Every girl is meant to have dreamt about her wedding day. About her dress, her chief bridesmaid, even what her husband may look like. I was not that girl. Getting married was never something I envisioned. Quite the contrary actually. It had been something I detested the idea of. And it was not due to marriage failures growing up. My parents had never shown anything less than the utmost love and devotion for one another. No it wasn’t that. It was the signing yourself away. Giving yourself completely to one person for the rest of your life. I had - have, no interest in being promiscuous, but I had no interest in being someone else’s property either. So it still comes as quite a shock to find myself standing before a large mirror in a beautiful, hand-made bridal gown, train flowing down my back and trailing along the floor. The dress and the white roses adorning every inch of the room is not the final shock for me. The most shocking factor is who I am to wed. They say you marry your father; well not literally of course, incest is never a good thing, but someone who’s characteristics almost mirror those of your father’s. Who loves you the way your father loves your mother. Michael is not like that. He and my father are two completely different peas in two very different pods. My father is and always has been a very hard working, generous man. My soon-to-be husband on the other hand, comes from a background of little money and social standing. My father believes in giving unto others who are less fortunate than oneself. Michael believes every man should earn their keep and charity is not acceptable. But for all their differences they have one thing in common. Me. Michael may not have the same glow in his eye as my father does when he watches mum do the dishes, or prepare dinner, but he does love me. Of that I am sure. You don’t vow to spend the rest of your life with one woman if you don’t love them. Do you?
I feel my palms becoming clammy. Pre-wedding nerves kicking in. A soft knock at the door pries me away from my self-doubt.
“Enter”
In the mirror’s reflection I can see my mother, all four foot eleven of her, sneak into the room. The door opens barely a fraction, meaning she has to almost ease herself in. I laugh. I cannot contain myself.
“Mum what on earth are you doing? You don’t have to sneak in and out”
She taps my hand, having swiftly made her way over to where I reside. For such a petite woman, she can be very frightening. I seldom found myself on her bad side. Intentionally anyway. I know she has been looking forward to this day since I was born. She would continuously urge me to plan my wedding from such a young age. “It’s natural to plan your big day darling. All girls do it. Come sit, we can plan together”. I had entertained her, but none of the plans we had devised were what I would ever truly want. My big day is more my mother’s big day. And I’m fine with that. All this hassle and expense for a piece of paper to say I belong to someone else. To say I love someone. It’s not for me. It’s for her. I look down at her, her large brown eyes are filled with tears. I knew she would cry, no matter how much she tutted and vowed she wouldn’t ruin her mascara for such things. I smirk. Mother always was a softy. I pull her into a hug, breathing in the floral scent she has adorned for as long as I can remember.
“You look beautiful darling”
I look once more into the mirror. My brunette hair has been curled and pulled into somewhat of a bun, little wisps falling gracefully onto my neck. I feel I shall sparkle in the light once the faux diamond clips are attached. They are not my choice. Simple make-up sits upon my face. Michael hates me wearing what was once my usual red lips and sleek black wing, and so I settle for clear lip gloss and a coat of mascara. As much as I usually don’t believe such compliments, I cannot help but agree with my mum. This dress is such a perfect fitting. Laced sleeves and a sleek body. Those fairy tale ‘poofy’ dresses have never been to my liking. I take a deep breath. Nearly time to go. Butterflies must be having a wonderful time partying inside of me. Dad is outside waiting for me in the family car. I refused anything else. Horse and carriage doesn’t have any appeal to me. Besides the car gives my day a sentimental feel.
“Time to go. Are you ready?”
I’m not. Or maybe I am. It’s hard to tell with the pre-marriage nerves. All I know is seeing dad will calm me a great deal. Lifting my dress so as to stop it tripping me, I head out of the building. My dad is waiting, tall and proud in his navy suit. His smile instantly makes me feel calmer as I knew it would. I can do this. With my dad by my side I know I can conquer the world. He helps me into the car and the drive begins.
I know not how long we were sat there, my dad not uttering a word, perhaps trying to avoid tears; myself twiddling my engagement ring. The church rolls into view. My bridesmaids are waiting for us, as was discussed. There is no turning back now. They smile broadly and embrace me once I am fully out of the vehicle. Upon entering the church, Canon in D plays, announcing me to a room full of people. And so I walk. To a beaming and teary Michael. To another chapter of our lives. Finally the nerves are lifted.
A normal wedding day, then!
I have no notion how this fits into the rest of the novel: is it a happy scene that is to be followed by bad things? Is it a final scene that comes after trials and tribulations? It seems to be a kind of resolution - 'There is no turning back now...Finally the nerves are lifted.' Is it therefore something of a plot spoiler? It's set in the present, too - does that also imply that it's what happens after the events in the novel? But we have that earlier 'Do you?' to give us pause.
This is a good length for a Prologue; it should give a taste of what's to come, but not be as long as a chapter.
You could break up the first para so that it doesn't overpower the rest, perhaps with a split after 'along the floor'. That would give more weight to the shock that's about to be mentioned.
'The dress and the white roses adorning every inch of the room' - if I were being picky I'd point out that the roses do not in fact adorn every inch of the room - what, walls, floor and windows too? You could say they seem to do so. The dress and the roses should be followed by 'are', not 'is'.
'who's characteristics' - should be 'whose'
'She would continuously urge' - means she did it forever without stopping: 'continually' - she did it regularly over a long period, but not every minute of every day.
'the floral scent she has adorned' - she doesn't adorn the scent: she favours it, perhaps.
'I know not how long we were sat there' - you've gone from present-tense narrative into the past tense here. Surely you mean, 'I know not how long we sit there' (which is a quaintly old-fashioned phrase: does it fit the era of your novel?). By the way: 'were sitting', or 'sat', but not 'were sat'.
Dad and Mum are used as names and should be capitalised. 'My dad' and 'my mum' are references to the relationship - you could replace these with 'he' and 'she' - so they take no capital.
Hope this helps.
Lorraine