[PRP] We Are Gathered Here Today

[Blood_Goddess]

"I'm sorry- I'm sorry." She laughed, more clearly then the quiet tone Luke had taken, very clearly giving an effort to quiet herself, she managed to finally get a hold of herself, taking a beep breath of composure... that crumbled once again when she straightened up and made eye contact with Luke.
"I'm sorry~" She squeaked through another giggle, bringing her other hand up and trying to hide herself with the flowers to compose herself as she just continued on.

Rosie's family and Pokemon were not getting away with this one unscathed, Even grandmother Genevieve had a hand over her mouth trying to conceal a very clear amusement to the discomposure of her granddaughter

"Oh dear, laughing bride." Aurthur chuckled himself, watching Rosie as she tried to contain her delight, and by now it seemed most of the guests were using this for a good laugh themselves.
"let it out, let it out." He encouraged.  

[Suudonym]

Well, for all the hardship they'd suffered through, they certainly deserved a laugh. They deserved a lot more than a laugh, and Luke was certain that the laughter was only the beginning, a prelude for things to come. A home full of smiles and laughter, music and dancing, happiness and more happiness, for as far into the future as he could imagine. How could a moment such as this possibly be the beginning of anything less?  

[Blood_Goddess]

While some would always hold their breath for a flawless ceremony, it was becoming very clear very quickly that this wasn't going to be the case. Not with a giddy giggling bride trying to compose herself enough, and the attending guests sharing int he joy with her. Though this wouldn't be something anyone, not even Rosie would look back on with embarrassed regret.

Eventually Rosie was finally able to get it out of her system, though she still wore a bright smile on her face, through the sigh that indicated she was finished, able to make eye contact now without giggling anymore, though it was hard sometimes.

"Alright, now that is a perfect was to start off this ceremony." Arthur said with his own chuckle, giving Rosie an encouraging smile before looking out to the guests, waiting for them to fall silent again before he started speaking.

"Family and Friends of Luke and Rosie- Welcome to their wedding ceremony this afternoon at Dawnwood Estate, In North Sandalwood, Kodo

In this place, we take ourselves out of the usual routine of daily living to witness a unique moment in the lives of Rosie and Luke. Today they join their lives in the union of Marriage.

To all their guests; they are happy to share this moment with you. They have known most of you for several years. You watched them grow up, you went to school with them, or you worked with them. Because you are the ones who have supported them and known them so well, it is only fitting that you are the ones to share this once-in-a-lifetime moment with them.

Luke and Rosie are pleased to have the Ewell’s their family in the front row… close to them for the ceremony. Rosie thanks her Uncle, Cousins and Grandmother, for all the loving support given throughout her life into becoming the women she is today.

Luke and Rosie appreciate the support and love from their pokemon, whose partnerships have become invaluable to them over the years.

A wedding day is often a day when couples miss family members no longer with them. For Rosie and Luke, there are family members whose memories they hold dear.

Luke would like to take a moment to remember his brother, who is credited for Luke being here with us today, in a tremendous act of selflessness and love.
Luke’s mother also passed away two years ago, though her memory is still alive in her son, she is missed every day.

Rosie remembers her mother on this day. Who has been in the memory of her family, and whose strong influence has shaped the ones she loves most.
Rosie misses her grandfather, who she holds a place for in her heart.

It is no doubt the Bride and Groom wish they could have shared their mothers with one another, but know that they are watching over them now and are happy for them.
You both carry their legacy."

Arthur gave a silent look over to one side of the front row, where the small but notable family of the Ewells sat, while none of the other guests here carried the fon Fabre name that Luke had, these people had no doubt accepted the young man into their own family long before this day.

"And so, it is that Luke and Rosie present themselves to be married today… surrounded by the people they love the most.

As Luke and Rosie prepared for the ceremony part of this wedding celebration, they reflected on what it is that they love about each other. This part was easy for them!

Luke, "
The man started, turning to look to the young groom as he started to speak.

"Rosie loves your kindness, your willingness to help others for nothing in return. She loves how calm you are, and how gentle you are with pokemon. She talks energetically about your courage, endurance and compassion and the strength you've grown into over the years. She loves your smile, how safe she feels whenever you're around and how much you encourage her when she needs it the most."

He then turned his attention to the bride, a broader smile growing on his face as he seemed delighted by what he was saying next.

"Rosie,
From the first day Luke set first in Kodo, you've been beside him in some way, and Luke may never find the words to adequately express how grateful he is that it was you that he met that day. He loves your brightness, your warmth, and your boundless optimism. He loves how you can paint a silver lining on even the farthest clouds. Luke compares your smile to music filling silence, turning dark into light, and he cherishes you as the sun and stars of his world."

There was a pause to allow Rosie a moment as she lifted her fingers to her lips, clearly doing her best to not get emotional again at his words.
Arthur gave her a big smile, looking over at Luke before returning his attention back onto Rosie.
"Those were his exact wording too, I had to write them down." He said in genuine awe.

"Luke and Rosie met, grew close and fell in love during difficult times, when they told me their story it was amazing to hear just how something beautiful was able to bloom from the hardships they had suffered, and it just goes to prove the strength of their bond, and the brightness of their future with one another.

Having seen one another at their best, and on the other end, at their absolute worse this couple has already endured more than people who have been married for years, the strength of love you have already formed will continue to help you grow, and to help each other grow.
You both share a support and a desire for a shared future, one that is richly lived together, Filled with singing, and dancing, and of course family.
The years will come and go… you won’t take each other for granted, you will laugh a lot, you will be the best parents you can be, you will grow older and wiser together. It’s a good story, and the ending is not in sight!"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"We come now to the words Rosie and Luke want to hear the most today… the words that take them across the threshold from being engaged to being married.

A marriage, as most of us understand it, is voluntary and full commitment. It is made in the deepest sense to the exclusion of all others, and t is entered into with the desire and hopes that it will last for life."

He paused only briefly to address the two young people before him, looking from one to the other gently.

"Before you declare your vows to one another, I want to hear you confirm that it is indeed your intention to be married today.

Rosie, do you come here freely, and without reservation to give yourself to Luke in marriage? If so, answer “I do”"

Rosie bowed her head lightly in a brief first response, but when she answered she looked to Luke, feeling the swell of pure joy only increase as she said the words "I do."
It was just a simple answer, but it meant so much, she knew she would be up here one day with him saying it, she's known it since he asked her to marry him, but to finally get here... this was so exciting!

The older man then turned to Luke directly and repeated
"Luke, do you come here freely, and without reservation to give yourself freely to Rosie in marriage? If so, answer “I do” "  

[Suudonym]

"Y--" He nearly bit his tongue to stop himself from misspeaking. "I do."  

[Blood_Goddess]

smiling with satisfaction at both of their answered, and at Luke's near slip up, the officiant just smiled it away, looking back to Rosie once more.

"Rosie, please give your bouquet to Seraphine."

As she was directed, Rosie glanced around to where her best friend was standing, holing out the bundle of flowers that she had been holding to free up her hands.

"Rosie and Luke, having heard that it if your intention to be married to each other, I now ask you to declare your marriage vows.
Please face each other and hold hands."

Now with both hands free, Rosie reached out with them toward Luke, taking his hands and holding them tightly and lovingly in her own.

"Rosie , please repeat after me…

I, Rosie"

"I, Rosie"

"take you, Luke"

"Take you, Luke"

"to be my husband"

"To be my husband." her smile brightened toward him at these words

"I will share my life with yours"

"I will share my life with yous"

"Build our dreams together,"

"Build our dreams together,"

"Support you through times of trouble,"

"Support you through times of trouble,"

"and rejoice with you in times of happiness."

"and rejoice with you in times of happiness."

"I promise to give you"

"I promise to give you"

"respect, love and loyalty"

"Respect, love and loyalty"

"through all the trials and triumphs"

"Through all the trials and triumphs"

"of our lives together."

"of our lives together."

"This commitment is made in love,"

"This commitment is made in love,"

"kept in faith,"

"kept in faith,"

"lived in hope,"

"Lived in hope"

"and made new every day of our lives."

"and made new every day of our lives."

she squeezed his hands gently as she finished, Arthur now turning to Luke.
"Now Luke, please repeat after me."

"I Luke-"  

[Suudonym]

Luke repeated, gradually, the same (sooner or later he would be grateful that he hadn't been expected to memorize and recite the vow, but at the moment it was one of the farthest things from his mind), "I, Luke, take you, Rosie, to be my wife. I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you through times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness. I promise to give you respect, love, and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together. This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

He held her hands gingerly as he repeated the words. It was almost just a formality - those had always been his natural feelings, and he was sure that Rosie could say much the same - but it was more special than that. 'Fiancee' was replaced by 'wife' and thus given the promise of forever; what about that could be called formality? He curled his fingers on Rosie's.  

[Blood_Goddess]

With the vows both spoken, Arthur allowed a moment of silence for the words to sink in, looking between the couple as he transitioned then into the next part of the ceremony.
Holding his hands out a little in a polite gesture to the bride and groom he continued.

"Your wedding rings are the outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible bond which already unites your two hearts in love.
I ask the Rodney to give Rosie’s ring to Luke"

On cue, Rodney crouched down toward Sephira, who was still holding the ribbon with the rings on them.
Collecting the two from the ribbon, the smaller of Rosie's cousin's selected the smaller of the two and walked over to place it into Luke's hand. then stepping back into his previous placement.

"Luke, place the ring on Rosie’s finger and repeat after me….

I give you this Ring,
Wear it with love and joy.
As the ring has no end,
my live is also forever."  

[Suudonym]

Rosie's ring was part of a set with her engagement ring, and Luke turned it in his fingers to orient it properly. It slid easily into place, pairing with the blue gem to create the illusion of a single completed ring. He repeated the words as he was prompted, thinking for a moment that maybe it sounded a bit cheesy - but then it wasn't as if he had never said similar things entirely of his own volition, and he couldn't deny that the statement matched his sentiment.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie seemed delighted enough in Luke's words, even if he was just repeating when to say, she knew they weren't untrue, so she took them to heart, marveling at the now complete ring he had placed on her finger and beaming up at him.

When Luke finished, Arthur smiled softly then spoke again to the Best Man.

"Rodney, now please give Luke’s ring to Rosie."

The last ring in her cousin's hand was exchanged to his cousin, allowing her to close her hand around it as Aurthur continued.

"Rosie, place the ring on the Groom’s finger and repeat after me…."

Taking Luke's left hand into both of hers, she slid the beautiful silver ring, one much more simple than hers over the finger of his scarred hand, with it placing her hope and her symbol of love over such a terrible and ugly time in his life, one that left its own mark.
As she did she repeated after Arthur,

"With this Ring
I marry you.
Wear this ring forever
As a sign of my love."

With Rosie finished, Arthur took over again.

"May the wedding rings you exchanged today remind you always that you are surrounded by enduring love.

Luke and Rosie, you have just committed yourselves one to the other, by the pledge of your marriage vows and the exchange of wedding rings. Your life is now one. To celebrate your new union."

Arthur's smile grew as he looked upon the couple, closing his hands in front of him as he spoke in a softer tone to the two.

"Rosie and Luke, I offer these good wishes to you on this special day;
May your life together be blessed with prosperity and good health.
May you always share open and honest communication between each other.
May you respect each others individual talents and gifts and give full support to each others professional and personal pursuits.
May you cherish the time and family you will create together.
May all the years to come be filled with moments to celebrate and renew your love.
May your love be a life-long source of excitement, contentment, affection, respect and devotion for one another.

Now by the power vested in me by the region of Kodo, it is my honor and delight to declare you husband and wife. You may seal this declaration with a kiss."  

[Suudonym]

Maybe it was a bit arrogant to think so, but Luke was pretty certain that they deserved as much at this point. They'd each been through more than their fair share of hardship in the past, and he felt that in weathering through it all, they had earned a lifetime of joy, or at least simple contentment. He'd fight hard to protect that life and to fulfill the promises of their engagement and their marriage.

He brushed his thumbs across her fingers and, gently and sweetly, leaned forward to kiss his wife.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Rosie was all but bouncing by the time Arthur declared them married, and with a soft noise of glee leaned in to meet Luke's kiss.
just smiling into the kiss when the sudden applause from the guests broke the silence.

Arthur still had his hands folded in front of him, though he opened them to hold one out toward each the bride and groom.

"I am pleased to present the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. fon Fabre!"

With that the officiant clapped his hands together, and looked to Rosie and Luke.
"Your wedding ceremony is over, it is time to celebrate!"  

[insidiousEnigma]

Zacharie had never been to a wedding before.
Had never really thought that it would be an event that he would ever be invited to...
He'd only known Rosie for a short time and yet he had been invited to take part in such an important part of her life. It didn't make much sense to him, but as he quietly sat beside his big brother in the stuffy, ridiculous, outfit that Andre had stuffed him into, he couldn't help but feel...a strange sense of happiness.

He was very happy for Rosie. He didn't know too much about the blonde haired girl, but he did know that she deserved this happiness (And it was obvious that she was very, very happy indeed). He knew Luke even less but he figured that if Rosie loved the red head then he had to be deserving of it and that made him alright in Zacharie's opinion.

"Zacharie."

The teen turned to look over at his brother, only to give the older man a confused look when he spotted the handkerchief being held out to him. "You're crying." Andre said softly so as to not disturb the ceremony, a small, fond smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Zacharie reached up to touch his fingers to his cheek and was surprised to find that they were in fact wet. "Oh..." He murmured, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. He didn't pull away or complain as the elder Dubois carefully patted his cheeks dry before leaning over to plant an affectionate kiss on the top of his head. "Don't fret, many people cry at weddings." Andre glanced about the other guests briefly before returning his attention back to the front of the room where the bride and groom stood.

Andre took Zacharie's hand into one of his own before reaching out to take Vincent's into his other. He'd never been particularly fond of weddings (there was too much sentiment for his liking and he tended to get bored with the atmosphere very quickly) but he had to admit that this was rather pleasant. It probably had everything to do with the fact that he had both Zacharie and Vincent with him but he recognized that he was, in fact, happy for Rosie. She was a sweet girl and she deserved someone to love and love her in return...or something incredibly mushy and prosaic like that.

That didn't mean he wasn't ready for the ceremony to be over.

Luckily it seemed to be wrapping up and he released Zacharie and Vincent's hands so they could all clap. Zacharie, clapped rather enthusiastically until he looked over and caught sight of Andre's more controlled, polite clapping. The teen squirmed a bit uncomfortably in his seat before tamping down his excitement and clapping much more reasonably like Andre. Which only really caused Andre to smile widely and lean over to gently bump his head against his little brother's.  

[Blood_Goddess]

(anyone around Ray)

From media the understanding of weddings was something of a sappy and eye rolling experience, at least it had always seemed that way to Ray, who in truth wasn't much of a fan of sitting around and watching movie or TV shows anyway.

She had to wonder now though, as the ceremony seemed to be proceeding in a way she didn't totally expect, or what she guessed most likely to be the fact that she was friends with the two people getting married. and maybe the light hearted tone that it had all been interrupted for a time before it all started. But Ray was actually enjoying this, and quite touched by it. Look at those kids all going and growing up, getting married.

As the ceremony ended, Ray clapped along with the rest of the guests, staying in her seat though as she watched the bride and groom both head back up the aisle followed by the ceremony party and then the family.
At this point the guests were dismissed and welcomed to linger untill the bride and groom returned.

"That was... aaaadorable." Ray said as she stretched her long limbs and stood up. "I didn't expect that to be adorable, but that was adorable. Good for them." Ray said, looking around at the group of people she knew from the island and putting her hands on her hips. "I guess we start the party soon huh?"

(Ceremony Party)

As they had been instructed before hand, once the ceremony was finished the group that had been taking part in the ceremony was moved to the building, where they stepped into one of the side rooms away from the rest of the guests for the time being.

Arthur followed in after the family of the bride, holding the door open for the elder of the Ewell as she stride in holding her son's arm.

Rosie, who was still very giddy about this whole process wasted no time in throwing her arms around Luke's neck once they came to a stop in the side room, letting out a noise of glee.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera had taken a moment to accept Rosie's bouquet - of course she hadn't practiced holding two bouquets with one hand before the ceremony because she didn't want to drop either of them, of course not, what are you talking about - but accepted it without issue, and was rather proud of herself for doing so. All of her earlier anxiety had all but disappeared, replaced by a feeling of contentment and even a little excitement for her two best friends. When everyone started clapping, she remained silent; she would've clapped, of course, had she a) had two hands to clap with and also b) wasn't holding so many flowers, and when it came time to hand Rosie back her bouquet, she did so (and was again a little proud of herself for not dropping either bouquet) and eagerly followed the small precession into the building nearby. While all she wanted to do at that point was give both of her best friends a hug, she managed to refrain and waited for the moment instead, assuming the newlywed couple would prefer to hug each other first. That was probably a safe bet, she figured.