I thought that my wedding day would be one of the best days of my life. I was one of those girls who had spent hours dreaming about her wedding.
Even while watching romantic comedies, I would sit with my phone in hand and take notes, imagining my perfect wedding. I would take ideas about the dress, the magical venue, and even the cake that looked too perfect to cut into.
I wanted it all.
So, when Tim proposed to me, I was all ready with having my fairytale wedding planned out.
“Our wedding is going to be the best one yet,” I said to Tim when we were lying in bed one day.
“I have absolutely no doubt, Amber,” he said, grinning.
I gathered my closest friends from all over the country, ready to ask them to be my bridesmaids. I wasn’t going to do it without them. When Tim and I met in college, they were right there beside us the entire time.
We sat and planned every detail together, and I trusted them completely.
Until they gave me every reason to doubt them.
On the big day, we were standing at the altar, Tim and I having just given our vows. It was so close. We were nearly married. We were almost husband and wife.
“If anyone objects to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace,” the priest said.
I looked around the venue, waiting for someone to break the silence.
“We object!” three of my bridesmaids yelled.
Everyone started gasping and whispering.
The three bridesmaids looked at each other, and then at Sara, my fourth.
Sara blinked back tears and shook her head.
“Are you guys crazy?” she exclaimed.
“Sara,” Audrey, my maid of honor, said. “We spoke about this; you know what’s happening!”
“Look at the cake!” Mel shouted. “Doesn’t it remind you of anything!?”
Sara turned to look at the wedding cake, and her face went pale, as if she suddenly remembered something important.
Everything was just as I planned.
Do you want to know what’s going on?
A week ago, my bridesmaids, Audrey, Grace, and Mel, arranged for us to meet at a coffee shop. When I walked in, they looked at me with grim faces.
“Amber,” Audrey said. “We need to talk about something.”
I expected them to talk about a bachelorette party or something like that. I knew that they had wanted to plan one for me, but I didn’t want one.
I told them that if they wanted to throw me something, then a themed high tea would be the perfect way to go.
But what they told me wasn’t something that I thought I would hear. At least, not about Tim.
Grace ordered us all coffee and thick slices of cake.
“We saw Ellie with Tim,” Audrey said. “They were walking together, holding hands and kissing.”
My breath caught in my throat. For a moment, I didn’t know how to breathe.
“What are you talking about?” I gasped.
Mel pulled out her phone, her hands shaking slightly.
“We didn’t want to believe it either, but we’ve been keeping an eye on them. Here’s a photo.”
She gave me her phone. And there it was.
A photo of Ellie, my friend and bridesmaid, kissing my fiancé, his hands holding onto her tightly.
My world shattered.
It turned out that Tim had been cheating on me with Ellie for the past six months.
When I went back to our apartment that evening, I waited until Tim had fallen asleep on the couch. The moment I heard his snores taking over the living room, I grabbed his phone and went to the bathroom, locking myself in.
The evidence spoke for itself. It was undeniable. The pictures, the messages, and there were even videos of Ellie randomly recording herself doing things.
It was intimate. They clearly had a connection that ran deep. Deeper than any commitment that Tim lied to himself about.
I felt a mix of rage and heartbreak as I scrolled through their messages. But amidst it all, a seed of an idea began to form.
I wasn’t going to let them off that easily. I still wanted to wear my wedding dress, even if I wasn’t going to marry Tim at the end of the day.
It was simple. I wanted revenge, and I wanted everyone to see their true colors. But I was devastated.
My plan was simple yet devious. I ordered custom cake toppers made from their pictures.
Ellie always wore red lipstick, had a big tattoo on her arm that she loved to show off, and always carried her little dog, Bjorn, everywhere with her.
These details were all meticulously added to the cake toppers.
When the guests saw the cake, it would have been clear. Or if not the guests, then at least Tim and Ellie would realize that I knew the truth.
Fast forward to the wedding.
“Is that Ellie and Tim on the cake?” Tim’s brother asked.
“Oh my God, it is! How could they?” another guest asked.
Ellie’s face turned ashen, and she stammered.
“Amber,” she began. “I can explain everything.”
Tim tried to intervene, his voice desperate. He grabbed my hand tightly, forcing me to look at him.
“This isn’t what you think it is,” he said, his eyes wide.
But it was too late. The damage was done. The guests’ reactions were a mix of shock and disgust. I had been sitting with this for an entire week.
I had gone to my final wedding dress fitting knowing that I wasn’t going to marry the man I loved.
I had tasted wedding cakes, knowing that my face wasn’t going to be on the wedding topper.
I had sat with my pain for an entire week.
“Amber, please let me explain,” Ellie pleaded, holding my hand.
“There’s nothing to explain, Ellie,” I replied, my voice cold and shaky. “Everyone can see who you truly are now.”
As the guests continued to murmur and gossip, I turned to my bridesmaids.
“Thank you,” I said to them, my voice softening.
My girls came forward and hugged me tightly. We walked out together, leaving Ellie and Tim to deal with the aftermath of their actions. It wasn’t the wedding I had envisioned at all, but there was something special about it.
In the end, it had turned into a day of truth and revelation.
I took my friends to the hotel suite that Tim had paid for, as we had planned to spend the night there before flying off to Greece the next morning.
But during the week, I had canceled our flights and reimbursed myself, planning to take a trip when the dust settled.
Now, I’m sitting and having a cup of coffee on the balcony, trying to figure out my next move. I think the most difficult part of this is the fact that Tim and I had been living together.
Our lives were intertwined, and now, we had to try and untangle it all.
I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I just knew that it was time for a new chapter. I may have lost a fiancé and a friend. But I gained a deeper friendship with the rest of my bridesmaids.
The very friends who would protect my heart going forward.
What would you have done?