in their own orders for cupcakes—and she had even gotten a few wedding cake orders.
Miranda folded her arms over her chest, and I actually waited for a foot stomp that fortunately never came. “I want to tour the Westington Ballroom.”
“What?!” Tim shouted as he spun around so fast he nearly fell over a pew. “The Westington? Miranda, there is no way we can afford that place.”
I drew in a deep breath and gave the owner of the current venue an apologetic smile. She returned one of her own, probably thinking I would need it with this bride.
The Westington was amazing. Not gonna lie. Even Landon thought it was nice. But it was also five-thousand dollars to rent it for a mere two hours. And that was just the reception hall. The chapel area was a whole other fee, just as expensive. And that didn’t even include the decorations or the food.
“Miranda, I think we need to have a come-to-Jesus moment,” I said with my best mom look. It was the phrase I tried not to use unless it was absolutely necessary. And by the way Tim was pulling at the collar of his shirt and turning white, this was one of those moments.
“To rent the reception area is five-thousand dollars for two hours. And that’s only to rent it. It’s another fee to use the chapel for one hour. Then you have all your catering fees, your decorating costs, the cakes, the dress, the tux, the honeymoon. Do you really want to pour every last dime into a venue that’s above your budget and, honestly, isn’t as beautiful as this place?”
Okay, it was way nicer than this place, but again…it was not in her budget.
“You told me when you first sat down in my office that you wanted a small, intimate wedding. I can pull out my notes if you need to be reminded that you originally told me no more than fifty people because you and Tim really wanted a nice honeymoon. If the chapel is a problem, we can lift the sides up and make it more indoor-outdoor.” I glanced over at the owner. “How many more people can we fit if we open it up to the outdoors?”
The owner smiled. “By making it an indoor-outdoor chapel, we can put out fifty-five chairs.”
Miranda let out a sigh. “That’s still five seats less than what we need.”
“You’re counting your bridal party, Miranda. They don’t sit at the ceremony,” I stated with a sweet smile.
Her eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh! That’s right! They don’t!” Turning, Miranda looked at Tim. “This place is perfect!”
When she ran and jumped into his arms, he mouthed “thank you” and closed his eyes as if saying his own internal prayer. I looked back at the owner, who lifted her brows and tried not to laugh or roll her eyes. It was one or the other.
After helping Miranda and Tim get their venue taken care of, we made plans to meet in three weeks for the cake tasting at, of course, Sweet Confections bakery.
By the time I got to my car and pulled out my phone, I was mentally exhausted. The last thing I wanted to see was a text from my mother asking me to dinner. All I wanted to do was go home and sleep for two days. But we had cancelled Sunday night dinner last weekend, so I guess this was my mother’s way of making up for it.
Mom: Dinner tonight? Noah will be here with Amy.
Sighing, I dropped my head back onto the seat of my car. I wasn’t sure why I felt this way. I loved dinner at my folks’ house, and I adored Amy. Plus, I hadn’t seen Noah in about a week or so.
I pulled up Landon’s number and hit Call.
“Hey there, beautiful. How did the venue search go?”
“Ugh. They picked the very last one, of course. But not before I had to talk the bride off of a bridge.”
Landon laughed. “I’m almost done here at the shop. We’ve been going and blowing all day; want to come over and we can order takeout?”
Lately we had been spending more time at Landon’s place than my own. So much so that Lady was now camped out at Landon’s and loving the dog door he’d installed for her spoiled ass. She had free rein, going in and out of the house all day. Next to where Landon worked, I had set up a small space with my laptop and a