Sweep Me Off My Feet

May 28th, 2011

I stood there, sweating nervously and trying to wipe away my fear, but it wasn't disappearing easily. It was my wedding day, and I was standing inside a random room at the church getting ready. My hair had already been done, up in an intricate bun on the top of my head, and all the people in the room with me were trying to get me to calm down and stop sweating so that they could do my make-up.

"Taryn," my mother bent over and looked me in the eyes, "You have to settle down. We need to get your make-up done so we can get you in your dress before it's time."

I swallowed, and slowly shook my head yes, trying with everything to calm down.

"How?" I squeaked out. Everyone questionably looked at me and I repeated myself, "How? Like, how do I calm down? There's nothing that can calm me down right now."

"Tar, just think of how great your life with Joe is going to be. Think of the honeymoon you're about to take with him in the Bahamas."

Instantly my mind drifted off to the atmosphere of the Bahamas; the hot sun, the salty ocean water, the warm sand under our toes as we'd walk along the shoreline, hand in hand.

I looked at everyone and nodded, letting them know that I was okay. They all smiled back at me before starting on my make-up.

To keep my nerves down, I kept my mind on Joe the entire time; the way his hair curled on the top of his head. The way his eyes sparkled when he looked at me. How his smile was always present when he was around me. The way he'd go out of his way to always be there for me and help me. I couldn't have a better person to be with.

I suddenly started thinking back to the past, how the idea of this day, my wedding day, disgusted me, especially when I first found out I had to marry him. Laughing quietly, I kept thinking about that first day with him, how after Frankie and my dog, Pickles, came up to my room and then Joe thought it was safe for him to join us. The first kiss, how it just seemed perfect from the beginning. When he proposed to me, giving me his Grandmother's old engagement ring. The way Joe was there for me when I found out I was pregnant. He was the most perfect man out there, and I was so glad to be able to call him my husband in a mere couple of hours.

By the time I snapped back into reality, my make-up was near completion, and they were getting my dress ready to help me put on. In the mirror, I saw my reflection and it seemed like I was a whole different person. I had never worn a lot of make-up, just a little eyeliner and mascara, some cover-up when needed. But now, I had cover-up, bronzer, eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, my eyelashes were curled to perfection, my skin tone was even, my eyes seemed to pop out. I smiled at the new me in the mirror before I was pulled up to be put into my dress.

"One last thing to add," my mom murmured before she reached into her purse for something. "Here, your great grandmother's blue diamond earrings. She had worn them when she got married. And now, you have something old and blue," She smiled at me as she put them in for me.

Everything after this just seemed to go by faster and faster. My friends and family all gave me good luck hugs, then pushed themselves past me to get out of the door to line up. My father came in and we interlocked elbows, his eyes looking glossy as he walked me out of the door and behind the ever lasting pairs of brides maids' and ushers. The music began to play, and slowly everyone started walking through the door.

Frankie and my little cousin Taylor walked down together, their elbows hooked in each other's just like how the bride maids and ushers' were. They looked so cute together. As the pairs slowly left, my other friends and Joe's friends, all that was left was my father and I. Blair and Nick had left before us, them being my maid of honor and Joe's best man, and Janelle and Kevin before them. My father gave me one last look and smile before we walked out into the church.

As I walked down, I heard everyone gasping at me. They were wide-eying my make-up, probably as surprised as I was with how it came out. I heard them whisper to each other about my dress, and the way my hair was done to perfection. But even though my ears were listening to them and their comments, my eyes were on Joe in his black tux. I wanted to quicken my pace so that I could get to him faster, but I knew that I couldn't, so I didn't. The seconds dragged on and it seemed to take hours just to get to where Joe was waiting to take me from my father's arm.

"Take good care of her, Joseph," my father whispered to Joe as I was passed along from my dad to my fiance. Joe smiled and nodded back, letting him know that he would never think to ever do such a thing. We smiled at each other and he gave me a quick wink before we had to walk up the steps to stand in front of the priest.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Joseph Adam Jonas and Taryn Christine Matthews in matrimony," The priest began. I saw Joe glance over at me from the corner of my eye and I smiled, quickly glancing back at him. He reacted by lightly grabbing my hand and intertwining out fingers. I smiled and relaxed my hand in his, wanting to fast forward through the priest's talking so that I could finally be married to this boy. Minutes passed, and finally it was time to exchange our vows.

"The couple has arranged for traditional vows to be exchanged," the priest told everyone. Joe and I turned towards each other, hand in hand, looking deep into each other's eyes, the love between us radiating.

"I, Joseph Adam Jonas, take you Taryn Christine Matthews, to be my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part," Joe recited as he slipped the wedding band onto my left ring finger.

"I, Taryn Christine Matthews, take you Joseph Adam Jonas, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part," I smiled as I slipped the band onto his ring finger on his left hand.

"By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." The priest told us, and I smiled as Joe leaned in and kissed me. Everyone cheered as they witnessed the first kiss we shared as husband and wife.

Slowly, everyone started exiting the church. The bride's maids and the ushers went first, followed by my maid of honor and the best man, and finally ending with Joe and I.

"I love you Taryn," Joe told me as we were walking.

"I love you too Joe," I smiled.

Everyone was outside waiting for us to walk by them to get into the limo that was taking us to the reception hall. They all started cheering and clapping some more as we walked down the front steps of the church and climbed into the vehicle.

"I haven't told you this yet, but you look so beautiful today," Joe told me before he leaned in and kissed me. I smiled into the kiss and leaned into his side when we ended, both of us being smothered by the state of bliss we were in.

When we arrived at the reception hall, guests were already parking and walking inside. We had a few security guards outside guarding the doors so that the paparazzi couldn't come in, and a list was given to them to know who was invited in and who wasn't. As we were walking up into the hall, family members and friends asked us to stop so that they could take a picture. We would stop and smile, looking at the camera until they flashed it, then we'd continue the walk up.

The moment we walked into the reception hall, we heard from every which direction, "There's the bride and groom!" followed by little cheers of encouragement. Joe and I couldn't be in a greater state of happiness as we went around and thanked everyone for coming. We would stay and catch up with everybody, and would introduce the other if one of us didn't know someone. I had gained many hugs from Joe's side of the family, and he had received the same from my family.

We were still talking to everyone when we heard the DJ talk into the mic, "Can we please clear the dance floor for the bride and groom's first dance?" As Joe and I walked to the dance floor, I saw that everybody had formed a large circle around where we'd be dancing. Joe wrapped his arms around my waist, I wrapped mine around his neck. When the music filled our ears, Joe started leading the dance.

Well, I know there’s a reason
And I know there’s a rhyme
We were meant to be together
That’s why
We can roll with the punches
We can stroll hand in hand
And when I say it’s forever
You understand

That you’re always in my heart
You’re always on my mind
And when it all becomes too much
You’re never far behind
And there’s no one that comes close to you
Could ever take your place
‘Cause only you can love me this way

Slowly, everyone started joining in, dancing with their significant other. As I looked around, I saw Blair and Nick dancing with each other, smitten just by the other's presence. I continued looking around and saw Kevin with Janelle, my parents and Joe's parents, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers. I started giggling when I saw Frankie dancing with Taylor.

"What?" Joe whispered to me, smiling. "You're little brother is making a move on my cousin," I laughed. He turned us around so he could see and started laughing also.

I could’ve turned a different corner
I could’ve gone another place
But I’d a-never had this feeling
That I feel today
Yeah

And you’re always in my heart
You’re always on my mind
When it all becomes too much
You’re never far behind
And there’s no one that comes close to you
Could ever take your place
‘Cause only can love me this way

"I love you, Mrs. Jonas," Joe smiled at me. I smiled at my new name, loving the way it sounded so right.

"I love you too, Mr. Jonas," I laughed, leaning up and pecking his lips.

Ooooohh…

Na na, somebody love you

And you’re always in my heart
You’re always on my mind
And when it all becomes too much
You’re never far behind
And there’s no one that comes close to you
Could ever take your place
‘Cause only you can love me this way

As the song ended, we kissed. We continued dancing with each other as more slow songs came on. At the end of the fourth song, the DJ came back onto the microphone. "Ladies and gentleman, I'd like to introduce the bride with her father in their father daughter dance."

I saw as my father came up to Joe and I, and asked if he could have a dance with me. Joe smiled and nodded yes, handing me off to my father.

Look at the two of you dancing that way
Lost in the moment and each others face
So much in love your alone in this place
Like there's nobody else in the world
I was enough for her not long ago
I was her number one
She told me so
And she still means the world to me
Just so you know
So be careful when you hold my girl
Time changes everything
Life must go on
And I'm not gonna stand in your way

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But it still hard to give her away
I loved her first

How could that beautiful women with you
Be the same freckle face kid that I knew
The one that I read all those fairy tales to
And tucked into bed all those nights
And I knew the first time I saw you with her
It was only a matter of time

But I loved her first and I held her first
And a place in my heart will always be hers
From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
And I prayed that she'd find you someday
But its still hard to give her away
I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed
When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep
Someday you might know what I'm going through
When a miracle smiles up at you
I loved her first

When I looked at my father at the end of the song, I saw that he had tears in his eyes. "Aww, don't cry, Daddy," I told him. He smiled weakly and shook his head, "My little girl is all grown up," He said to me.

I smiled back up to him and gave him a big hug, "I love you Daddy. I'll always still be your little girl."

He gave me another smile and leaned in and kissed my cheek as the DJ called for the mother son dance. I stood next to Blair, talking to her about everything while we watched Joe dance with Denise. She had tears running down her cheeks, and Joe kept trying to wipe them away, but at the rate her tears were going, it was a hopeless action.

When the song ended, and after Joe kissed his mother's cheek and passed her back to his dad, Joe took my hand for us to cut the cake. Pictures were being taken left and right as Joe and I handled the cake knife, cutting out a small piece. I was looking down to put my piece of cake down on my plate, making sure it wouldn't miss and fall on the floor. When I lifted my head up, Joe hit me right in the center of my face with a piece of cake.

"Joseph!" I screamed, laughing. I grabbed my piece of cake and went to go hit him with it, but he beat me again and got another thing of cake frosting on my face. I was laughing so hard as I tried many times to get him back, but it didn't work. Finally, I called in Kevin and Nick for help, and they held Joe back so that I'd be able to hit him. Everybody was laughing at the scene going on in front of them, and when Nick and Kevin let Joe go and kissed me, spreading even more cake frosting onto my face.

"Ugh, Joseph. You kill me," I laughed as I look a napkin and started wiping the cake off my face. Joe grabbed a napkin, too, and reached over to me, wiping the cake off for me. I smiled at him, and the crowd 'awwed' when they saw how sweet Joe was being. I decided to return the favor and grabbed a napkin, wiping the cake off of his own face.

We went back to dancing with each other, this time more modern upbeat songs playing. Everyone kept coming up to me, asking me for a dance. I couldn't object, so I smiled and offered them my hand. I was back dancing with Joe when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and smiled.

"May I?" Nick asked me.

"Why, yes, you may," I laughed as Nick took my hand and began to dance with me.

"So, what's it like being a Jonas now?" Nick asked.

"It's very exciting. Doesn't it sound nice with my name? Taryn Jonas," I started saying to him, making him smile and start to laugh.

"It does, actually," He told me.

As the song ended, Nick kissed my cheek and I kissed his back, and he handed me back to my husband before disappearing. Seconds later, I heard his voice again, except this time coming from the microphone.

"Uhm, hey guys. I know that this is suppose to be Joe and Taryn's big night, but, I have something to say,"

Everyone stopped their conversations and turned to where Nick was standing at the DJ table, waiting for him to continue.

"Blair Mackenzie Meckins, I love you. Ever since the first day I met you, I felt this connection between us that I knew would turn into something this special and amazing. You are my everything, and I honestly don't know what I'd do without you. Will you please make me the happiest man alive and marry me?"

I turned to Joe with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide open. He smiled back to me, and I turned back around to where Nick was and saw Blair already standing up there with him, vigorously shaking her head 'yes' with tears of joy streaming down her face. Nick slipped the engagement ring onto her finger and leaned in to kiss her on her lips. Everyone started clapping and cheering for them.

Slowly, everyone went back to what they were doing before, and Joe and I started to dance again.

"Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening!" This said to Joe.

He just laughed and nodded his head. "Yup, you don't know how hard it was to keep it a secret from you."

"I bet! When did you find out?" I asked.

"On those four day you were back home to plan the wedding with everyone. Remember? You told me to go out to dinner with one of my brothers, and Nick said he needed to ask me a question."

"Oh my god Joe, that was forever ago!"

He just smiled again and leaned in to kiss me on the lips.

An hour later, Joe and I were being ushered off, going back to the limo to take us to the airport. I had changed in the bathroom and was now wearing a simple dress I had. We were leaving for the Bahamas tonight, and needed to leave early from the wedding reception. As we walked out, everyone yelled their goodbyes and their last congrats. Joe and I smiled and turned back to them all, smiling and waving. With that, we left and climbed back into the limo.

"Hey Taryn, guess what," Joe whispered in my ear.

"What?" I sighed.

"I love you. Forever, You're my one and only love," He smiled as he leaned in to give me a quick peck on the lips.

"I love you too, and I definitely wouldn't have it any other way," I said to him before I kissed him back.

The End