My entry for the re-vamped Short Story Challenge on the Sims Forums (If you’d like to participate in the voting at the end of the month, please make sure you read all the entries before voting! You choose your top three stories in each category — Novice and Veteran)

This month’s theme: A June Wedding

Word limit: 800 (My word count: Exactly 800! *phew*)

Screenshot limit: 8 (My screenshot count: 8)

Enjoy!

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It’s fine. Just breathe. Joy paced impatiently in front of the window, ignoring her own advice. Each drop of rain that struck the glass sent a pang of frustration and anxiety rushing through her.

“Hey, why don’t you put some clothes on and get away from the window.” Her friend Rose finally broke the silence, her voice teasing. “Don’t wanna scar some helpless passer-by…”

Joy groaned in frustration. “There isn’t gonna BE any ‘passer-by’ because NO ONE is gonna go outside in this stupid storm! It’s not supposed to rain like this in June, is it?! Ugh! It’s all ruined!” For what felt like the hundredth time since that morning, she felt her tears threatening to fall.

“No crying!” Rose said with a small smile. “We just finished your makeup…”

“Seriously though, so what if there’s a little rain?” Annie cut in gently. “None of that matters. Today’s gonna be perfect.”

Joy eyed her friend skeptically for a moment. “Uh-huh… Sure. ‘Perfect’. But we’re gonna have to do the ceremony inside if this stupid rain doesn’t stop! And we picked this venue because of how beautiful the garden is…”

“Trust me, it’s gonna be beautiful no matter what!”

Joy let out a sigh. “I hope you guys are right…”

“I know we are.” Rose replied confidently. “Now let’s get you dressed!”

At the thought of finally putting on her wedding gown, the stressed-out bride finally allowed herself a small smile.

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A little more than an hour later, Joy found herself waiting impatiently under the venue’s harsh yellow lighting as she continued fussing with her dress. All the stress and anxiety leading up to her big day had taken a toll on her eating habits and, to her horror, she’d lost more weight than she’d meant to before the wedding.

Ugh! This stupid thing won’t stay up! I’m gonna be fixing this all night, aren’t I?

Joy could feel the dress sliding a few inches down her body, bunching on the floor around her feet.

Before she could pull her dress up again, Joy’s entire body froze. The music on the other side of the door had shifted. For the first time that day, all her worries and anxiety seemed to flee her mind. Instead, she felt nothing but a pleasant rush of excitement and anticipation.

It was really happening! She was about to get married!

With one final deep breath to steel herself, Joy pushed open the door and made her way inside.

It was like time stood still. All she could see was Ryan — smiling and handsome, waiting for her at the end of the aisle. And in that moment, it didn’t matter that it was pouring rain outside or her dress was too big. All that mattered was the two of them, and the fact that they were about to begin the next chapter of their lives together.

Joy was so distracted by the happy and excited thoughts rushing through her mind that she forgot to pay attention to her slowly slipping dress. In an instant, her foot caught on the hem, and she was flying.

She fell face-first to the floor, to the sounds of horrified gasps and cries of alarm from the wedding guests. She could taste the blood in her mouth as it poured from her nose and soaked into her dress and the carpet beneath her.

Joy buried her face into the ground, too ashamed to even move. Is this really happening? She sobbed into the floor. Today was supposed to be perfect…

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Joy’s heart raced and her temples throbbed painfully as she took in her surroundings, her breathing ragged. It was a moment before she even realized where she was — back in the bridal suite. Ugh. Another wedding nightmare… And the night before the real thing too!

But as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, a flash of gold caught Joy’s eye — the unmistakable glinting of a wedding band on her finger.

Wait a minute… I DID get married yesterday! Oh my God… Joy’s foggy mind struggled to dig through her memories of the day before. She knew she’d gone a little overboard at the bar, but…

How much of it had been real, and how much had been a dream? Had it really rained so terribly? Had she really fell and made a fool of herself in front of all her friends and family? Had her wedding day really been completely ruined?

Joy glanced over her shoulder at the softly snoring form of her new husband. The love of her life. A rush of warmth washed over her as a final, more important question suddenly entered her mind — Did any of that really matter?

No, she realized at last. It doesn’t.

Because no matter what, THIS is perfect…

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Note: Hope you enjoyed! This was my first foray back into SimLit short story challenges since a few years ago! With this month’s theme, I couldn’t resist writing something, as I am getting married this month! I drew a lot of inspiration for this one from my own experiences stressing about my wedding day and being plagued by terrible wedding nightmares about things going wrong… But in the end, like Joy, I know that none of it will matter ❤ (Seriously though, it’d BETTER NOT RAIN on June 22nd! 😛 Update: It did a tiny bit, but not during the ceremony! Yay! Haha)

Thank you for reading! ❤