awae - i n s t a g r a m

152

"One second! I'll be right back!" Cole called to the confused couple and seemingly giddy best friend, sitting comfortably on their couch surrounded by an array of multi colored pillows cushioning them softly as if to say 'you're going to be here a while' .

Anne shot a confused glance towards Gilbert which he respond with a furrow of his brows and shrug of his broad shoulders, just as perplexed as to what their blonde friend was up to.

Cole came barreling out from around the corner, fully out of breath, holding a large wooden board plastered in magazine cutouts, printed Pinterest pictures, samples of flowers, and an assortment of different materials pinned together, coordinating with the floral patterns and cloth that were strung carefully about the board. Looking at the, now completely dumbfounded couple, he let out a small chuckle "you didn't think we were joking about planning your wedding did you?" He sang, smirk evident in his cheery tone, accompanied by his rosey cheeks and lips as his face turned upright into a giddy smile.

"Me and Cole have been planning it since we were 14!!" Dianna added every bit as excited and cheerful as the tall blonde.

"14?!" Gilbert questioned, shocked that they were that sure of their eventual marriage

"Yep!" Cole replied with a pop of the p, while smoothing out his disheveled appearance.

"How did you—?" Anne asked before being cut off by an overly excited diana,

"Oh anne, everyone knew it was inevitable! We decided to take the duty of planning the wedding for you two and start then, since then me and Cole have been working on it whenever we get the chance! turns out planning weddings is more fun then I thought!" She giggled, clapping her hands together excitedly "of course Ruby and Tillie helped with the materials and fabrics, Jane and Josie with the florals and of course moody with the music and dj! It was a group effort really!"

Anne and Gilbert shot each other a surprised and amused glance before taking a closer look at the pair's wedding board. Anne ran her small hand against the fabric, taking in every detail and decoration, she smelled the sweet petals the pair had gathered from her favorite field as a model of the real arrangements, she took it all in, the pictures tapped and pinned; the real inspiration behind all the decor. She loved every piece of it. She turned to look at Gilbert, her eyes over-flowingly full of amazement and wonder. He had taken a thorough look at the board himself and as much as he hated to admit it, his friends had put together the perfect wedding. He held eye contact and smiled brightly, indicating his absolute approval.

"We love it." Anne breathed, overwhelmed with gratitude for her dear kindred spirits "I can't believe you did this all for us"

"Of course we did it for you guys!" Cole stated, almost offended by the prospect that they wouldn't (or shouldn't) plan an entire wedding for their dearest friends.

Diana hummed in agreement "now that we got that out of the way... let's talk flowers!!!" Anne chuckled softly, resting her head upon Gilbert's shoulder but giving her bosom friend her full attention.

"So, I was thinking...."

• • • •

Four weeks later

After weeks of approving different decorations, flower arrangements, music, place settings etc, the week of the wedding was finally upon them.

Anne and Gilbert had decided to continue the tradition their parents had followed and made an agreement to not see each other for a week leading up to the day of the wedding. Six days into it and (to everyone's surprise) neither of them had broken their agreement, both too competitive to be the one to cave first.