[Open Mingle Log] A Fall Wedding To Warm The Days

[skyward_eyes]

Who: Everyone!
What: Open Log
When: October 20th
Where: The Hunter's Lodge
Warnings: N/A
Notes: This is a mingle log, so people are free to set up their own TLs under it and tag around.

Wherein Two Come Together As One

The invitations had gone out in early September, a gentle request penned by hand in one of two sets of handwriting on fine paper with leaves pressed right into it. Given how many had gone out, and all were copied by hand, it was no wonder that they were simple. A date, a time, a location, and a simple note to 'Join Mister Ignis Scientia and Mister Nida Nomura as they join together in marriage.'

Today was that day. In two different areas Ignis and Nida prepared themselves for their big day. Jitters came and went, and at last, at the appointed hour, guests among the guard, the hunters, and any of the non-natives who chose to attend would arrive. They would enter the cleared grove next to the hunter's lodge, where benches were arrayed and decorated with green and gold bows set with reddish-orange flowers. Before it all stood a simply risen wooden arch. Hung from any tree branch that would do were carefully lit lights and silvery stars, all the better to suit the fall night mood of the whole celebration.

Standing at the arch waiting once people had come in and settled stood Captain Khannar of the Guard, in full uniform, looking vaguely amused, clearly meant to officiate the event. Once things were truly ready some music played on a fiddle and a young man (Mono, to those who might know the boy) started down the aisle with a bucket. Every step he tossed a handful of fall leaves out along the path, until he at last reached the end and took a seat. Across from him sat another young man (Yuki, also a non-native), who looked anxious as he fiddled with a small box in his hands.

Then, of course, the music swelled and so entered Ignis and Nida, arm in arm. Sure, it wasn't fully traditional, but why should they ever be asked to come in alone? That wasn't what today was about. They entered together, finely dressed in black accented with their own faint hints of jade green and metal tones about their persons, until they stood before Captain Khannar.

Everything after that was just tradition. Words said, oaths exchanged, meaningful looks. Yuki nervously handing over the box and rings that had been worn even that morning being redonned but with greater meaning. If there were tears amid the crowd or the grooms, would anyone judge them as the grooms returned down the aisle and toward the lodge, calling out for others to join them for their reception. It was time to celebrate.

Welcome To The Reception

Upon entering the reception hall, Falling leaves Wedding/Reception invitations were seen on a table with a tree on it for guests to 'sign' a leaf or write a note and hang up. There were also thank you notes on little gold lanterns with Hunter green tealight inside. And little star cards were attached with the names of the grooms and the date.

There wasn't a single person among the newcomers of Aterat (along with hunters and guardsman) that weren't invited to the wedding and reception.

The lights, wedding theme colours and flowers that had prevailed outside were inside as well. So at the reception held inside of the Lodge, the place had been thoroughly cleaned up and cleared out. Tables were set up with cloths of the hunter green colour. And on each table was a gold candle in a holder. A few other decorations sat on the table such as mini pumpkins and over each was a dangling set of lights in an autumn theme.

While guests mingled, formal photographs were taken of the newlyweds along with their helpers Mono and Yuki. And more photos would be taken during the first dance, and once the reception was in full swing of course.

Finest Dining For All

Ignis has done the cooking with the help of his crew with fall themed food. There would be no alcohol served and no strawberries would be present. But other than that, for starters there was Sweet potato soup, and apple cider marinated beef skewers. Skewers were Ignis' way of including the King's shield Gladio who loved meat skewers of all kinds back home.

Between that and the main courses were several big wooden Autumn themed charcuterie boards filled to the brim, which also featured Cheddar & Chive Pumpkin Cheese Balls. The main foods laid out were a Maple glazed roasted pork loin, pumpkin ravioli with a brown butter sauce for those that might not eat meat, and a favourite peppery chicken and rice dish was made in honour of an absent Prompto.

Side dishes were garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted fall vegetables which made Ignis smile because the King of Lucis himself was not a fan of vegetables. Dessert featured the autumn chocolate wedding cake, star shaped sugar cookies, and Memory Lane pastries made in honour of an absent King. Of course was a long history of these little treats being made between the king and his advisor so they were present when the king wasn't. Drinks available were apple cider with Nida in mind specifically, along with tea. There was also coffee, water, hot cider, and hot chocolate available as well.

Stories Are Our Lives

It was part way into the food service when Nida stood from the head table, lifting a wine glass of spiced apple cider. Slowly silence spread as he cleared his throat and looked out over the assembled.

"If we're being honest, planning all of this has been quite an experience for Ignis and myself. I don't think either of us really expected to reach this moment in our lives. Nor have we attended a lot of gatherings like this in our time. There's a good chance that we'll spend nights retelling the story of this night to each other, because what it comes down to is that telling our stories to each other have been a very important part of who we are as a couple. In fact, the first night we decided to set about this wonder known as romance started with me trying to explain why I was up a tree."

Nida held for some laughter from members of the guard in particular, his fellows that could be spared from duty knowing well about his climbing behavior. It was well told among many circles.

"Where I'm from, stories are a precious thing. They can be the way that our memories themselves survive, long after they have been lost." His gaze moved briefly to a charm bracelet he wore, hung with a few small pieces that no doubt carried meaning. "Memory and stories of the people we care for, the people we love and stand beside very literally saved my world. So this is my request for you tonight. No speeches, no party games, but stories tonight. Share your stories with us, with each other, with strangers and familiar faces. If you are up to it tonight, share a story with someone who will listen. True or not, memory or not, happy or not, offer out a story, and together we can be stronger for it."

Then he smiled, shaking his head a little bit, perhaps nervous to have so many eyes on him. He lifted his glass again.

"To stories, new and old, and shared among friends. I'll happily go first."

Who Wants A Little Dancing?

There was never a real end to the food and drink and story part of the night. Those were not things that would be so easily taken away until far later, perhaps when the grooms decided to move on to their cake later in the evening. But there was definitely a clear mark when a new means of celebration began. With a gesture from the head table, some of the larger hunters and guards rose to head for the doors of the lodge. Soon they were outside, moving benches from the ceremony itself to make sure there was a nice open space. Soon music was pouring in from outside as musicians set up where the men had so recently exchanged vows. There were fiddles and drums and of course a few flutes.

Sat in their chairs the musicians began to play, the sounds pouring cheerfully out through the clearing and into the Lodge itself to lure people back outside. The first song was of course slow, and enjoyed by the grooms alone. But soon the musicians were adding an extra layer to the whole affair, playing either alone, in groups, or as a whole collection of players. Quick jigs and upbeat festive music known well to the locals mixed easily with slower pieces, and all were meant to bring bring to their feet to join in the dancing.

Probably helped that the locals clearly loved to dance and would be happy to pull even the most dedicated wallflowers to their feet and outside for a spin or two. What was a wedding without dancing in joy for the union that had taken place? It would bring luck, it was said. Happiness and joy and dancing to bring all that to the couple as well. So really, not joining would be rude.

photo inspiration

Comments

Aerith | OTA

[cetrary]

A. Welcome To The Reception

Truth be told Aerith wasn't entirely sure what one wore to a wedding. It seemed exciting and yet at the same time there was a tiny part of her that was a bit well...nervous. Had she picked out the right thing? Was it appropriate for her to come at all? They had invited everyone but she didn't know them particularly well. The idea of seeing two people happy in a place like this, or in any place actually, was too much for her to pass up though. So, she went with a dress that was suggested because it'd reminded her a bit of something else she'd worn once upon a time. At least this was a bit easier to move around in than that had been though.

Everything about the area the reception was being held in was enough to make Aerith stop and just stare.

"Wow," she muttered as she looked around with wide eyes. They really had done a great job. More than that though you could really tell how important it was to them by just how much effort they clearly put into the entire thing.

B. Finest Dining For All

There was way too much to choose from. That was the biggest problem she was having as she just stared and blinked at the assortment of food. Everything smelled amazing. Everything looked amazing. She walked up to the skewers with a plate in hand and put one on her plate along with some of the soup. That could be a starting area, right? Except then she saw the cheddar and chive balls and got distracted by wanting some of that.

"All of this must have taken forever..." she said as she tried to fit a bit of the cheddar on her plate too. "How are you even supposed to choose...? Oh no..." the oh no slipped out as she spotted some of the desserts. No, really, how were you supposed to choose?

A

[kree_soldieress]

"It is all very impressive, isn't it?"

Lauri hadn't felt comfortable with the invitation either. She had never met one of the grooms, for all that she had fought alongside the other before. But the invitation had been given and it would have been rude to say no, so Lauri was there and had come in her full Accuser armor because she had nothing else that was appropriate.

But at least she had seen one face that, in some manner, she was familiar with. Even if they hadn't interacted much.

"I have not been to many human relationship gatherings before. They seem to like them to be large."

Re: A

[cetrary]

"Very impressive. They must have really wanted to make this something special." Aerith couldn't help the little head tilt she gave Lauri in her Accuser armor. At least nobody could say it wasn't an interesting outfit, there was that. "I like your outfit though!" she gave her a quick bright smile.

"I haven't been to too many either." Actually, this was probably the very first ever of it's kind. "I didn't really have too many friends growing up and I'm not really sure anyone where I lived could afford doing something this big!"

[kree_soldieress]

"They really do seem to," Lauri noted, smiling. In a way it reminded her of the wedding of the Emperor and Prince Consort. That was wonderful and beautiful.

The compliment of her outfit has her shift from foot to foot in a nervous manner.

"I thank you. I fear I am not appropriately dressed. This was suitable to the last wedding I went to, but I was partially there as a guard. It seems... a bit much for here."

[cetrary]

"Coming as a guard doesn't seem nearly as much fun," she said with a little smile. "It's nice you get the chance to come to something as just a regular guest." She put a finger on her chin and tapped it contemplatively. "It must have been a pretty important wedding to need guards."

[kree_soldieress]

"I was not nearly worthy of being a guest at the Emperor's wedding," Lauri-Ell shrugged. "I was no one. But my sister brought me, and I have since become his guard."

So yes, she'd be at things like this in the future.

[cetrary]

"Well, clearly your sister thought you were worthy," she said with a tiny smirk. "So, maybe you weren't as unworthy as you thought! Especially if you're his guard now. You must've made a good impression at the wedding." Or maybe it was something that happened after the wedding. She had no way of knowing, but either way clearly she made a good impression at some point.

B!

[gadaboutdetective]

Llewellyn would agree. Everything looked and smelled amazing. He was between dancing with Rhy and looking for their hosts to congratulate, which meant he was unsurprisingly hovering around the food on his own for the moment. When he spotted Aerith he had to move down the table to say hi to his friend and, of course, offer his opinion on the food while he filled up a small plate with snacks (ones that he at least knew better than to slip in his pocket) that he’d not tried yet.

“Mm... I like to look at it this way; If you pick a few things now, you can try the others later. That way you get a bit of uh- everything and it’s easier to pick.” He commented with a smile, “But those are definitely delicious.” He added, eyeing the cheese with a smile and taking another for his plate as well.

[cetrary]

"Hmmm....that's a good point but is it really okay to just keep coming back?" she said as she raised her free hand up to her face to try to hide her awkward little giggle. She looked over his plate and then at the cheese and put a bit more onto her plate.

"It smells great. I wonder how they made all this? It seems like it would have taken forever."

[gadaboutdetective]

Grinning a little at her laugh, Llewellyn shrugged lightly. “I think the idea is for everyone to have what they like and enjoy themselves. And I believe there are a few people checking to keep the tables full.” At least that seemed to be a similarity between this wedding and his own. They seemed to be keeping the tables well stocked, and if he knew anything about Ignis, it was that the man had been planning the food for a while. He was going home with several things himself, courtesy of his friend having made too much.

He nodded a little, “It does indeed smell amazing, but how I can’t say… Rhy and I are still uh- working on our kitchen skills.” He commented with a wry smile, “But having seen Ignis when he’s working, I expect he was kept very busy cooking or overseeing all this.”

[cetrary]

"True....maybe it won't hurt then," she said as she proceeded to put a few more things on her plate. You don't have to twist her arm too hard about it. She giggled at his comment and gave a little shrug.

"When do you think you two will be ready to throw your first dinner party? I better be invited!" she teased. There was no denying she was kinda curious about what their cooking skills were like now. Her eyes widened a bit and she gave a look around at the food. "Ignis actually helped making it all too? Wow."

[gadaboutdetective]

Llewellyn grinned as she grabbed a little more for herself, though he ducked his head a little at the teasing and the back of his neck a bit. “Mm… The answer to that question shall remain a mystery to us both, but you’ll um- certainly be invited if such a time ever arrives.” He responded with an awkward little shrug, brows raised slightly.

He certainly expected Rhy would love to throw a dinner party, social gatherings were something the man was very good at organizing… But he wasn’t sure if either of them were there yet when it came to the cooking aspect of things, though Rhy had made more progress than he had. His husband had gotten quite good at cooking pasta!

“Ignis is quite accomplished. If you’re ever at the lodge, you can sometimes see him working away and it’s very impressive.” Llewellyn responded with a quick nod to her question. The man often let him work at a table when he needed a change of scenery, and the detective was prone to keeping an eye on the world around him, so he noticed things.

[cetrary]

"I hope it arrives soon then, I'm going to be waiting for that invitation," she replied with a quick smirk. It was definitely a bit funny to see how awkward it made him. Okay, okay, more than a bit funny.

"The lodge huh? Looks like I've got to make some plans to visit. I pass by pretty often when going to my garden, should be easy to stop off and see what he's doing. I take it you go there a bit?"

A

[mostlycloudy]

Cloud didn't have any better idea what one would wear to a wedding, and he hadn't really thought to go, either, but going through his daily routine, it occurred to him after he'd received the invitation that Aerith would most likely attend as well, and the idea came to him to surprise her. He wasn't sure if a wedding was the place to do it, but what seemed like a lifetime ago, she's promised him a date in exchange for his services.

It was nice to select his own clothes, only when he went to the tailor he learned very quickly he had no idea how to dress himself if it wasn't a uniform, and so he let the designer there suggest something for him. He was losing his nerve, though, as he approached the reception hall. What if she thought this idea was lame? What if she hated the suit? He should probably just go. The décor didn't really make an impression on him, though he did look around enough to take it all in.

And then he saw her. His throat when dry with the sight and he swallowed, trying to clear the dryness. Say something, Cloud. At least that's what he said to himself. It wasn't working, though. "Uh..."

Good, that was a started. He cleared his through. "Hey." Okay, not better.

[cetrary]

Aerith had thought about forcing Cloud to go with her, but for once she actually decided against dragging him along. Lately she'd done quite a lot of dragging Cloud here and there and in the back of her mind she kinda wondered if he'd choose to go somewhere with him on his own. Or maybe, just maybe, he'd ask her to go with him. Of course, that thought just lead to a tiny bit of disappointment because well...he didn't. Obviously. She should have known better than that, but a girl can always hope, right?

Needless to say when she actually did see him, she was a bit surprised. Okay, okay, she could admit she was more than a bit surprised. Especially when she got a better look at his suit. No way he actually styled that himself, but whoever did, they got two thumbs up from her. A tiny giggle escaped her lips at his approach and she quickly put a hand up to her mouth in an attempt to cover it up.

"Hey back," she said back with amusement in her voice. "You decided to come on your own?"

[mostlycloudy]

He rubbed the back of his neck, self-conscious of the attention she was giving him. It was almost comical trying to define exactly how little experience he had with girls. There been precious few in his hometown, and then...there'd been little time for it otherwise. At least he assumed there had been. Much of his memory after leaving home was a haze, probably a side-effect of the Mako treatments, but if someone had touched his life the way Aerith had in so short a time, he was at least moderately sure he'd remember it.

A slight smile touched his lips at her giggle and at the swell in his chest and throat at the sight of her. He took in a sharp breath before clearing his throat and nodding. "Maybe I wanted to surprise you."

It had worked, if he was reading her right. "You look...pretty great." Smooth, Cloud.

[cetrary]

"If that was your plan, it definitely worked," she said with a grin as she wagged a finger in the air. "I definitely wasn't expecting you. Though...," she tilted her head back and forth. "You kinda seem like the one surprised now." Should she tease him about how nervous he seemed? Probably not. Was she going to? Definitely.

"Are you surprised I look pretty great? Wow, Cloud, that's hurtful! Did you think I couldn't dress myself alone?"

[mostlycloudy]

"No, of course not." That came out wrong. It wasn't that he thought she couldn't manage it on her own, but that he didn't know how to string words together to express himself most of the time. It was why he let his actions speak for him. It was just...easier. "You always look great." Maybe that was...marginally better?

[cetrary]

"I dunno...sure sounded like that," she continued to tease. Maybe it wasn't precisely nice to keep teasing him with how awkward he was. Buuuut she couldn't really help it. It was kinda too easy.

"Now you're just trying to make up for it! How can I believe what you say now?"

B

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis saw Aerith as she came by and was absolutely delighted to see her there. Of course he figured Cloud might not be too far behind, but he hadn't seen the blonde man as of yet. Still, it was so totally heartwarming to see her there after all of the effort she had put in to assisting with the flowers.

So he kept a polite distance but there was a warm smile on his face as he nodded to her. "You shouldn't feel as if you need to choose. You can simply try a bit of everything."

[cetrary]

"Mmmm, can I? It seems a bit greedy to take a bit of everything." Though she couldn't deny that she actually really wanted to do just that. Everything looked so amazing but she wasn't sure about just piling up her plate with a bit of everything. "It must have taken forever to make all this."

[faithfulsupport]

"Of course." Ignis smiled, "food is certainly for eating." He planned to save what could be saved and donate the rest if it didn't go, but he'd really rather see people enjoying the food first.

He had to shake his head lightly. "Well, it did take some effort, but it did help to pass the time all the same."

[cetrary]

"True! I guess I've just never really seen this much in one place." And for some reason it still felt a little greedy. Maybe that was a product of having spent so much of her life in the slums. She gave him a tiny smile and little shrug of her shoulders, wanting to move on from that as quickly as possible.

"I hope you had a lot of help!"

[faithfulsupport]

Ignis had to smile. If Aerith thought this was a lot, she had no idea about all of the food in the back. That of course he didn't reveal so he nodded to that tiny smile he got and moved on from the subject since she had been so kind.

"I did. I have quite the array of helpful staff here and we wanted to make sure that even if someone arrived uninvited or somehow had missed the ceremony itself, they would somehow know there was still a place for them here."

And that had been something of an inspiration from Llewellyn.

[cetrary]

"That's so kind of you!" She returned his smile with a bright one of her own. "I bet you could feed most of the people that've been brought here with all this. It all smells so good too. I don't know how you did it even with helpful staff. Then again everything looks amazing. This must have been a wonderful day for you."