The next few weeks went smoothly. They were able to make time to meet with Mark in between cases, and narrowed down their venue choices to three options. Jane liked all three, but Maura and Mark wanted to see them once the trees lost some of their leaves, to better visualize what the gardens would look like in winter. Rather than even try to argue with either of them when they were in fully planning and design mode, Jane chose to just agree.
Angela and Maura spent hours one evening discussing the reception menu. Angela wanted to cook all the food herself, but Maura insisted on hiring a caterer. After pointing out that Angela would be too busy cooking and looking after the food to really enjoy the wedding, Angela finally agreed.
They spent another hour of Maura refusing to have any dishes with tomato sauce, and Angela insisting that an Italian wedding had to have at least one tomato-based dish. At the mention of the dry cleaning bills that would result from food drips, Angela acceded that there were plenty of Italian dishes that did not include tomato sauce.
Maura wanted to include some of her favorite French dishes, while Angela had a very Italian menu planned. They finally agreed that they would try out the various dishes at home, first, and decide which ones to use. Angela was eager for the chance to share some of her recipes, and learn some French dishes from Maura. Jane was just glad they were done arguing, and looked forward to the next month of taste testing.
When talk turned to what kind of cake they should have, Maura had to laugh at Jane's sudden interest. Maura immediately ruled out any sort of berry-related filling or flavors, to avoid triggering possible allergies. Jane just nodded, stopping Angela when she started listing all the family members she knew who had allergies.
Jane happily agreed to go to several bakeries for cake tastings. None of them really had any idea what kind of cake they wanted, and he prospect of getting the chance to sample dozens of different flavors was appealing. Even when Maura insisted on an extra run after each tasting, Jane lost none of her excitement.
It was when they started putting together a guest list that they ran into problems.
Maura didn't have many friends or family to invite. She'd send invitations to both her parents, of course, but that was extent of her family. She didn't have any cousins, her grandparents had died either before she was born or while she was young, and she hadn't seen or talked to her only uncle since before she started boarding school. There were a few friends from medical school she wanted to invite, but most of her close friends were also on Jane's list.
Jane was set on a small wedding. She wanted to invite just immediate family and close friends, and leave it at that.
Angela, on the other hand, produced several pages filled with names and contact information.
Jane took one look at the papers, and got up to get a beer for her and glass of wine for Maura.
Sitting back down, she started to scan the list, stopping after the first page. "Ma, I don't even know half the people on here. I'm not inviting strangers to my wedding, I don't care if we do share blood."
Taking the list back, she started to point out names. "Great Aunt Beatrice was at your christening. Hector is your second cousin, and you guys use to play together as toddlers. You were the flower girl at Mabel's wedding. She has a granddaughter that can be your flower girl, it's only fair to return the favor, after all. I'm not actually sure if you've ever met Uncle Victor..."
Jane took the paper out of her hand, turning it over on the table and holding it down. "No, Ma. I don't know these people. I don't care who was at my christening, and I don't remember being the flower girl in anyone's wedding. I certainly don't remember playing with some cousin I've never heard of, when we were toddlers. If I don't remember meeting them, I am NOT inviting them to my wedding."
Turning the paper back over, she grabbed the pen from in front of Maura and started crossing names off the list. When she was done, she handed the list back to Angela. "There, I actually know those people."
Looking down, Angela stared at all the names crossed out. "Jane, you crossed out most of names on this list. And I KNOW you know Uncle Markus. We was at your high school graduation."
Jane looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Ma, Uncle Markus gets drunk at every family gathering and takes off his pants. I am NOT having him at my wedding. He was arrested for indecent exposure at my graduation party because he forgot to put his pants on before deciding to walk home. No, he's not invited."
Maura looked at her with something akin to shock, before shaking her head lightly and turning to Angela. "I must agree. Any family members that have a problem remaining dressed should not be invited. I would prefer that none of our guests end up arresting any of the other guests. After all, there will be several officers and detectives there."
Nodding, Angela placed another line through his name. "I agree. I forgot he did that. I assume that means you aren't inviting Great Aunt Greta, either."
At Jane's head shake, Maura had to ask, "Why aren't you inviting her? Does she undress when inebriated, as well?"
Jane chuckled, "No, Great Aunt Greta is a little senile. The last family reunion I went to, She took her bra off and tried to wash it in the punch bowl, then put it back on over her dress. She was taking her slip off, when Aunt Helen stopped her."
Maura nodded, very matter-of-fact. "I can see why you don't want to invite her. I hope she has supervision at home."
Still chuckling, Jane nodded. "Yeah, she lives with Aunt Helen, her daughter. Apparently, she insists on doing all the ironing nude, in the living room, while she watches tv. She says she doesn't want to wrinkle the clothes by wearing them. Their neighbors called the police a couple years ago because she'd taken a bar of soap and walked into their back yard to take a bath in their swimming pool."
Angela added, "The last time I spoke to Helen, she mentioned that she was thinking about hiring a home nurse to help look after her. She's usually fine, as long as she takes her meds. When she forgets, or is in a strange place, is when she gets confused. I'll explain to Helen. I'm sure she'll understand. Aunt Greta gets so embarrassed when she realizes she's had another episode."
Nodding, Maura turned their attention back to the guest list. Eventually, after several hours of arguing back and forth, they were able to settle on a rough list. It was longer than Jane and Maura had expected, but a lot shorter than they'd feared. Pulling out the information she had on the venues, Maura confirmed that all three were large enough for the about one hundred people they would be inviting.
A couple weeks later, Maura and Mark agreed that the trees had lost enough of their leaves to revisit the venues.
The first location was eliminated when they realized that with the trees bare you could see the smokestacks of a factory a couple miles away. It ruined the iew, making it more depressing than picturesque.
They all loved the second location. The event hall they would be using was faced on one side by bay windows and glass doors that opened out onto a garden. A cobblestone path wove between small topiaries, with the occasional bench dotting the way. Several small trees, now almost devoid of leaves, we scattered between the flower beds, usually with a bench underneath to enjoy the shade. The garden backed onto several acres of wooded land.
Jane fell in love with the third location as soon as they saw it. Like the second one, it opened out onto a garden with a winding path. Several benches were placed along the path and under shade trees. What drew Jane's eye, though, was the large oak tree off to the side with the rope swing hanging from it. When she saw the fountain in the center of the garden with the graceful Venus sculpture in it, she turned to meet Maura's eyes.
They both smiled, Jane's full of hope, and Maura nodded. Holding back a squeal, she pulled Maura into her arms, picking her up to kiss her soundly.
From the side, Mark chuckled. "So, I guess this is it?"
Jane put Maura down, but still held her in her arms, and nodded. "This is it. It's perfect."
Maura just smiled, relaxing in Jane's arms.
He smiled, enjoying the obvious love between them. "Do you mind if I ask, why?"
Maura looked up, nodding to tell Jane to answer first. Kissing her forehead, first, she did. "For me, it's mostly the swing. I don't really know why, it just makes it seem more romantic, somehow."
Looking back out at the garden, Maura took a moment before answering. "I think it's the fountain that decided, for me. I noticed it the last time we were here, but now that most of the flowers and leaves are gone, it draws the eye more strongly. It's a beautiful fountain, and the stone will stand out against the snow."
Nodding, Mark smiled at them. "When I remembered the fountain, I thought it might help you decide, one way or the other. I hadn't even noticed the swing, before. Well, let's go take care of the paperwork to reserve the hall. You want the smaller room down the hall, for the ceremony, right?"
They went off the take care of all the details to reserve the space. Now that they had a location, and definite date, Mark mentioned a couple companies that did invitations, and offered to bring examples to their next meeting.
When he left, he saw Maura laughing as Jane pushed her on the rope swing.
A/N: I wanted to condense a lot of the planning down. Get it out of the way to make room for more important things. The little piddly details are boring to read about. I don't like reading stories that list every detail about what people are eating or wearing. To keep this story from drowning in the details, I'm glossing over most of them. This will probably be the only time when any of Jane's extended family are mentioned by name, but I did have fun coming up with their stories.
I need help finding a wedding song for the girls. I'm thinking a light, instrumental number. Preferably piano, maybe with violin and/or cello. Something slow and serious, without being somber (hehe, alliteration, couldn't help myself). If anyone knows of a song they think will fit, let me know.
This story looks more and more like it will end up being part of a series, the more I write. I fully intend to end this with the wedding, but I keep ending with random ideas of what happens after that. So, there will probably be another story after this one ends. It'll pick up with the honeymoon, and go from there.
There's still several more chapters left of this story, though. I'm not sure how many, exactly. Probably at least 4, maybe more.