𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓼𝓹𝓸𝓽

     she’s the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. he doesn’t need to say it out loud in order for anyone who can see how he’s looking at her to know that it’s exactly what he’s thinking. hal is mesmerized. he knows that all of their wedding guests are watching them, and he hears a sound that could be alek muffling sniffles, but he doesn’t turn around to look at his best man. hal can’t take his eyes off of the bride. she’s all he sees, and her voice is all he hears, and her hands are all he feels. everything else is just a blur. sights and sounds that fall so far into the background that he no longer notices them.      even the officiator’s voice is just a murmur to him, buzzing around in the back of his head until he’s being instructed to go ahead and begin his vows. one of hal’s little brothers scurries over with a set of rings resting on a small silk pillow. he clears his throat and collects the thinner, shinier silver band. “i’m going to love you forever.” hal lifted his gaze as he said it, finding hers with a soft smile. “you’re the most important person to me in the whole world. i promise to always protect you, and to be there for you whenever you need me even if i’m all the way across the country. you have me, all of me, for the rest of our lives and you’ll still have me after that.”      he wrote and rewrote them dozens of times, but when the time came, hal chose to say the same things that he always does rather than reciting grand declarations that wouldn’t have sounded like him. hal wouldn’t use big words and a long speech to tell gen that he loves her, and that he vows to be by her side forever. he would just tell her. with unmistakable sincerity in his gaze, and his hand holding hers. “i love you.” he was beaming as he slid the ring onto her finger, and admired the sight of it resting there until he lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. 

LEAKED PHOTOS OF GENESIS IVER AND HAL ZALESKI’S WEDDING DECOR & VENUE!!  

         an anonymous source submited a few photos of the couple’s wedding oasis, seemingly covered in pink roses and gold. perfectly suited for a princess. rumor has it iver will be changing into 3 different wedding gowns throughout tonight’s bash.

  his custom - made suit is a perfect fit, not a crease nor stain nor loose thread in sight. he’s clean - shaven with a fresh haircut at the same time. hal has never stood in front of a mirror and scrutinized his appearance like he did just before leaving for the ceremony — as in, his wedding ceremony. in about an hour or two, he was going to be someone’s husband. just like that. he wondered how long it would take to truly sink in. sometimes he still feels like an eighteen year old kid who’s stuttering and nervous in front of all the cameras because the gold medal hanging around his neck feels heavier than the whole world.   at least one difference: hal doesn’t have an urge to try and sneak off to the bathroom or someplace else that would be quiet, where no one would be staring at him. he was ready to marry genesis. he’s been waiting for this day since before he even proposed. being with her is like gliding across the frozen lake in the backyard of his childhood home on a frigid winter morning, where he’s completely at peace because he’s exactly where he belongs. he only gets a little jittery as the doors swing open and the bridal party files in, one by one until the familiar organ tune echoes throughout the castle, and everyone in the room turns in unison.   hal lifts his gaze, and immediately a breath gets caught in his throat. as ready as he was to marry her, he wasn’t prepared at all for how beautiful she looked in her dress. “wow.” he meant to murmur it to alek, but instead not a single sound came from his mouth and he was too distracted to notice. he was transfixed, watching the woman who was about to become his wife glide across the room, closer and closer to where he stood rooted in place. hal felt a thump on his back ( he assumed it was alek reminding him to breathe ) and exhaled as he outstretched a hand for her. “…hi,” he choked out, flashing a timid smile, “you’re so beautiful.” his adoring gaze flickered across her face, in awe as he committed her, in this moment, to memory.

    he takes a guess based on what seems to be her most pressing concerns about the wedding and lets out a soft sigh. “gen,” hal murmured, ignoring her question. whether or not he was having fun didn’t feel as important as comforting and reassuring her. “we’re not doing this to impress your parents or your aunts.” if that was the true purpose of their wedding, then hal wouldn’t be a part of it because most of gen’s family doesn’t like him one bit. ( sometimes he thinks her dad is warming up to him. then the man seems to remember that hal neglected to ask for his blessing or whatever before proposing, and he goes all gruff and remote again. ) “we’re doing this for ourselves,” he reminded her, “you’ll worry less if you think about it like that because, let’s just be honest: if the flowers are the wrong kind, or the napkins are the wrong color or something, i’m not gonna notice. i’m hopeless with that stuff,” hal pointed out with a grin, “and besides, all i care about is that i finally get to marry you.”

dear genesis ( aka the real life barbie ),

marry christmas! i love you so much and i can’t wait to marry you in four days.

you’re the love of my life and you always will be.

     hal’s plate was crowded with food that he dug into as he conversed with guests seated at the long table. he and genesis were sitting at the center ( of course ), close enough for the hand that wasn’t holding his fork to be resting on her thigh. “huh?” his voice lowered the instant he turned to her, brows drawing together at the look at her face. “oh,” he murmured, “well, then we’ll just have to get all dressed up again on a sunny day and come back to take pictures outside.” he’s already dreading squeezing into that suit tomorrow, and he hates his haircut and freshly shaven face, but to make his almost - wife happy, he would do it all again. he would do it a million times. “is that all that’s bothering you?” hal knew there was something on her mind before she had even gotten his attention in a soft tone. of course he did. the two have hardly said a word to one another since the rehearsal dinner began as everyone in the room seemed to want his attention or hers, but he still took notice of how gen has barely even picked at the food on her plate.

       ‘ tell me about it, ‘ she says, as if it’s the greatest scandal in history. never let it be said eden lane isn’t dramatic as hell. ‘ i feel like it should be the law. the week before christmas should only have christmas music. it’s the only time we can listen to it, so we should go all out! ‘ clearly she has strong feelings on this topic. ‘ honestly, i was trying to buy other people things, but it’s so hard shopping for everyone else. i ended up buying myself like, four pairs of shoes i don’t need - but maybe i can pretend they’re gifts? ‘ eden laughs. ‘ please, you gave him the gift of agreeing to marry him, what more could he want? ‘