Luke and Lorelai were waiting in the white limousine until they received furter instructions to enter The Hartford Club. They had just returned from a photo session with Ellen, their wedding photographer. Ellen took photos of Luke and Lorelai and their wedding party in front of the gazebo, and then she photographed the two of them alone in front of Luke's Diner, The Dragonfly Inn, The Crap Shack, and Luke's favorite place, by the lake. There was one set of photos of Luke and Lorelai standing on the docks, just about where Luke pushed Jess into the lake a few years earlier. Luke felt that those were the best of the bunch. This winter, the weather had been too mild for the lake to freeze over, so the water was as still and glimmering as he'd ever seen it, and there were brilliant reflections glittering off the water. He could watch Lorelai in the reflections as the photos were taken. Lorelai's favorites photos were those of the two of them snuggled together in their limousine. But that wasn't Luke's ideal location for formal photos.
Lorelai had removed her veil and wore only her tiara, allowing her shiny, full, dark curls to flow down past her shoulders and breasts. She relaxed her back against Luke, as he cradled her in the crook of his right arm.
Luke kissed her forehead. "It would be nice if we had a half hour to ourselves in here."
"Don't get too comfortable right now. We'll probably have no more than ten minutes to wait in here."
Luke took a deep breath. "Unfortunately, I know that."
"Oh, come on, Luke. This is our party. It'll be over before you know it! All these people are in there to celebrate with us."
"Just give me a couple of minutes," Luke answered, closing his eyes and wrapping both his arms around Lorelai. She had on a new perfume that made her smell like budding Jasmine flowers. Lorelai was so surprised when she found out how much Luke loved the scent of wet Jasmine trees. Was it so out of character for him to love the fragrance of certain flowers? Luke grew up with Jasmine shrubs commonplace in his neighborhood. Even his parents had Jasmine in their yard. Once Lorelai learnt about his fascination with the flower, she bought a custom-blended perfume that smelled like budding Jasmine flowers. No fragrance she ever wore smelled badly to Luke, and he liked any perfume she wore. But Luke was especially touched that Lorelai purchased this fragrance especially for him.
"So did we decide if I should change my name legally?" She asked.
"I think we left it that you'd do whatever you wanted. You're my wife whether you choose to be Mrs. Danes or not," Luke responded, still keeping his eyes shut and trying to relax for as long as possible before they were called into the reception.
"I guess that would make me Mrs. Danes to many people anyway."
"That would."
"Mrs. Danes. Mrs. Lorelai Gilmore Danes. Mrs. Lorelai Victoria Danes. Lorelai Danes."
"You can always be Lorelai Gilmore Danes. Then you could decide if you wanted to hyphenate the two last names."
"No, I definitely don't want to hyphenate the names, but I do like going by Lorelai Gilmore Danes, so people in business can still recognize that it's me."
"You can continue being Lorelai Gilmore in the hotel or hospitality industry, that would be perfectly fine with me."
"It would be too confusing to be Lorelai Gilmore in my professional life and Lorelai Danes in my personal life. Then I'd have to develop two completely different personas, and it's difficult enough keeping up with one persona."
"Tell me about it."
Lorelai jabbed her elbow into Luke's stomach making him groan. "Hey, you need to be nice to me. It's my wedding day!"
Luke finally opened his eyes and looking into his smiling wife's eyes, answered, "It's my wedding day too."
"Yes, but I'm the bride."
"And I'm the groom. Every bit as essential as the bride."
"Not if I was marrying my lesbian lover. I could be marrying my Portia di Rossi!"
"Yes, well, that's not the case, and in the state of Connecticut, that wouldn't be happening at this moment in time."
"Hmm!"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the window. Lorelai rolled down the window to see Michel standing by the limousine. He looked as he always did for wedding receptions that they had at the inn. He wore his favorite dark gray, pinstripe suit, lavender dress shirt, and a purple, black and red tie.
"Well?" Lorelai asked.
In his thick, French accent, Michel responded, "You'd think if one was a server at a place like the Hartford Club, there'd be a certain level of professionalism, but they all ignore my requests as if I were a mosquito in a haystack!"
"Michel, I may still be your boss, but I'm also a bride today. Therefore, I shouldn't have to hear your complaints. Besides, your responsibilities of overseeing the planning of the wedding are now over. Your role is now being a guest – an AGREEABLE guest. So let's all just enjoy the party. Now, are they ready for us inside?"
"Yes, they are. And it's freezing out here!"
"Well, it's February, and you're out here without a coat, so you should be cold."
Thomas, the chauffeur, opened the car door and helped Lorelai out of the car. Lorelai and Luke thanked him for his help and headed inside. A red carpet had been rolled out from the curb, up the main stairs to the front doors of the club. Once they entered the building, Michel led them through the grand front entrance with its high ceilings and beautifully ornate columns and trim. Luke and Lorelai walked hand-in-hand through the large double doors into their reception hall to everyone's applause. Even though there were only a hundred or so guests in the room, the roar of the applause sounded like an auditorium full of people, or that was what it sounded like to Luke. Lorelai raised their joined hands above their heads, which reminded him of Olympic gold medalists winning their race. He smiled and hoped that the bright lights would soon not focus on their movements.
Finally, when the lights dimmed, Luke observed that the room was decorated to look like they were having their reception outside in the snow-covered, Stars Hollow's Town Square. He knew that was what Lorelai had tried to recreate. There was one half of the gazebo that he built and others painted jutting out from the wall as they came in, and the band was set up in and around the gazebo. A white-tiled dance floor was positioned in front of the gazebo and man-made snow particles were sprinkled generously throughout the room. Silver stars of varying sizes were hung from the ceiling, and they reminded Luke of decorations for Stars Hollows' Star Light Festival. Wooden benches and iron lampposts were placed near the gazebo and scattered around the room. Ten large round dining tables were situated along the perimeter of the dance floor. Each table was set with navy velvet tablecloths. At the center of each table, there were round, mirrored placemats and large, glass cylindrical vases that held four- to five-foot, white birch branches with triangular, glass votives containing lit white candles suspended. The finishing touch was the white rose petals that were sprinkled around the mirrored centerpieces.
Luke was surprised when the band began playing the music to "I Finally Found Someone." That was the song that he personally chose since he felt the lyrics fit their story so perfectly. But Lorelai kept going back and forth between this song and the "Falling in Love in a Coffee Shop" song. The "Coffee Shop" song fit their situation well too, and he thought it was this song that Lorelai decided would provide the music for their first dance as a married couple. But she must have changed her mind – again!
Lorelai leaned into Luke and whispered, "They'll play the 'Coffee Shop' song later, and we'll dance to that too. I just figured a Barbra Streisand/Bryan Adams duet was more dramatic to make our entrance."
"It always was my first choice."
"Aww, my sentimental husband. Are you gonna start going soft and gooey on me? Won't I have any rants tonight?"
"You'll have a lifetime full of rants. Today's not a day for ranting though, it's the most sentimental day of our lives."
The leader of the band, a man that looked like a young Lou Rawls, announced, "Now for the bride and groom to dance their first dance as husband and wife. Luke, Lorelai, will you please make your way to the dance floor?"
Then the lyrics came and Luke and Lorelai walked onto the dance floor. The female and male singers voiced the lyrics loud and dramatically, which seemed to do justice to Babs and Bryan's version. Luke knew Lorelai probably coached them on that detail.
I finally found someone, that knocks me off my feet
I finally found the one, that makes me feel complete
We started over coffee, we started out as friends
It's funny how from simple things, the best things begin
This time it's different, dah dah dah dah
It's all because of you, dah dah dah dah
It's better than it's ever been
'Cause we can talk it through
Oohh, my favorite line was "Can I call you sometime?"
It's all you had to say to take my breath away
This is it, oh, I finally found someone
Someone to share my life
I finally found the one, to be with every night
'Cause whatever I do, it's just got to be you
My life has just begun
I finally found someone, ooh, someone
I finally found someone, oooh
Luke held Lorelai and danced to the music, concentrating on the lyrics and finding himself choking back the tears. He didn't want to cry, but the moment was really too much for him. Here he was dancing with the woman that made his grandest dream a reality to a song that spoke of their personal story. He looked over at Lorelai and tears were streaming from her eyes too. It didn't matter that there was a room full of people; he just had to kiss her. As they continued to dance ever so slowly, he kissed her. She held onto him as tightly as he held onto her. She was now his wife, his partner, forever. He knew that if he had never gotten Lorelai back, he would have never had the chance to experience this happiness. His brief, weird marriage to Nicole was never meant to last. Actually, he never intended to marry at all, until some bright, blue-eyed gypsy zoomed into his diner one day asking for coffee. Then, ever since that day, he wanted to spend everyday of his life looking at that face. And he had to be the one who married her. It might have taken him eight years to ask her out, but it had to be her.
Did I keep you waiting, I didn't mind
I apologize, baby, that's fine
I would wait forever just to know you were mine
And I love your hair, sure it looks fine
I love what you wear, isn't it the time?
You're exceptional, I can't wait for the rest of my life
This is it, oh, I finally found someone
Someone to share my life
I finally found the one, to be with every night
'Cause whatever I do, it's just got to be you
My life has just begun
I finally found someone, ooh, someone
I finally found someone, oooh
Whatever I do, it's just got to be you
My life has just begun
I finally found someone
The song ended and there was a pause. Luke and Lorelai stopped dancing and stood still. Everyone in the hall stood, cheered for the new couple and showered them with a long loud round of applause.
When the sound of the applause died, the band leader announced, "For all of you out there who are young at heart and in love with their partner, please get up and join the host and hostess in another slow, romantic song."
Several couples – including Sookie and Jackson, Babette and Morey, Lane and Zach, Lulu and Kirk, and even Emily and Richard – came up to join the couple. The song was "Kiss the Girl."
After the second song, Luke and Lorelai went around the room to greet everyone. Their guests all raved about how beautiful they both looked. Most people were surprised how elegant and dapper Luke looked.
"Honey," Babette said. "As gorgeous and sexy as you are, 'elegant' was not word that came to my mind when I thought of Luke Danes. But now, I'll always have a picture in my head of this day, how you look now, and it's nothing short of elegant in a Cary Grant, Montgomery Clift kind of way."
"Oooh!" Lorelai exclaimed as she leaned into Luke. "Two of my all time favorite actors!" Then she kissed his cheek.
"Are we embarrassing you, Sweetheart?" Babette examined him.
"No more than usual," Luke answered.
Everybody within an earshot laughed - Babette, Morey, Lorelai, Miss Patty, Gypsy, Kirk, Lulu, and even Taylor.
