Danielle Steel - the Wedding (2000)

We want about forty or fifty people here, at the house, in the garden, Allegra said happily, nothing too fancy, just very cozy. In June. She beamed at Jeff, and then back at her mother.

You're kidding, darling, of course, her mother answered, smiling. Obviously. But Allegra looked at her innocently, not understanding the question.

No, we talked about it last night, and that's what we want.

Out of the question, Blaire said, sounding like the producer and not the mother. Forget it. No contract.

Mom, this isn't your show, it's my wedding, Allegra reminded her gently. What do you mean, forget it’?

I mean that the garden is going to be completely torn out in the next two weeks. There won't be anything in the backyard except dirt and the swimming pool till the fall, so the garden is out. And you can't possibly be serious about having forty or fifty people. Do you realize how many people we know? Allegra, this is crazy. Think of your clients, and all your friends from school, not to mention friends of the family. And, of course, Jeff and his parents will want to invite people. Frankly, I don't see how we'll manage to get away with four or five hundred. Six is probably more like it. Which means we can't do it here. And you can't possibly mean June. You can't throw together a wedding like that in two months. Allegra, now, let's be serious, dear. Where and when are we going to do it?

Mother, I am serious, she said, starting to look stressed. This is our wedding, not yours, and we don't want more than fifty people. That's the whole point; if you make it a mob scene, we have to invite everyone. With forty or fifty, we just have our closest friends and it'll mean more to us that way, and it doesn't take six months to plan a wedding for fifty people.

Why bother? Blaire asked, looking more upset than Simon had ever seen her. Blaire was overreacting to everything, first the architect and now her own daughter's wedding.

Mother, please! Allegra said, near tears herself. Why don't you just let us organize it ourselves? You don't have to do it.

That's ridiculous. And where will you hold the wedding? In your office?

Maybe. We could do it at Jeff's house in Malibu. That would be perfect.

You're not a hippie. You're an attorney, with a lot of important clients, and our friends mean a lot to us, and to you. She turned to Jeff then, appealing to him, You have to rethink this. He nodded and turned to Allegra.

Why don't we talk about it tonight and see what we can do differently, he said calmly, as Simon watched him.

I don't want to do anything differently. We did talk about it, and we want a small wedding in June, in the garden, Allegra said hotly.

There is no garden, her mother snapped at her. And I'm shooting in June. For God's sake, Allegra, how difficult do you have to make it?

Never mind, Mother. She threw down her napkin and got up from the table, looking at Jeff as tears swam in her eyes. We'll go to Las Vegas. I don't need this from you. All I want is a small wedding. I've waited thirty years for this, and I want to do it the way Jeff and I want it, not the way you want it, Mom. We're the ones getting married.

Blaire looked flustered as she saw how upset Allegra was, and Simon tried to calm them both down.

Why don't we talk about this after dinner? There's no need for anyone to get so excited, he said quietly, and both women looked mollified as Allegra sat down again. But it was obvious that this wasn't going to be so simple.

The rest of the dinner was somewhat tense, with both women saying very little. By the time coffee was served in the living room, they were all up in arms again, with Allegra wanting forty friends, and Blaire thinking they should have five or six hundred. She was suggesting their club or the Bel Air Hotel, and Allegra felt having her wedding there was tacky. She wanted it at the house, and Blaire said she couldn't manage a show and a wedding all at the same time, and trying to do it by June was ludicrous. For at least two hours there appeared to be no possible compromise whatsoever. And then finally, both sides having worn each other down, Allegra grudgingly agreed to a hundred and fifty, while her mother pushed for two hundred, and she said that if they'd wait till September, when she was on hiatus with the show, and the backyard would be finished, she thought she could manage it at the house. Allegra hesitated for a long time over that one, and she consulted in an undertone with Jeff. They really didn't want to wait five months to get married, but he pointed out that he'd be finishing his movie right around then and they could leave for their honeymoon immediately, instead of waiting three months after the wedding to take it. There was a certain benefit there, and although she hated to do it, Allegra conceded, at Jeff's urging.

But that's it, Mom. Don't push me any further. A hundred and fifty people in the garden in September. Period. Not one more person. And I'm only doing this for you. It sounded like a game of Monopoly as the two men listened, and Simon looked at his wife hopefully.

Does this mean I get to keep my kitchen? There's no way they can put the new one in by September, from what they were saying tonight.

Oh, shut up, Blaire said to her husband, angry all over again. Mind your own business. But she smiled sheepishly, and a few minutes later, they all seemed to be unwinding. It had been an exhausting evening.

I had no idea weddings took so much out of you, Jeff said, accepting another Scotch, while Simon poured himself a brandy.

Neither did I, Simon admitted. Ours was pretty small. But I know Blaire has always wanted to go all out for her daughters.

She can do it for Sam, Allegra added, still shaken by the battle with her mother. They were both tough and the compromise hadn't been easy. And more than anything, she hated waiting five whole months till the wedding.

We'll manage, Jeff reassured her, kissing her, and then she went out to the kitchen to talk to her mother. When she got there, Blaire was in the kitchen, blowing her nose. She'd been crying.

I'm sorry, Mom, Allegra said, contrite for any harsh words. I just know what I want, but I didn't mean to upset you.

I want it to be beautiful for you, I want it to be special.

It will be. As long as Jeff was there, that was all that mattered. The whole idea seemed stupid to her now, and she was sorry they weren't eloping like Carmen. It would have been so much simpler. And she had a suspicion that it was all going to get worse before it got better.

What about a dress? her mother asked then, moving on to another topic. I hope you'll let me help you choose one.

I started looking today, at lunchtime. Allegra smiled at her and told her where she'd been, what she'd seen, and what she wanted. Her mother thought that short was a good idea, but she still thought she should go dressy, maybe with a big hat, or a small veil.

I saw Dad while I was shopping. I had to bite my tongue not to tell him, but I wanted to tell him with you, and Jeff, so I didn't.

What was he doing shopping on Rodeo Drive? Particularly since she knew he didn't like to shop under any circumstances. She did all his shopping for him.

He wasn't. He was at the Grill, having lunch with Elizabeth Coleson. They were talking about a picture. I think Daddy's probably trying to hire her for one of his movies, she said conversationally, and went on to discuss whether or not she wanted bridesmaids. She hadn't decided, but she noticed something strange in her mother's eyes, and when they went back to the living room, she saw Blaire glance at Simon. They all went on talking about the wedding until the young couple left at eleven. And just before they left, Blaire said something odd to her daughter, and Jeff overheard it.

You'll have to call your father, she said quietly as they stood in the doorway, and Allegra looked at her uncomfortably, and nodded. A few minutes later, she and Jeff were in the car on the way back to Malibu, exhausted by their first dose of wedding arrangements. It had been quite an evening.