[OTA] We Are Gathered Here | The Fox-Kattalakis Wedding

[headfollowheart]

A few things had gone wrong, honestly. There had been some confusion in the morning when they’d arrived to decorate the church - a few bouquets on the altar, some green and blue ribbons twined around a few of the posts - and it’d been locked. She’d managed to leave Spade Castle with her dress, veil, the coin from his mother strung on a thin leather thong, the emerald silk sash and Victor’s ring - but of all things, she’d managed to leave her shoes in their box in the closet, and Chives had had to go back for that. Hadyn looked a little green from his adventure shanghaiing Victor with Ben and Elisha, her cousin Sara had in usual Sara fashion managed to break the heel on her left shoe. Nerves finally hit as Chives was braiding her hair, and by the time the veil was settled over the smooth curls, her nails had left indents in her palms.

In the end, though, it was pretty much perfect. Two of her closest friends preceded her down the aisle in soft blue dresses with forget-me-nots in their braided hair and small posies in their hands. She’d walked towards her fiance on her brother’s arm with her hands full of spring flowers, and after the words were said and Victor lifted the veil, they were married. It only felt a little different than before, Zoe thought as their brief kiss ended. But it was different; she was Zoe Fox.

Zoe Fox knew, of course, that Victor Fox would have preferred them to just slip back to their apartment - no big party, no flowing wine and hors d'oeuvres - but she’d wanted something. And he’d given her carte blanche in the end, really; she’d chosen the small reception room that opened out into the Castle gardens, she’d picked the combination of hyacinths, hydragea, and lily of the valley for the table arrangements, the Greek-flavored menu of spanakopita, wild green and strawberry salad, linguine primavera and herb-encrusted lamb. She’d pored over cake designs until she finally picked a vanilla bean cake with strawberry puree filling, decorated in vanilla buttercream. She’d pruned the list of friends, family and acquaintances who might be expected to be invited to the wedding reception until they numbered barely fifty.

Under the strict supervision of Chives, of course the reception looked perfect, she thought as they arrived, and she smiled as she slipped her hand into Victor’s arm and the full skirt of her dress swirled against both of their legs. Perfect, though perfect didn’t matter quite so much to her right now.

Comments

[piqued]

And that Supervision? Had indeed been incredibly Strict. It was entirely possible that, after all was said and done, a few of the Twos would need to schedule a bit of time with on a therapist's couch. Knowing that the Five had killed before and feeling for a moment that one might be the Five's next victim for setting a fork wrong preparing for a wedding reception were two Very Different things, after all.

But it was over. It had been Accomplished. They were coming to the part where it was less Planned and more a matter of keeping things Smooth, which almost--Almost--meant a person could relax.

Or, at the very least, allow oneself to Smile. Victor and Zoë Fox. Wasn't that just the most Perfect thing in the world. Absolutely something to be grinning noticeably about while checking that the bride's hair hadn't fallen out of place.

[bluntforces]

There's never, of course, any reason to ruin a wedding. Why would anyone who wasn't truly malevolent? Because even if one didn't quite approve, and even if there might always be a tiny bit of doubt lodged in the back of the brain, by the time you get to a wedding, it's clearly too late to turn back.

And really, no matter his lingering reservations, seeing the smile on Zoë's face as she became Mrs Victor Fox was the sort of thing that absolutely cleared away even the most stubborn of doubts.

So there's absolutely a bright, properly pleased smile on Evan's lips when he seeks out the bride at the reception. Someone owes her a dance. And a hug. A squishy big-brother hug.

[hamelinic]

Cyrnic's not so crass as to crash a wedding, particularly not when he doesn't not like at least half the couple--and particularly when the groom isn't the sort of Spade a man wants to cross on an emotionally high day.

But the reception? Well. Free food--even in this horrible castle--is clearly an open invitation for the hungry to slip in, avoid butlers, and get themselves away from the brink of hunger.

Maybe he'll even think to congratulate the bride.

[oneirophiliac]

Being engaged doesn't prevent her from trying for the bouquet, though she sadly fails. Still, she's grinning as the wedding ends, not least because it's all gone off without a hitch. One less thing for any of them to freak out about.

So of course she'll bounce up to the happy couple and spend nearly half a minute squeeing congratulating them. Well, mostly Zoe and being a bit more calm for Victor.

And, naturally, whirling about the dancefloor.

[sirforawhile]

He still has his reservations about Victor. He still has reservations about Zoe's age. He still has reservations about how long this will last.

But he's not the one standing up when the priest asks if anyone will speak, and he's not the one who's going to ruin this wedding. Happy days should be kept happy.

And at least he's certain that Victor will endeavour to keep Zoe happy too.

[intotherough]

As best man, he'd been imbued with more than a few responsibilities. The bachelor party, for one, and getting Victor to one had required both his and Elisha's considerable skills in subterfuge. Holding the ring for the groom, as the bride had already been wearing hers, and locking the church doors behind them. And the toast, of course. That one had been a bit of a trick, since it wasn't like he could tell the gathered just how he and Victor had met.

He caught Victor's eye as he headed towards the dais, and his lips curled up as he picked out a record. "I had such plans," he said out loud, in a voice that carried to the back of the room and stopped the murmurs. "Alas, the piper called out, so the lot of you are stuck with me." And with that, he motioned Victor to pull his lady onto the floor before he set the needle in a particular spot and began to sing.

Victor owed him for this one, truthfully.

[onlytolerable]

She hates the thought of being on display in front of all those people. She hates more the idea of tripping on her too-high heels and crashing head first down the aisle. But she loves Zoe more than she fears embarrassment, and Sophie's determined not to scream and run away, trip head over tail or do anything else ridiculous that would ruin her best friend's wedding.

By the time she gives her friend her final hug as Zoe Kattalakis and steps through the arch and onto the aisle, she's thinking only of Zoe and doing her part to make this day perfect for her. She manages the long walk with nary a wobble, head high, huge smile lighting her face and heart near to bursting with joy.

Later she'll take a moment to deadpan to Victor that it's Spade tradition for the man to take the woman's last name and ask him if he's ordered new stationery.

For now, it's all about hugs and congratulations and whispering to the Best Man that he hadn't needed to catch her after all.

[standlikestone]

It's perfect. It really is. And even though she would have scoffed at the planning and the fretting had this happened a couple months ago... not now.

Now she's just looking at all the decorations a little dreamily as she eats cake.

[gardenplots]

Not long ago, Zoe had taken her aside and whispered a request in her ear. Maggie, surprised and pleased, had hugged her and murmured, "Of course, Dearest. Just try to keep me away."

Charlotte Huntly might be missing one of the most important moments in her daughter's life, but Victoria Mary Margaret St. John would always be there with the smiles and hugs and love only a mother of the heart can give. She sits in pride of place, in the mother of the bride's seat, wearing a dress picked specially for the occasion.

Besides, she adores dancing nearly as much as she adores Zoe.

[sans_coeur]

It's... quaint. And by quaint, she means terribly boring. She'd been hoping that there would be a few more people to mask her showing up, but then again, this was her daughter. Charlotte couldn't really expect the turnout at the reception to be more than pathetic.

The dress is pretty, she supposes, though neither outstanding, nor memorable. She barely notices Reginald coming back, unconsciously takes the plate he thrusts under her nose. "How boring," she murmurs, taking a bite as her sharp eyes cast around the decorations.

Good lord. Even the cake is vanilla.

[the_songbird]

Everything is beautiful and Elani's so happy for them both. And between the yellow dress and the signature McCartney beaming smile...that happiness is almost blinding.

The question is...does she want cake or dancing first? (after congratulating the happy couple, of course)

[old_dog]

There's been too much doom and gloom of late that the wedding was a refreshingly happy event to attend and forget about everything else that troubles them, at least for a little while.

Michael dug out a suit for the occasion and although he wasn't particularly religious, he did manage to sit through the church component - after all, they were all there to celebrate with the bride and groom rather than to strictly observe antiquated traditions.

He wasn't seen much at the reception after congratulating Mr. and Mrs. Fox, and complementing the latter on her dress and hair. But he pops up occasionally talking to other guests when he isn't outside grabbing a quick smoke.

[grrranimals]

Somewhere along the line, Tess became the go-to date whenever someone needed to drag along a buddy to get the family off their case. She doesn't mind (much). There's free food, fun and--so long as it's reciprocal for when Mum gets too crazy with her "when are you giving me grandbabies" schtick--harmless.

And that's how the day finds her here on Dillon Huntly's arm, wearing her standard I-am-attending-a-wedding-and-wearing-what-will-not-offend-anyone dress. She can't help teasing him a bit (and a little harmless flirting). Zoe'd been worried about him the last time they'd spoken. So, she might as well see if there's anything to that.

But first, cake.

[heartvestment]

She's been there since the wee hours of the morning, helping Zoe with everything she needs. She's been there when Zoe was walking down the aisle, playing her heart out on violin. She's been there when Zoe and Victor kissed. And now she's there - just a little differently.

She hasn't changed out of her dress. But she has, well. Added something.

It's a fashion statement. Really.

[somuchheart]

It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. Blythe is one of the guests who gets a little teary when Zoe and Victor stand at the altar. And it's absolutely lovely to hear the music come on and watch them dance with each other, with such obvious adoration in their eyes, their movements.

She's happy to be sitting and watching for now.

[morallydefunct]

The thing about weddings, really, was that they were often long uncomfortable affairs. Particularly Irish Catholic ones. And while a kilt was not a particularly common Irish tradition for a wedding, he'd opted for it all the same. Some of it, admittedly, was thanks to Ben's encouragement in joshing Elisha over the idea of having to don a kilt for the wedding.

All the same, he was comfortable in kilt and more than happy to not merely addressing his bride as 'My Lady' any longer, but as 'My wife'. And that, in and of itself, was enough to please him. But not before Ben and convinced him to give his own rendition of a Sinatra song for his wife.

[hey_sexy_latte]

Teresa had been entirely unashamed to shed a tear or two (or more) at the ceremony itself. It was beautiful, after all, and she couldn't be happier.

Really, the whole day is just a slow build of glee. She got to wear a nice outfit, and she got to see her good friend get married to a man she clearly loves. It gets better when an entirely bemused Hadyn ends up foisting the bouquet on her. She wonders if it counts if she technically didn't catch it. She'll think on that later.

For now, she's happily settled in a corner, enjoying a piece of the cake and watching the guests with a contented air.

[unsungheart]

He'd had too much beer. Also too much wine. And also a horrible, horrible older sister who lamented that there wasn't a single Celine Dion song in the catalog. And who also pointed out that they were supposed to be musicians but only the groom's side was singing.

Really, everything was all Jess's fault. He was going to happily blame her for the rest of his days.

But there was, nonetheless, Celine Dion, belted out in his best baritone.

In case someone was missing that.