Cast
of Characters:Cast
of Characters:Groom—Akma (Jef)
Bride—Aquma (Jin Yoon)
Best Man—Bigbert (Robert)
Maid of Honor—Ioreksdotter (Christina)
Officiant—Nemogandor (Bob)
Official Dancer—Salmonella (John)
Guests--Houdelion (Mike), Murgen (Max), Avehorinus (Rolo)
Virtual (RL) Guest and Videographer--H
The pony-tailed gnome beauty Aquma, a renowned mage and tailor, grew up with the stalwart gnome warlock Akma from their Level 1 days on the Gilneas server. They spent their leisure time together in Ironforge, they quested together through the perilous Dead Mines, and they worked together to gain experience and reputation wherever they went, for the good of the Alliance. At last, the time came for them to celebrate their love and their devotion to each other.
Joining them at their wedding would be long-time friends Salmonella, a human paladin known for his 300-level skill in dancing, among other talents; Nemogandor, a human warrior of generous heart and stout bravery; Bigbert, a Night Elf priest who has led his party through swamps and dungeons, over boats and gryphons, from level to level; and Ioreksdotter, a single-minded Night Elf moonkin druid who is rather vain about her armor.
Wedding
Planning(Note: The following conversations took place over email, outside of Azeroth.)
Bob, John, and Robert:
Hm, that’s funny. Why does Christina have a yellow question mark on her head? We better click on her and see. (They click.)
(At left, Bob toasts the happy couple on the night of the wedding; note that Bob is wearing a goat shirt that Jef designed and gave him.)
Christina:
Hi, friend!
So, you want to help celebrate Jef and Jin Yoon's wedding? Well, I know you want to keep your reputation high with them. . . Let me see if I can help.
Reaching Hawaii was problematic for some of our brave band, I know. With the terrible monsters of conflicting trips and the dangers of air travel standing in their way, not everyone was able to make it to Hawaii to celebrate with Jef and Jin.
I know! Let's have a celebration here in Azeroth. We can go to the rolling hills of Hillsbrad, the beautiful sandy shores of Tanaris, the quiet Elvish groves of Darnassus, or--for the more adventurous among you--the exotic island destination of Exodar.
Wear your wedding best! See you there, friend!
Quest Objectives: Choose your favorite destination for the Azeroth wedding of Jef and Jin Yoon. Arrive at Robert and Christina's house by gryphon, T, or car on Saturday night, June 2, by 8:00. Bring everything you need to celebrate a wedding in Azeroth!
Suggested number of players: 5+
Rewards: You will receive: plentiful sushi + ice cream and 500 Jef & Jin Yoon reputation.
Accept or Decline
(Bob, John, and Robert accept the quest. Quest acceptance music plays. Additional emails ensue. The most entertaining excerpts from them follow.)
Christina:
Proper attire requested. In this case, I'll accept anything that doesn't include a weapon--if you want to get more dressed up, that's fine too. I found some dress robes in the auction house for 40 silver (they were cloth and green and long), which seems like the equivalent of going to Filene’s Basement and grabbing the first dress I see that fits. hey, it’s what I do for rl weddings. . .
Robert:
If you feel like you don't have anything to wear, my alt can make tuxedos, dresses and festive shirts.
Christina:
I think tuxes would be adorable. Especially on gnomes and on dancing humans. . . .
John:
Are there tuxes in the game? I'd better go clothes-shopping soon!
Robert:
Yes, you're very behind, but it's not too late. Christina I hear has some expensive new shoes. I'm wondering if I should wear a priestly dress uniform, a classic tux, or a festive holiday suit. I procured a lot of runecloth, so I should have no problems making tuxes... I think there's a shirt, pants and jacket. A nice hat might be appropriate too, if you're the hat wearing sort. Anyone have ideas on hats and shoes?
Bob:
I should wear a simple, white, cloth robe.
Robert:
I was looking at robes for the officiant. I feel I better understand the process of being a bridesmaid after looking through everything in the auction house and thinking the neckline was all wrong, or it was just the wrong shade of blue... Then you find the perfect thing, and it requires level 65. So no robes yet, but i'll keep looking.
(Above right, the best man shows off the tee shirt he decided to wear on the night of the wedding--it's a fish shirt that Jef designed and gave him, and especially appropriate because we would have a sushi wedding reception.)
remony
and In-Game ReceptionOn the night of Saturday, June 2nd, in the year of our gnome 2007, our trusty cohort began to assemble from far and wide—from Somerville and from Brookline—for the ceremony and reception. Mike and John joined virtually, logging in from New Hampshire, and H--a friend of Bob’s in town from San Francisco--joined as well. Two of Jef's brothers, Max and Rolo, who normally play Horde on another server, created low-level Alliance players on our server in order to join. Getting everyone together took a lot of time and effort.
7:45
Welcome, Prelude, and Transportation
As Best Man, Bigbert was in charge of distributing directions and shepherding everyone to the wedding safely. He also made sure the rings were kept safe, arranged for a warlock to be on hand for summons (no one wanted to bother Akma with the details of summoning people on his wedding day, after all), and generally took charge. This entire process took from 7:45 until 9:05, however--a little bit longer than Robert had intended. First Jef and Jin couldn't log onto our network (above right they both peer at their computers--I particularly like how Robert's laptop, with Warcraft on the screen, is visible in this shot too, so that it really seems to be just a picture of laptops; note also that Jef is wearing a Warcraft tee shirt that Bob gave him); next, John and Mike couldn't manage to get their talking server set up so we could all hear each other speak; finally, Jef had too many items in his bags and walked around (in the game, not in rl) mostly undressed until he was able to get his stuff in order and his fancy clothes on. At last, with the men all in tuxes, Jin in a beautiful weddding gown, we all made our way to the Stormwind Cathedral. Only one random player ran in, ran down the aisle ahead of me, and leapt on the altar--Bob thinks of him as the random drunken uncle at a wedding--and the only NPC who intervened was Altar Boy Thomas, on his regular path up to the altar, but we just included him in our ceremony. H videotaped us through most of this--exciting footage indeed!
8:00 Ceremony [delayed]
Nemogandor:
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today in the sight of the Goddess Elune to join this male gnome, and this female gnome in holy matrimony. Not to be entered into lightly, holy matrimony should be entered into solemnly and with reverence and full buffs. Into this holy agreement these two gnomes come together to be joined. If any person here can show cause why these two gnomes should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or /GQUIT. (pause)
We shall now have a reading from Christina.
Ioreksdotter:
The following reading is an excerpt from "Epithalamion," adapted from Edmund Spenser.
When ye come to Elune’s holy places,
To humble your proud faces,
Bring them up to th' high altar that they may,
The sacred ceremonies there partake,
The which do endless matrimony make,
And let the Stormwind music loudly play.Never had gnome more joyfull day then this,
Whom Blizzard would heape with bliss.
Make feast therefore now all this live long day,
This day for ever to us holy is,
Pour out the mead without restraint or stay,
Pour not by cups, but by the Bellygrub full,
Pour out to all that will,
And sprinkle all the posts and walls with wine,
That they may sweat, and drunken be withall.
Crown ye the bride with snowball coronal,
And warlock also crown with linen and vine,
And let the humans dance unto the rest.Nemogandor:
We are all here today to witness the matrimonial bind-on-pickup of Akma and Aquma. This joyous day celebrates the commitment and love with which Akma and Aquma start their epic-quest-chain together. Through the Goddess Elune, you are joined together in the most holy of bonds.
Do you, Akma take Aquma to be your lawfully wedded wife and live together forever in the inn of holy matrimony? Do you love, comfort, honor and keep her, in rez-sickness and in full bars of health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse for as long as you both shall remain undeleted?
Akma:
I do.
Nemogandor:
Do you, Aquma take Akma to be your lawfully wedded wife and live together forever in the inn of holy matrimony? Do you love, comfort, honor and keep her, in rez-sickness and in full bars health, for richer or for poorer, for better or for worse for as long as you both shall remain undeleted?
Aquma:
I do.
Nemogandor:
The wedding ring is an unbroken symbol of the everlasting love and commitment between male-gnome and wife. (Best man hands ring to groom; maid of honor hands ring to bride.) Repeat after me: With this truesilver ring, I thee wed.
Akma:
With this truesilver ring, I thee wed. (Places ring on bride's finger)
Aquma:
With this truesilver ring, I thee wed. (Places ring on groom's finger)
Nemogandor:
What the Goddess Elune has joined together let no Horde spam sunder armor. With the power vested in me by the Holy Light and the state of Gnomeregan in exile I now pronounce you male-gnome and wife. You may kiss the bride.
As the happy couple was pronounced gnome and groom, their friends showered them with snowballs (rice is hard to come by in Azeroth, and there’s all that messy clean-up) and fireworks and mechanical target dummies and exploding sheep (John's character is an engineer), and at last toasted them with mead, a strong alcoholic beverage. Joyous dancing, led by Salmonella, ensued--after the long delay before the wedding, we ended up holding the reception right in the Cathedral, because everyone was so excited. There was a lot of hugging and a lot of cheering; Jin looked lovely in her dress, and everyone was happy to be a part of their (second) wedding.
(Also known as: "Hey, Gamers Need to Eat Too!" and "Hm, Do Jef and Jin Yoon REALLY Like Sushi?")
Sparkling watermelon-lemon
nonalcoholic spritzers (aka Melon Juice, a mana-restorer in the game), chilled
sake, and Refreshing Spring Water were on hand to quench the wedding party's
thirst and to toast the happy couple.
Dinner consisted of a four-tiered sushi wedding "cake," visible above left. We had a cute bride and groom figure on them--ducks were as close as I could get to gnomes in terms of figure, temperment, and overall bodyshape--and lots of garnishes on the cake. (Read more about the making of the cake here.) Above right, Jef and Jin Yoon cut the cake.
Dessert was a three-tiered ice cream cake, seen above. After dessert, we sat around the table chatting happily until after midnight, when the bride and groom excused themselves--possibly a World of Warcraft honeymoon is in order? Stay tuned!
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robertandchristina.com
was made with a Mac.
© 2007 C&R Enterprises
Email christina@robertandchristina.com
or robert@robertandchristina.com
Created: 6/3/07. Last Modified: 6/3/07.
