Brunch

(This is the post for the brunch the morning of our vow renewal ceremony -- see the outline post for a summary of all the day's events. Members of the wedding party should feel free to add anything else they wish in the comment section. )

In lieu of the traditional rehearsal dinner, Morgan and Roland have invited their Honor Folk and their spouses/partners to a wedding-day brunch (this is the same guest list as the Meet-and-Greet party, sans families). As arranged, the various couples trickle in to the parking lot behind...well, welcome to King's Hawaiian. Various chatting and catching up gets done while waiting for everyone to arrive. Before long, the whole party is there, and everyone goes into the restaurant.

The place is bustling, but in a relaxed way. The wait staff is friendly and the wait itself is brief. An area on the far side of the restaurant has been reserved, tables put together for the get-together. Menus are delivered, and for the undecided, the happy couple recommends the French Toast. Morgan adds that for those who like coconut, the coconut syrup is yummy.

Eventually, orders are taken and the group has a breather. At this point, Roland stands.

It's traditional for the groom to propose a toast at these things, particularly to his and the bride's families. So, to Morgan, my heart and soul, my muse and joy; and (raises glass) to all of you, our family. We are people who know and value the families we have chosen. All of us understand what it's like to be the strangers, the misfits, the mutants and wizards, the 'other' in the land of our birth. There's a gift in that, though – we can truly cherish those we find to be misfits with. So, in the words of an absent friend, “home is with whom your heart is.” Thank you for being home with us.

He sits, and Morgan stands.

I'd also like to thank all of you, again, for joining us in this unusual process. To paraphrase a friend, (she lifts her glass towards Susan), there are two kinds of people in the world -- weird and boring -- and I know which kind I want as friends. Thank you all for being weird and wonderful. And to Roland... I know there have been times that you've wondered if maybe you shouldn't have encouraged me when I came up with this "virtual wedding" thing, but you've stuck with it for me, and I think you've enjoyed parts of it, and for that and so many other reasons, I'd marry you all over again.

There's more conversation...until the food arrives. Portions are generous without being overwhelming, and the food is delicious. Glasses are refilled promptly, coffee is Kona, and the meal is lively.

As the last slices are downed and scraps devoured, Roland stands once again.

Another tradition is to give the attendants their gifts at the rehearsal dinner. Since we're having this instead one of those...

(He takes out the boxes.) Anyway, since cufflinks are one of those things we can actually get away with stuff on, we decided to have some fun with these. Seosaidh, I got you Trek pins – that one was a little tough, but I figure Trek is always safe with us, and your DS9 game is cool. (grins) Jared, I got you Superman shield links. That one was easy. After all, didn't Curt Swan draw you? Keith, my techie water brother, I went with a circuit design for you. I hope you all like!

As Roland hands out his gifts, Morgan pulls three boxes out from under her chair.

I also got a little something for my ladies. After looking at lots of pink makeup bags and overly-cute tchotchke, I found something I hope will be a nice, and useful, remembrance. These are cashmere scarves [1], with your initials embroidered on them. There are also gift cards for Whimsic Alley -- I saw that all of you had Harry Potter on your Facebook interests, but then I realized that I didn't know which Houses you'd favor or what sort of wand you'd like, and this way the wand can choose you (smiles).

At this point Roland takes care of the bill, belongings are gathered up, and it's back out to the cars for a loose caravan to our next stop. It's still several hours before the wedding, so rooms have been booked for the interim.

Continued in Pre-Ceremony Prep...

Footnote:
[1] If we were doing this in real-space I would have made sure no one has trouble with wool, and picked out a safe alternative.