The Christmas Wedding Planner

Chapter 1: The Wedding Planner

The sound of buzzing hair dryers and constant chitter-chatters echoed through the cozy saloon. Somehow despite how others might find it annoying, the sound soothed me. To me, it was better than the music that the time of the year was famed for. My fingers traced over the eggshell white mermaid wedding dress printed on the glossy magazine page as my lips curled into a smile.

The bell over the door rang and I raised my gaze briefly to see an elderly lady walking in before explaining something to the receptionist. Shifting my gaze back to the bridal magazine, I flipped the page to a pearl white princess-cut bridal dress.

Soon after, I felt the presence of someone approaching and I turned to see the same elderly lady standing in front of me, eyeing my magazine with gleaming eyes, “Oh! When is the wedding, dear?”

My eyes met hers and the realization of her question finally hit me, “huh? Oh, wait. Tha—”

“I’m sure you will make a beautiful bride with that gorgeous chestnut hair but maybe you should get it treated first. It’s looking a little dry,” she continued bluntly before I could get a chance to correct her.

A tad frustrated, I got up from my seat in a huff, eyeing the surprised old lady, “excuse me?”

Her eyelids fluttered in bafflement at my reaction as she took a step back. I was about to give her a piece of my mind when a familiar figure stepped in front of me.

“Don’t mind her, Mrs. Baxter. This is my baby sister, Amber, and she’s a wedding planner. She isn’t usually like this but she gets a little crazy around this time of the year. Come, let me get you settled in your chair.” Andrea escorted the nosy lady away but not before shooting me a death glare over her shoulder.

Honestly, it wasn’t a new occurrence to me. Somehow everywhere I go and flip through a wedding magazine, people automatically assume that I’m planning my wedding. The truth was that I planned weddings, but they were just not mine.

I worked as a wedding planner for an amazing wedding planning company in the heart of New York. My sister, Andrea, owned her own saloon after years of working tirelessly and selflessly. Eventually, her saloon became my hang-out spot in between breaks or when I needed a distraction from my reality.

“Amber Gracelyn Brown! You can’t talk to my customers like that! I can’t afford to lose my regulars!” Andrea cried out, smacking my arm lightly.

My eyes squinted at her with displeasure, “Ow! I’m sorry but she started it. She assumed that I was getting married.”

“Well, when you walk around with bridal and wedding magazines, what do you expect people to think?” Andrea’s arms rested on her hips, her gaze fixated on me with skepticism.

Slamming the magazine close, I looked at her in surrender, “Ugh, fine. But what about her comment about my hair being too dry?”

Andrea peered at my hair, running her fingers through my chestnut wavy hair before her lips pouted and her eyebrows arched, “well, she’s not wrong. When’s the last time you pampered your hair?”

“Not you too, Andie! That’s it, I’m out of here!” I got up from the chair and slung my bag over my shoulder.

Andrea shook her head with disappointment before the corner of her lips curled into a smile and she stretched out her arms towards me, “Hey, Amby, aren’t you forgetting something?”

Rolling my eyes at her, I sighed and walked towards her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders as best I could, considering the presence of the huge bump between us. Andrea was five months pregnant with her second child and was happily married to her husband, a pharmacist from New Jersey.

“I’ll see you tomorrow for dinner, Andie. You too, Champ!” I kissed her cheek and her bump before stepping out of the saloon onto the busy street, wrapping my shawl over my neck.

Breathing in the smell of lavender fabric softener as I passed by a laundromat and the exhaust from the piled-up traffic, my feet carried me to my office a few blocks down. Against my will, my eyes caught sight of the red and white streamers, green trees, and candy canes that sprawled over the streets.

It was Christmas time once again, the time of the year that I detested. I haven’t always had a distaste for the season but when I was nine years old and Andrea was twelve, our parents got into a huge fight on Christmas Eve, which led to Dad storming off into the night. They eventually made up only for something similar happening the year after that. One way or another, the holidays brought out the worst in them which led them to argue their hearts out.

My parents tried their best to hide it but as we got older, it became more obvious to me while Andrea always tried to shield me away from the ghastly situation. Then, on Christmas Day when I was thirteen, all of us piled into the car to head to brunch at Grandma’s. As always, Mom and Dad got into a huge argument, but this time, it was so intense that Dad lost focus on the road and failed to see an oncoming snowplow.

Our car swerved, hit a pine tree, and overturned by the side of the road. Fortunately, we all made it out of the car but later on, in the hospital room that was decorated with reindeers and Christmas trees, Dad breathed his last with his loved ones by his side.

All I remember was looking at his lifeless body surrounded by the decorations, the decorations for the holiday that always brought distress over our family, that stirred trouble within our otherwise happy family.

Eventually, Mom single-handedly raised us bravely and never remarried, plagued by the loss of her argument partner but the love of her life. As I grew older, I understood that it was the stress of the holidays that triggered their otherwise happy marriage and that it was all an unfortunate incident. However, deep down, Christmas and I never reconciled.

The sound of a cab horn blaring snapped me back to my reality just in time to see my block approaching. Flashing my ID card in front of the sensor, I opened the door to the building and headed up to the first floor.

Flowers, wedding dresses, catering, and cake samples were laid around the office, everyone busy with their respective tasks. But, before I could enter my room, a hand caught hold of my shoulder.

“Amber, there you are. I need you to come with me. We have to meet a client now,” Mr. Bennet, my boss, explained hurriedly as he ushered me towards the front door.

“Right now? Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I replied, my feet trying to keep up with his fast strides.

“I wanted to assign it to Dave but he had a family emergency and wanted some time off. So, I need you to blow these clients away with your talent,” Mr. Bennet clarified as we walked down the block to the restaurant.

My lower lip hid into my mouth as I bit down on it nervously, but then I realized that I was more than capable, “I may not be Dave but you know that I always bring my best game.”

“You always do a good job but these new clients have a particular request and specification for their big day.” Mr. Bennet exhaled deeply, providing me with not much information to process his concern.

Stopping in my steps, I lifted my gaze to look at him in disbelief, “and? Do you think that I won’t be able to handle it?”

“What? No! Not at all. It’s just….” he paused nervously.

“What’s the issue?” I questioned curiously.

Unfortunately, before he could explain further, we stepped foot into the posh restaurant and immediately a voice called out to him from the greeter’s desk.

“Mr. Bennet! There you are! We’re seated over here.” A tall sharp-looking man smiled and led us to a table by the window where a tanned beautiful woman sat with poise.

“Amber, this is Mr. William Smith and Ms. Reyna George. They are the clients I was talking about. They have hired our company to plan the wedding,” Mr. Bennet introduced and I nodded my head in acknowledgment.

My hands reached over to each of them and shook their hands firmly, “Congratulations! You have made an excellent choice. Your wedding is in great hands.”

“This enthusiastic lady here is Ms. Amber Brown, an outstanding planner and recently promoted to co-executive Planner of Wedding Daydreams!” my boss boasted proudly, patting me on the back as soon as we took our seats.

Ms. Reyna’s eyes widened and she beamed with joy, “oh wow! Congratulations! It’s good to hear that our wedding is under your qualified control.”

A smile broke out on my lips and I took a sip of my lemon-infused water, “so, when is the special day?”

“Twenty-fifth of December,” Ms. Reyna replied before exchanging a loving look with her fiancé.

Her words hit me like a rumble of thunder but my mind refused to connect the dots, leading me to hesitate in my reply, “wait, the twenty-fifth of December as in….”

Mr. Bennet quickly chimed in, filling my awkward silence, “Christmas Day, Amber. They want a Christmas wedding.”

You have got to be kidding me.

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FYI, this book will be leaving Dreame on 13th December 2021 and will no longer be free after that. So, please read it before then! Thanks for all the love and support!

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