Today is the day that my mom gets married. I thought to myself while I watched her get ready. She looked so happy as she put on her makeup — her face was lit up and her dimples were popping out from her wide smile. I couldn’t be more happy for her that she found her match, and now my brother and I can finally call Nate, “Dad.” As I snap out of the trance I’m in, I see all the bridesmaids dancing as they are almost done getting ready and slipping their dresses on. I’m the only one who is fully ready — dress, hair, and makeup, all done. About what felt like hours, even though it was only 30 minutes, everyone is ready and now my mom is finally showing off her wedding dress. As everyone is gathered in the wide open living room of our Airbnb, the door opens and everyone is in awe of how magical she looks. Her dress is simple but sparkly at the same time. Her vail trails her back but compliments the curls she has in her hair.

“You look so gorgeous,” my grandma says. “Holy... crap, you look fantastic!” said our second cousin. 

We waited for our Uber driver to arrive to take us to the venue — even though it was only three minutes down the road; no one wanted to walk in their heels with the Florida breeze ruining our hair and the blazing hot heat melting our perfected makeup off. Our cousin was taking quick photos of my mom on our balcony looking over the beautiful blue ocean. I even think she got a dolphin jumping out of the water in one of the photos. We heard a honk from the Uber downstairs signaling it was time for us to go. We piled on top of each other into the tiny car, which probably wasn’t the best idea because my hair got all tangled up but that wasn’t important at that moment. It was all the laughter of everyone on top of each other and excitement for mom and Nate that made us all energetic. As the car approached the beautiful, light blue building where the venue was we all piled out of the car and started heading towards the bride’s room before the ceremony started which was in less than an hour. The 

wedding planner was already there, and wanted to go over last minute things with the bridesmaids, groomsmen, and the parents of the bride.

After that, everyone started heading down to the beach where the ceremony was. “Wow, this is beautiful,” I said out loud where my aunt heard me.

“I know it’s gorgeous,” she said.

As we walked down more towards the light blue ocean, you can hear the waves crashing together and the smell of the salt water from the light breeze. We stopped walking because if we went any further the guests would see us. As I looked down the aisle, I saw the guy my mom is marrying, and that guy is going to be my stepdad. However, I already thought of him as a father figure. The music started playing, indicating that it was my aunt’s turn to walk down the aisle with Josh, the best man; they looked so elegant while walking. I hoped I looked that graceful when walking down the aisle and prayed I wouldn’t trip over my long, mauve dress. As Josh and my aunt approached the end of the aisle, it was my brother and I’s turn. I was nervous as I walked, shaking a little, but my smile covered what I was feeling on the inside. We got to the end of the aisle and I took my spot next to my aunt.

Everyone stood up as my mom started walking toward the middle of the rows of people standing in front of the white, wooden chairs. As she walked slowly next to my grandpa, she had a big smile on her face. When she closer to the end of the aisle, she made eye contact with me and mouthed “I love you.” I just gave her the biggest smile to let her know how much I loved her.