I waved him off. “It’s what I’m here for.”
The venue had its own florist and caterer, so I didn’t have to use my contacts, which was nice. Not all venues had that, nor did they have their own planning stations. I liked working with places like that felt as if they were resorts. Those didn’t tend to have an on-hand wedding planner, but an event planner where I could step in and do my part of the job. Sometimes it got a little hard to mix the two, but Jeff and I worked well together. Right now, he was working on another event for the company while I was working on this wedding. Some guests at the resort weren’t part of the wedding itself, and so it was Jeff’s job to make sure that they had something to do that would not interfere with the wedding. Now mine was all about the ceremony and following reception. I checked over the cake one more time and made sure everybody was in their place.
“Blue alert, blue alert,” Emily said into my headset, and I held back a sigh.
“Blue?” I asked as I made my way to her.
“It’s not quite urgent, but it does have to do with the color of the bridesmaids’ dresses,” Emily whispered fiercely as I came to her side.
“What is it?” I asked, and then I didn’t need her to explain.
One of the bridesmaids, Jasmine, if I remembered correctly, was not wearing the correct dress. Oh, it was the right color, but it used to have far more fabric than it currently did.
“Crap on a cracker,” I mumbled.
Emily blinked. “Is that the saying?”
“It is now. Okay, let me handle this.” I rolled my shoulders back and smiled as Emily went to deal with another part of our checklist. I looked at Jasmine as the other woman just narrowed her gaze, put her hand on her hip, and showed off a generous amount of leg.
“You can’t tell me what to do,” Jasmine snapped, and from there, I knew that the other woman had planned this on purpose because she wanted to be the showcase of the day.
Well, screw that. This was what I was good at and what I was going to fix.
“You look wonderful, Jasmine. Though the dress is a little bit different than what we had planned on, correct?”
“Oh, I had always planned on this. Phoenix has always been a little too much. You know? This will put her down a peg.”
I smiled through my teeth, even as my eyes went cold. Jasmine must have seen the look because her hand fell, and she raised her chin defiantly. “Today is about Phoenix. And Reggie. And their love for one another. While you do look amazing, this is not the dress you agreed on.”
“There’s no way you can add more to it. I’ve already had it altered.”
I nodded tightly. “Oh, I know. However, when there’s a will, there’s a way.”
I looked to the side as Emily came running forward, our seamstress right beside her. “Now come on, I know exactly what you need to do.”
“There’s not enough time,” Jasmine snapped.
“Arabella is brilliant at what she does. We’ll make the time.”
Arabella’s eyebrows winged to the top of her forehead as she took in the gown. “It’s a good thing I’ve brought extra fabric. You never know when you’re going to need to add an entire skirt.”
The defiance on Jasmine’s gaze didn’t alter. “You will not be touching me or my dress.”
I raised a brow. “And if you continue to think that way, you will not be in the wedding.”
“This is not your day. You don’t get to tell me what to do.” Her lower lip wobbled and while I wondered what might have happened between the two women in the past to lead them here, my job was to ensure the bride was happy without hurting anyone in the process. Finding that balance was a tap dance.
Thankfully I’d taken lessons.
“No, this is Phoenix’s day. And actually, I do get to tell you what to do. This is not the same dress that the others had decided on, therefore, you will have to wear something appropriate for Phoenix. I’m not going to tell you what’s appropriate in general or in life, just what the bride wants. And today is about what the bride wants.”
“She’s just going to get divorced in a minute anyway. She and Reggie aren’t even good for each other. He liked me first.”
This wasn’t something I was going to get into. I didn’t have it in me. Nor did I care. I turned toward the seamstress and gave her a genuine smile. “Thank you, Arabella.”
Arabella grinned. “Don’t you worry. I’ll get it taken care of.”
“You’re not listening to me,” Jasmine snapped, and I tilted my head and smiled at her, knowing it didn’t quite reach my eyes.