ensure all goes well. I called for a cab and
headed to a nearby bus stop to wait for the cab. Five minutes later, Maxwell and
his team joined me and I presumed they were also awaiting a cab or another
means of transporting them. Just as I was thinking of what to tell him, my cab
pulled up and so I had to leave without saying a word to him….
The wedding was quite a
success, and as such I was able to receive many more offers to plan and
organise weddings. Finally I could say I am living my dream. I received
numerous accolades as an accomplished wedding planner and this served to
improve my ratings. I was pleasantly surprised when a month later I received a
phone call from Maxwell,
“Hi, there am I
speaking to Grace?”
“Yes, whom am I
speaking to?”
“Maxwell, remember me?”
“Maxwell!! Oh my gosh!
How have you been?”
“Am doing very well
thank you, I’m actually calling to ask, what are you doing tomorrow afternoon
at lunch time?”
“Nothing much, I’ll be
in my office, why?”
“I have a business
proposal for you, would you be interested in hearing it?”
“But of course, set a
time and venue and I will be there,”
“2pm at the tribe
hotel, that fine with you?”
“That’s fine with me;
I’ll see you then,”
Interesting, what would
he want to discuss with me? I asked myself. I fixed the date in my calendar and
continued with my day’s activities.
1:55pm found a very
nervous me at the tribe hotel, sipping on a very cold glass of juice, for what
felt like I had been there a whole hour. At exactly 2:00pm, Maxwell walked in
dressed very impeccably in a 3 piece suit, very well fitting, and he carried an
air of sophistication around him. I must say I was impressed and I lost my
train of thoughts momentarily. I stood and waved, to show him where I was
seated. He strode towards me and with each passing moment it was evident that
his presence affected me. I extended my hand and offered him a handshake, all
the while smiling sheepishly. I assumed he noticed my unease because he also
smiled in a rather awkward way, that culminated in a silence that lasted for
five seconds. Finally we managed to let go of each other’s hands and we sat, on
opposite ends of the table. We sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity
before he broke the ice and signalled a waiter to come and take our orders.
“You must be starving;
I hear their steak is really nice,”
“In that case ill have
that, with a salad n some French fries,”
“I’ll have the same,
and make my steak well done, and please bring her another glass of juice,”
At this point I was
tongue tied, I mean my crush was seated just metres away from me, I could
actually smell his cologne, which by the way was Christian Dior designer and in
limited edition. And I could do? Just gawk and stare at him like a love struck
16 year old teenager. He seemed oblivious to my obvious admiration because he
went about checking his I Pad as if on cue and talking on his mobile phone to
someone who seemed to be his assistant as he was constantly giving orders to
that person.
“Before we start this
lunch meeting, let me first start by saying that there is no business
proposal,” he said snapping me out of my daydream. My silly grin quickly turned
into a scowl. What was I doing here then? Surely he does not feel the same way
for me does he? He thinks I do not have anything to do? I proceeded to stand
but before I could even do so, he firmly gripped my hand and said,
“Before you raise your
hand to slap me or walk out on me, at least hear me out. I asked you out on
this lunch date to tell you that I am deeply in love with you. I have always
liked you from the first time I saw you and I knew if I told you straight away
you would probably dismiss me and brush me off. It took me a whole month to
gather the courage to call you and ask you out at least for a lunch date and
the only way I knew how was to lie to you that I had a business proposal for
you. I just had to let you know and all am asking of you is that I get to know
you as my friend then who knows?”
I must admit I was
shocked, and then my shock quickly turned to bewilderment and amazement. I
still couldn’t believe that it was true, what my ears had heard. I took a seat
and I was quite speechless for a moment. What should I say? How should I react?
Should I say no? Should I say yes?
The food arrived, and
we ate in silence, and you could almost cut the tension with a knife at our
table. The food was sumptuous and I must admit Maxwell had a good taste as I
had not been to the hotel before then. I resolved to break the silence, ten
minutes later and said,
“I must admit that you
caught me by surprise, and I have to confess I feel the same way about you.
However I’d like to ask that we take it slow, first start off as friends, what
you say about that?”
“Fine with me, and
thank you for at least considering me and hearing me out. Why don’t we start
right now?” he said with a smile on his face that served to make my knees weak.
We spent the next 2
hours getting to know each other. I learnt that he was actually a doctor by
training but had always had a desire to venture into music. He quit his
practise after only 3 years and teamed up with his friends to form a band going
by the name, Praise. The band played for major corporate events and weddings. I
also learnt a lot about his background, family and dreams. I must say it was
the best 2 hours of my life and I looked forward to spending more time with
him. We talked about everything, life, work, love and its only cause I had to
rush to the office to finish some work so the date had to end. We spent more
and more time together and six months later, he asked me to be his girlfriend
and I said a very big and resounding yes.
I loved every bit of
our relationship, he was a perfect gentleman, treated me like a queen. We did
have our arguments, which led to a minor break up that lasted 3 weeks and we
were quickly back together with a strong and firm commitment to each other.
I am naturally a very
hard person to please, so it really surprised me when max as I fondly referred
to him, called me up one night and asked me to meet him up for dinner at one of
our favourite restaurants. We were not to meet that night, as he earlier told
me that he had a lot of work and hence we would not be meeting. He also asked
me to wear a specific dress that he loved, a turquoise blue long evening gown
that I had bought on one of them many trips I made outside the country. He
asked me to meet him up at 8:00pm. Now this naturally surprised and I
immediately knew something was cooking if not already cooked.
8:00pm found me at the
doorway, as I was busy fumbling in my pocket to call him and alert him that I
had arrived, a man, dressed as a butler, approached me and said, “Madam Grace
please follow me.” The man walked briskly inside the restaurant and I followed,
albeit more confused than ever.
The restaurant was
empty, save for Max, who stood at the furthest end, a bouquet of red roses in
his hand. He looked dashing in a charcoal grey suit that I had bought him as a
present on his birthday. He smiled at me, quickly tipped off the man and as
soon as I opened my mouth to speak he said:
“Happy birthday
darling, “and handed me the bouquet. I was speechless!! I totally forgot it was
my birthday! My, oh my, he remembered! And surprised me with an intimate
dinner. What more could a lady ask for? He pulled a seat for me and I was
gracious enough to sit down. “And by the way, you look stunning, can’t help but
stare at you. “
“Thanks, so do you,
would you believe I completely forgot that today was my birthday. Thank you so
much for this.”
He chuckled, and we
proceeded to make small talk about our days, I learnt that the owner of the
restaurant was a good friend of his, so he had it closed down for just the two
of us that night. I was pleasantly flattered and I thanked God for giving me
such a wonderful friend and boyfriend. The dinner was awesome, French cuisine
that I enjoyed. Dessert was served in form of a cake with the words “happy
birthday Grace inscribed on them”.
One of my favourite
songs starting playing, and Max asks me “Can I have this dance?” I gladly
oblige and we hit the dance floor and dance albeit slowly, I savour each
moment, as I look deep into his eyes and I whisper, “ I love you,” “I love you
more,” he replies and my knees momentarily become weak and I blush.
At that precise moment,
he lets go of me, goes down on one knee, reaches into his coat pocket and
removes a small box, he opens it and inside is a beautiful silver ring he faces
me and he asks me,
“Grace, will you marry
me?”
“Gosh, umh, aaaah, yes,
yes I will”
I help him u and I
embrace him tightly for what is like five minutes. Tears are streaming down my
face, I can’t even begin to describe the emotions running, joy surprise, shock.
We let go of each other, and he slips the ring on my finger. The ring is so
beautiful. I admire and look at it for what must be an eternity, still not
believing he asked me to marry him. I can’t seem to stop crying, and he holds
me in his arms and whispers in my ear little sweet nothings. I turn around to
face him and I give him a deep kiss, one am sure will completely blow him over,
he responds appropriately and we kiss for a good 5 minutes.....
“He actually proposed
to you? Can I see the ring? Gosh am so happy for you, that we means we start
planning for your wedding!!”
I met up with Yvonne
the very next day to share the good news with her, and she was really happy and
excited. It had not even occurred to me that I now needed to start thinking
about a wedding! I was still basking in the post proposal blues, if there was
anything like that. The whole idea never crossed my mind, surprising for a top
wedding planner. All my childhood dreams were now about to come true.
We meet up with Max and
a couple of our friends to share the good news with them. We organised a small
engagement party where we invited our families to be present. We officially
announced to them that we were now engaged. His mother was the first to come
forward and congratulate us, followed closely by my family members.
The traditional dowry
negotiations took place a month later and I must say it was pretty hectic and
it resulted in several arguments between me and Max. Both families presented at
times unreasonable requests that would result in us arguing for days on end.
However after a month we were able to reach an agreement and our parents gave
us the go ahead to get married. We set our wedding date a month later on, and
all the plans began…
Saturday morning of my
wedding day finally arrived, my day began very early, at around 7am. I couldn’t
sleep the previous night and I had a lot of questions and fears in my head.
Daybreak soon came, and I was pleasantly surprised when Yvonne, my best maid
handed me a small box with a smile on her face and winked at me. I opened the
box and found a letter from Max, saying how much he loved me and he longed for
the end of the day as I would be his wife. Tears streamed down my face, and for
a moment I forgot about all the activities happening around me, I silently made
a prayer and thanked God for the day and all the activities that were to be.
I headed to the dining
room to have my breakfast, at least try and swallow something small because my
stomach had so many butterflies and I did not have an appetite. My 5 maids,
mother and I all sat down to have breakfast and share. I could barely eat anything
but my mum encouraged me to eat something as I would have a long day ahead. The
ceremony was set to start in 2 hours’ time so I had to start preparing myself.
We all went to my bedroom and I couldn’t help but wonder if Max had already
finished preparing himself.
The makeup lady and
camera people had already arrived and so the preparations began. Everyone
around me was busy dressing up and within no time my hair and makeup were
already done. All my maids were already dressed in long, plum dresses with
orange flower corsages at the waist. The best maid was dressed in a long orange
dress that had a plum flower corsage also on her waist. They helped me slip on
my wedding gown, a white, A-line gown, with an illusion neckline. I felt like a
princess and I loved the awesome feeling in it. Numerous photographs were taken
of me and my bridal party and within no time I could hear women singing outside
awaiting the bride. My mother came and whispered a few words of advice and
encouragement in my ear and then proceeded to veil me. A final glance in the
mirror and off I went to start my day….
We opted to have a
garden wedding ceremony therefore the vow session would be held in one side of
the gardens and the reception on the side of the venue. The décor was looking very
exquisite and I loved the setup. I could see all this from my ride for the day
a black Mercedes and I was equally as tensed up and I tried so hard not to bite
my nails lest I ruined my manicure. The car door was opened and my best maid
held out her hand and guided me out. I stepped out and I could see so many
people already gathered and had stood to give me a standing ovation. I could
see Max at the end of the aisle, looking very dashing in a grey suit with an
orange boutonnière. He smiled upon seeing and we looked at each other for 2
seconds before I started my walk down the aisle. My mother held my hand and she
escorted me down the aisle. I could not look at Max as I knew I would break
down and cry..
An interesting read this is! The events unfold rather quickly though.
ReplyDeleteNice story
ReplyDeletegood though too long... write a novel
ReplyDelete