A/N: Here's a new story! This one-as the title suggests-is going to be all about weddings. Each chapter will stand on its own, but they all take place within the same universe, if that makes sense. This chapter is a bit different. Since I already covered Josh and Donna's wedding in my first story, Could I Have This Dance (For The Rest of My Life)?, I won't rehash it here. Instead, I'll focus on some of the other perspectives of the big day, and will establish the main couples that this story will be about. Hope you enjoy this first chapter, please read and review!
Chapter 1: Josh and Donna-Perspectives
It was a warm Saturday in June, and the White House was bustling with activity as the wedding of Josh and Donna approached. Abbey Bartlet, the former First Lady of the United States, was supervising the setup of the ballroom after the pre-wedding luncheon. She had left Donna, her bridesmaids, and the mothers in one of the many White House bedrooms getting dressed and putting on the finishing touches. The next time she would see the bride, it would be showtime.
Looking around, she reflected on sitting in the same room for her daughter Ellie's wedding nine months earlier. She checked her watch: 2:25. The guests would be arriving soon.
She flagged down her youngest daughter. "Zoey, did the ladies have any trouble finding their dressing room?"
Zoey shook her head. "No. And Mrs. Lyman brought the dresses up from Donna's office."
"Great. I need to ask you a favor. I told Annie and Peter that I would give them the musical cues, which means I need someone to cue the bridal party. Can you do that?"
"Sure, Mom." Zoey agreed. "Anything else?"
"Um, not for right now. Can you go check on the guys?"
"On it." As Zoey walked away, Peter Santos, dressed in his best suit, approached Abbey. "What time do we need to start playing? Annie wants to know."
Making eye contact with her eldest granddaughter across the room, Abbey turned to Peter. "Um...start in about five minutes, all right?"
Peter nodded, then ran back to Annie. Abbey turned to go into the hallway for hostess duty and ran straight into her husband.
"Jed! You should be back there by now!"
"I lost my glasses." he grumbled.
Abbey chuckled, then reached into her pocket and grabbed them, having noticed when he left them on his dresser that morning. "You mean these?"
"Where did you find them?" He asked, amazed.
"On your dresser." Abbey said, before her gaze softened. "Any symptoms today?"
"Nope. Nothing is going to ruin this day, Abbey. I swear by it!" Jed replied, walking towards the back, before turning around. "Did you know that the phrase 'tying the knot' comes from an Egyptian wedding tradition where the bride and groom's hands are literally tied together to demonstrate their new bond?"
"Yes, and the "Bridal Chorus" comes from the opera Lohengrin." Abbey said. "Go relieve Zoey and make sure Josh isn't freaking out, would you?" As Jed walked away towards the anteroom, and Annie began to tune her violin, Abbey was immediately distracted by the men in charge of the decorations. "No, not there!"
...
Ryan Breckenridge was excited, but nervous. He had been to a few weddings before, but never at the White House. That and it was his boss' wedding. He was thrilled for Donna; she and Josh seemed like a match made in heaven. Better yet, as his date to the wedding, he was bringing Carolina Herrera, FLOTUS Deputy Chief of Staff and his secret crush for the last six months.
Carolina had given him her address, and Ryan bounded up the stairs to her third-floor walkup. He checked that his tie was on straight, and then knocked on the door. After a few minutes, the door opened.
"Hey, Ryan." Carolina greeted. She was dressed in a strapless orange dress-perfect for a summer wedding.
"Hey, Carolina." Ryan replied. "You look good."
"Thank you. Are you ready to go?"
"Yep." As she closed the door and they walked out to the car, she looked at Ryan and said, "Isn't this exciting? I love weddings."
"Yeah. I was really surprised that they invited me."
"Oh, me too." Carolina assured him as they jumped into the car. "But Donna said the White House is kind of like a family in of itself. So we had every right to be invited."
Ryan just looked at Carolina as she rambled on. He realized that this was a girl he had to get to know better. But now wasn't the time to ask. So, he just turned the key and off they went to the White House.
They arrived and were immediately greeted by an usher, who led them to the ballroom where the ceremony would take place. They went in and were immediately struck by the cavernous space.
"Such a big room." Ryan muttered, awed.
"I know." Carolina agreed. "I think I read that Ellie Bartlet was married in here." Suddenly, she gasped. "I am almost positive that's her right there."
"You're a White House Senior Staff member now, Carolina." Ryan told her. "Try not to look so starstruck."
"I know, I'm sorry." Carolina sighed. "Look, there's Lou Thornton. Maybe she'll let us sit with them."
Ryan nodded, and together they approached the White House Communications Director, who was deep in a conversation with her deputy. Carolina thought her name was Emily.
"Excuse me." Ryan said in his politest voice. "I don't know if you know us, but we-"
"Work over in the East Wing, right?" Lou greeted. "You guys are doing good work over there."
"Um..thank you. Are these seats taken?" Ryan replied, gesturing to the two open seats beside Lou.
Lou shook her head. "No. Go ahead and knock yourselves out."
"Thank you." As Ryan and Carolina sat down, Lou made introductions. "I don't know if you've met my deputy, Edie Ortega." (Oh, Edie, Carolina thought. She filed that name away in her brain.)
"It's nice to meet you both." Edie said, extending her hand. "Carolina, right?"
Carolina nodded. "And this is Ryan."
"Donna's assistant." Ryan supplied helpfully.
"Ah." Lou said. "Anyway, I hope you'll excuse the small contingent. Most of the staff are actually in the wedding party."
Carolina nodded. It seemed like all the First Lady, Donna, and Annabeth had done yesterday was prepare for the wedding, which the First Lady and Annabeth were both in. "So I see."
Ryan kept talking to Lou and Edie, while Carolina looked at the glossy program, then settled in to wait for the wedding to begin.
…
Meanwhile, Danny Concannon was driving from Blair House to the White House. He couldn't believe that Josh and Donna were finally tying the knot after so long. They had been a hot topic of conversation almost as long as CJ and Danny had been a thing.
CJ. Danny smiled as he thought of his girlfriend of six months. The two had been living together in Santa Monica for six months while Danny worked for the LA Times and CJ built up her career at the Hollis Foundation. And, now, well...Danny had taken the next step of their relationship.
They had just returned from Josh and Donna's rehearsal dinner the previous evening when Danny had an epiphany. If Josh and Donna could find their way to each other and get it right after nine years, why couldn't they? And so, after carrying around his mother's ring for two weeks hoping for the perfect moment, he got down on one knee and asked her to marry him. Because the reality was, it didn't matter what he said, or where he said it. The point was, he did it.
Just then, as if she could read his mind, his cellphone rang. Danny pulled it out, and was pleasantly surprised to see CJ's name on the screen.
He hit TALK. "Hey, you."
"Hey, yourself."
"How's the blushing bride?"
"Cool. calm, and collected. I'm more worried about the groom."
"I wouldn't worry about Josh. It's not as if he hasn't been waiting for this day for almost a decade."
CJ laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Hey, listen, I want to get your opinion on something."
"Shoot."
"With my bridesmaid's dress, should I wear the pearl necklace or the gold? I brought them both because I couldn't decide."
"Gold."
"How'd you decide so fast?"
"Well, because the colors appear to be blue and gold, so it works. Plus, I'd rather see you in pearls on our wedding day."
"You know, we're gonna have to tell people."
"You're the one who wanted to keep it a secret!"
"Just until after the wedding, all right? Then you can scream it from the rooftops."
"When have I ever screamed anything?"
"Point taken." There was a pause. Then, she said, "I can't believe they're finally getting married. Did you ever think it would happen?"
"Actually, yes, I did."
"You did? When?"
"Two words: Snowballs and Inauguration." At CJ's baffled pause, he said, "I'll explain to you later."
"Deal. See you in a bit."
"See ya."
...
If Sam had to listen to one more piece of trivia about weddings from President Bartlet, his head just might explode. And he was pretty sure Josh would be right behind him.
"Now, it's interesting that you should choose to be married in June. Does anybody here know the reason why June is the most popular month for weddings?"
Matt tried to busy himself with his cufflinks. Bram looked like a deer in headlights. Finally, Charlie spoke up. "No, sir, I don't."
"Okay, for starters, I should hope you are not far behind Josh here in terms of marrying your true love, who happens to be my daughter. So you can feel free to stop calling me 'sir'. Now, the ancient Roman goddess Juno, which by coincidence is whom the month of June is named for, is also the goddess of marriage…"
Thankfully, Josh and the other groomsmen were saved by a knock on the door. The door opened and Ainsley popped her head in. "Sam, can I borrow you for, like, two seconds?"
"Sure." Sam replied, almost too quickly. He joined his fiancee of eight months out into the hall.
"What was that?" Ainsley asked, perplexed.
"President Bartlet and his wedding trivia that he's been spouting off all day long." Sam said with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Ainsley giggled. "Anyway, I came to ask you something."
"Fire away."
"When we get married, can we do it in a place like this?"
"A place like...the White House?"
"You know what I mean. Not in a society hotel, with 500 of our "closest friends" bearing witness to our union?"
"I know your mother said something about a church wedding."
"Yeah. That was our compromise."
"See? You are kind of getting what you want."
"She's still inviting 500 people, though. I guess I'm looking at the guest list for Josh and Donna's wedding, and feeling a teensy bit jealous."
Sam shrugged. "We'll live. Long as I get to be married to you by the end of it." He kisses her forehead.
"You are too sweet for your own good, you know that?" Ainsley said quietly.
"Yeah." he admitted. Then, he suddenly noticed her outfit. "Wow...that dress. It looks incredible."
"Sam, if you think my dress is gorgeous, wait until you see Donna's." She left it there, and said, "Thanks for letting me vent. I better get back to the bridal suite."
Sam's next words stopped Ainsley in her tracks.
"Donna may be the bride today, but you're gonna be the most beautiful girl in the room."
Ainsley turned around, and flashed him a grin. Then, she disappeared down the hall, and Sam reluctantly went back to the groomsmen.
...
It was showtime.
Zoey was in the hallway of the ballroom, where her mom had asked her to help with the processional.
"Okay, so does everyone remember what to do?" She asked the small group, which consisted of the entire bridal party.
"Yes!" The three kids (flower girls Molly Ziegler and Miranda Santos, and ring bearer Huck Ziegler) piped up.
The mothers and bridesmaids also nodded. The only people missing were the escorts of the parents, and the bride herself.
Just then, Charlie and Sam appeared virtually out of nowhere.
"Where did you two come from?" Zoey asked, surprised.
"Um...through that hallway down there." Charlie said as if it was perfectly obvious, pointing the area out to his girlfriend.
"Anyway, Charlie, you're with Mrs. Lyman, and Sam, you're with Mrs. Moss." Zoey said, consulting her mother's notes from the rehearsal the night before. Just then, from the ballroom came a sudden hushed silence, then the sound of her niece Annie's violin being tuned. In the silence, Charlie gave Zoey a once-over. She was wearing a green velvet dress and matching earrings.
"You look pretty." He told her in a hushed tone of voice.
"Thanks." she whispered back. "But didn't you just see me at the luncheon?"
"Doesn't mean I can't tell you again." he said gleefully.
Just then, they were distracted by the unmistakable tune of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". Zoey peered through the opening to watch her father and the groomsmen getting into place.
"Okay...now!" she told Charlie, who offered his arm to Rachel Lyman and escorted the older woman down the aisle. As she watched her boyfriend go down the aisle, followed by the best man and mother of the bride, she couldn't help but think about her own wedding day, which she hoped would come in just a few short years. And she knew without a doubt that Charlie was the man she would marry.
...
Following her talk with her father, Donna took his arm and the two headed down the hallway and towards the stairs. Arm in arm, they walked down the stairs, where Zoey was giving cues to the bridesmaids. She was just giving Annabeth her cue when she noticed Donna.
"Wow! I-I mean...Wow! You look incredible!" Zoey told her, gushing a little.
"Thanks, Zoey." Donna told her, smiling. She had a feeling that being told she looked beautiful on her wedding day was something that would never get old.
"Um...Zoey?" Helen Santos said from the door. "Should I…"
"Yes! Yes! Go ahead! Sorry about that."
"Okay. Actually, wait a second. Donna," Helen said, approaching the bride. "You look beautiful, and I am so happy for you and Josh."
"Thanks, Helen." Donna said, hugging her friend tightly, before Helen rushed forward to make her own procession down the aisle.
The doors shut behind Helen, while Donna took the pause to check her dress and adjust the veil over her face.
"You ready, sweetheart?" Daniel Moss asked his daughter.
"More than ready." Donna murmured, nodding in affirmation.
Just then, the first chords of the Bridal Chorus struck up, and Zoey gave her a Cheshire Cat grin. "They're playing your song."
"The doors opened, and everyone gasped in awe, but all Donna could see was Josh.
He was absolutely floored-no, that wasn't the right word-spellbound by the sight of her. Helen had been right-he had no idea what had hit him. He kept his eyes solely on her as she and her father slowly processed down the aisle.
She caught sight of her bridesmaids, smiling from ear to ear, all glancing at one another. All the guests were staring at her wordlessly. She looked around slightly at her friends, her family, and well-wishers. Danny Concannon gave her a surreptitious thumbs-up sign. Joey Lucas and her deputy Carolina were grinning wildly. Lou and Edie both had tears in their eyes. Then finally, as she approached the first row, her mother reached for her hand and pressed a soft kiss to it. She smiled at her mother before once again locking eyes with Josh.
Her father lifted her veil and kissed her on the cheek. He placed her hand into his, said something she couldn't understand, then went to stand by her mother.
Finally, she was standing in front of Josh, and he leaned over and said, "You look beautiful."
Donna only grinned as the ceremony began. Of all the compliments she had gotten that day, his was the only one that mattered.
A/N: And there's Josh and Donna's wedding! Next up, we get a laid-back beach wedding in Santa Monica as CJ and Danny tie the knot. Hope you enjoyed, please let me know what you thought!