Pretty soon all of Bree will know about the wedding what's been finally gave a date, as Lumina's put posters up, all writ up with her pretty letters with all manner of fancified swirls and suchlike. She also drew up invitifications for them as we're havin' to the wedding ceremony itself, which is for an hour afore the reception, which is the part with the food and music and suchlike. I'm still not proper sure what the ceremony is, though. I heard from Miss Gustine as there are folk, maybe in the town hall, what got permits or some suchlike to "officiate" a wedding, which is a fancy word as to make it be all official and proper. So I gots to go to the mayor's office for to ask about who can do such a thing, and if there's anything as we got to have prepared for to make it be proper. I'm not true sure what proper even means. We already decided we won't be givin' ourselves a family name, and that's one part of it. She's got one but she don't use it, ain't even told me what it is, and I don't got one as we don't have them in the Mark. We talked about using hers, or makin' up one of our own, but she just felt like not havin' one. What if the officiatificator wants us to have one, won't let it be proper officialified without one?
It's been a true storm of good things since Yule, since Lumina asked me to give her the ring again. She seemed proper pleased with the songbird what I carved her, and also with what work I done to try for to find out about how weddings is done in Bree-land. Since then we been livin' a proper happy life almost like we's already married, while we figure out how the wedding should go. We're goin' for to have it out the festival grounds, and I'm makin' sure as we got horses to bring folk there -- including somehow a way to bring Miss Taite, on account she got trouble with horses what with her bum leg, but I got ideas about that, from things we done with my ma when she had her leg go all wobbly in much the same way. The festival grounds got a nice spot for minstrels, though we ain't yet found a band for to play, but hopefully we will in time. Lumina's plannin' for to do all the cooking and we're goin' to show more of Bree about pepper and spice. (Though more folk been learnin' of it already, atween me and Lumina talkin' it up all over town -- Maddoct and Blíd each got jars of pepper flakes sent to 'em like mine! Though I don't think I've convinced Miss Finchley about the pepper yet. Last time when I were teachin' her Rohirric, I offered some and she turned it down!)
We also been figurin' on who to invite. The ceremony itself's goin' for to have only a few. I invited Miss Marney which makes me wish as I could invite Miss Adri; I always get sad thinkin' of her and hope as she's well. Of course we're invitin' the Dwarves, Blíd and Maddoct and Byrge. Miss Taite, and Miss Finchley, and of course Gustine and Mister Theo, and Gregwald who needs to be there just so's I can tease him (he's such a scoundrel but I'm right sure he just hasn't met the right girl and I need to make sure he does just to prove the point). And Miss Cesistya, and Miss Bottle. And there's been a few folk from Harad come back to Bree of late what are invited, one Khazim what Lumina knew long ago, and a scholarly lass called Israa what studies the stars so I want for to talk to her all about that some time. There's also Miss Ajwan but I ain't gotten a chance to introduce her to Lumina yet (though I did get her to teach how to say "I love you" in the Harad-tongue so's I could surprise Lumina with it), so I ain't invited her, but maybe if'n they get to meet soon enough we can add her.
And the last part of the preparifyin' is the clothes to wear for the ceremony. Lumina sent me to the tailor not just for that but to replace some my old clothes from the Mark, most of which are hand-me-downs from Leoffweard or other brothers, and got wore thin over the years, even my fine and fancy seein'-the-Thane outfit. I'm not short of pennies no more, so much I can't get a few new outfits, so now I got a new green tunic, and a dark blue one too, and one in brown, all made more fine than anythin' I ever owned afore. But there's also the fancified outfit for the wedding itself, what I prob'ly won't never wear again after that, and that one is provin' tricksome. I had to bring a bit of red cloth what'll be part of Lumina's gown so's the tailor could be sure to match mine to it, but we couldn’t find no way to put me in red what didn't look comical, what with my hair and beard. So instead we're lookin' to match more to the gold adornment with a base of what the tailor calls 'neutral colors'. She tells me it'll look nice and work with Lumina's gown, but for some reason I'm not to know what the gown looks like, and she's not to know what my outfit will look like (why is that a rule?) I'm just gonna have to hope I end up with something as makes Lumina happy. (Yesternight at the Pony she were showin' a sketch of the gown to all the ladies there, but I had to go keep busy so's I didn't see or hear anythin' about it. But I heard the ladies all cooing over how lovely it is. I don't think mine can ever hope to live up to that! Lasses get to wear all the pretties, but we fellers don't got near so much chance to be prettied up.)
While the showin' of the gown sketch were goin' on, there was one point when I was talkin' 'bout somethin' as would be happenin' later in the year and I had to stop myself and say "my wife" and it hit me that soon it'll all be real. We'll be havin' a family, and maybe a new home in Napgrove, and Lumina's already orderin' cribs for it for when we have babies, and it'll all be not just somethin' for to dream about maybe, or plan for, but somethin' that's happened, that's done. It's still hard to believe even as it becomes more and more real. I wonder if there'll be days after we're married when it still feels like a dream, maybe even days when there's a baby on the way and I still keep catchin' myself thinkin' of it as a thing to long for, more'n a thing to have. It's got to become just how life is, eventual, right?
