We're getting married!
Of course, you know that already. I've known it for years, and we decided back on Beltane to tie the actual knot this summer. We didn't really set a date, though. We never got around to finding June's calendar that night...and more to the point, we wanted to talk to our families and the people here at school and find out what works for everybody else. And it took us a while to get around to doing that.
We didn't just fart around on the subject for all these weeks. June was on the Island and more or less incommunicado, and then we had to wait until people got back to us, so it really was just now that we could set a date, and in the meantime we were figuring out what we want to do and how and where and all of that. We haven't been wasting our time. And now we have a date.
It's Saturday, June 23, two days after the Summer Solstice.
Of course, it was a forgone conclusion that we would marry here, on campus. Nowhere else is as meaningful, and nowhere else is as simple, logistically for us. The place has all the facilities we need and they often rent out parts of campus for weddings, so they know how to do this. Part of why we chose the date that we did is because we wanted to have it here--so we wouldn't interfere with holiday preparations and so that people from off campus who want to attend both can do so conveniently.
Now, of course, we've suddenly realized we have less than a month to go! So we're in Wedding Planning Mode all the time.
Do we pay for the venue? (Yes, we insisted. We argued that our parents on both sides have had money set aside for our weddings since we were children, and that we want that money to go to support the school. We're still getting a substantial discount, this place is not cheap)
Do we want an outside caterer? (No, we want Sadie, though we waffled on whether to pay her through the school or through her side business. We chose the school, so she can use our kitchens here)
Do we want flowers? (yes: a separate fee to Karen for the arrangements)
Do we want to invite everybody we know, or just close friends and immediate family? (maybe something in the middle?)
What sort of ceremony do we want?
Ah, that last is the big one. We don't have any specific religion, so we didn't know what to do. We started by deciding who should officiate--a touch call, because almost everyone around here is ordained. Among the Six alone, only Charlie and Karen aren't. And lots of graduates and even some students are. Ollie is. Ain't that a kick? How cool would it be to be married by one of my best friends? But June has no special connection to Ollie, so that's out. Allen suggested Kit, since she has the most experience with ritual design, so we asked her. And now we're talking ritual design and ceremonial elements and mythic languages and all kinds of stuff I hadn't even thought about. June seems to be getting into it more than I am. I might leave it to her, as long as we get married by the end of the day.
June wants a dress. I mean a fancy, real, wedding dress that I am not allowed to see until after the ceremony. She's going shopping with her mother for it next week. My job is to find rings--we're going with the same company that makes the green rings masters wear, and I've already placed the order. They won't be green, of course.
This is getting real. Every day it's getting realer. I'm about to pop with excitement.
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