Chapter Twelve: Wedding Plans
After the party, which was not actually too bad (other than having to put up Beatrice's occasional comments throughout the evening), we get into a sort of routine with our days. We spend most of our mornings planting our crops and the afternoons visiting the nearby collections of livestock and deciding what to purchase. In the evenings, we spend time relaxing together and begin to discuss our wedding plans. One evening, we invite the Graymarks over, along with Chelsea and Fredrick, to enlist their assistance in our planning.
I've chosen Chelsea to be my maid-of-honor and Isabelle is choosing Aline for hers. Luella, Rowan and Maia will be my bridesmaids. Keiko, Helen and a Lightwood cousin named Margaret will be Izzy's. Jace's best man will be Alec and Jonathan's will be Magnus. Keiko's brother Marcus, along with Simon and Stephan are Jace's groomsmen, while Jon's will be Fredrick, a friend of theirs called Sebastian Verlac, and Max.
"Are you going to have an accent color along with the traditional gold?" Amatis asks us.
"Yes, we were thinking of having Jon and Jace wear blue, in honor of their return to the Nephilim, so the colors would be gold and blue." Isabelle says, beaming.
"Ooh, that will look lovely!" Chelsea exclaims, taking another sip of her tea.
"I still can't believe Shadowhunter brides wear gold." Jonathan says shaking his head. "The white wedding dress is so ingrained in most of mundane culture that it's going to be so strange, seeing our brides in gold." He smiles.
"Yes but Clary couldn't have worn white anyway, so it's really a blessing." Jace smirks.
"Jace! Did you have to say something like that in front of everyone?" Isabelle nearly shrieks out in horror.
"Oh Izzy, I think it's a little late to start worrying about preserving my reputation. It's been years since I've had one worth preserving, everyone knows that. And it's true, I'm glad to be wearing gold. If you had planned on wearing white, I would have had to wear ivory or cream and then we wouldn't match, so this is better." I laugh, pressing her hand reassuringly.
"What about your steles?" Uncle Lucian inquires, changing the subject. "Sometimes for a wedding, couples will purchase separate steles for the wedding runes, from what they would normally use, that way you can match them to your colors and it looks better in pictures." He smiles.
"That's a great idea, Uncle Lucian!" Izzy gushes. "I never would have thought of that but you're correct, we should coordinate them, thank you!" And it is decided that the task of acquiring the steles will fall to the best men and maids-of-honor. They will have our names and the date of the wedding engraved on them, the boys' steles will be blue and ours will be gold.
"What on earth will you do about flowers? Gold and blue aren't the most likely combination in nature." Chelsea asks.
"Oh, I can answer that easy. There is a bi-colored variety of Iris Germanica called 'Edith Wolford' whose falls are a lovely bright blue, topped with yellow gold standards. They should do quite nicely." Says Jonathan, to which we all sit in stunned silence wondering how he could possibly know such a thing. He registers our confused looks and quickly explains. "The job I held in Ithaca, happened to be at a flower shop." He shrugs with a cute awkward smile.
"Wow… that actually comes in handy Jon, thank you." I smile and give him a kiss.
"See, Babe! Didn't I tell ya all that horticultural education would pay off eventually." Jace teases him.
"Well, I guess we know who's in charge of our floral gardens after we finish getting the rest of our crops in, don't we?" Isabelle winks at Jonathan.
"That flower you mentioned, sounds pretty rare, isn't it? Where do you propose we find such a thing?" I ask.
"Well, we're actually in good shape with that. When I looked into the flower shop in Alicante while touring the town, they said that there are extensive private collections at several of the manor houses in the area and that many of them sell their blooms as cut flowers upon request. So, when I told her about our upcoming wedding, the florist said to let her know what we will need and that if she doesn't have it, someone will. I know that Iris Germanica's bloom time overlaps the wedding, so they'll be flowering right when we need them, provided we can track some down. I'll put it on my To Do list." Jonathan smiles; happy to have a task to accomplish.
"Great, so that takes care of flowers. Has anyone thought about music?" Jace asks.
"Actually, yes, and I'm glad you brought it up, Jace. I've been thinking that since your guitar playing has become such a significant part of our life together, that we should have guitar music rather than anything else." Izzy says.
"That's a good idea Baby but Jace can't play guitar and get married at the same time." I say, stating the obvious.
"No, but if you want me to, I have no problem pre-recording whatever we want to play, if you think that would work. That way we would have complete control over what selections we use." Jace smiles at Izzy.
"Yes, that's perfect Jace! That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say!" She laughs.
"Okay great and what about a cake?" I ask, since we're on such a roll now.
"Oooh, leave that to us!" Chelsea exclaims. "Our mother was an excellent baker and she taught us everything she knew. Fredrick's a genius with flavors and I am a passable decorator." She grins.
"Passable? My sister is being modest. I brought pictures of some of the cakes she has decorated in case you wanted to see what she can do. Let me assure you, there isn't a bakery in Idris or probably even all of Europe that can design as well as Chelsea." He beams.
So the pictures are passed around to a chorus of Oohs and Ahhs from everyone. Fredrick, as it turns out, was not exaggerating. Chelsea's original designs are amazing. She's made an exact replica of Alicante for one of the towns anniversaries, an accords hall cake with each of the representatives present for the tenth accords celebration, and even a cake with hers and Fredrick's faces on it for their birthday. She is obviously amazingly talented.
"You're hired!" We all say in unison as we hand the pictures back and then burst out laughing.
"Not even married yet and already speaking in unison? I'll bet you finish each other's sentences too?" Uncle Lucian teases us.
"Not always…" I start.
"only sometimes." Izzy grins and we all start laughing again.
"There is nowhere else? You're seriously telling me, that no one else grows 'Edith Wolford'?" Jonathan sighs in dismay. We are standing at the florist's shop in Alicante and she has just finished telling us that the only private collection with any Iris Germanica in the area is at the home of one Beatrice Pangborn!
"No one else I know of, is that a problem?" She asks, seemingly confused as to what the issue is.
"Not as such, it just means we have some groveling to do. Thank you for your time." Jonathan says and spins around, heading toward the exit.
"Wait a minute, if you would rather not deal directly with Miss Pangborn, I could order the 'Edith Wolford' from her myself, though I would have to charge you a premium if I do." She smiles.
"Yes, that would be fine and save us an awful headache!" Jon exhales in relief.
"Yes, and we'd very much appreciate it. Thank you!" I grin. "What did you say your name was again?" I ask.
"Daphne, Daphne Trueblood." She smiles.
"You're a Trueblood? Then you must be related to our step-mother! Trueblood was her maiden name." I say.
"You're the family from the New York Institute, right? That would make your step-mother Maryse Morgenstern, (formerly Lightwood) then? Yes, she's a distant cousin of mine on our father's side. Although that doesn't mean I plan on giving you a discount!" She laughs.
"We wouldn't expect one, dearest Daphne. If you can get us the Iris Germanica, we'll pay you what it's worth plus some for your trouble in acquiring it for us. And please, know how much we appreciate it. There simply isn't another flower that suits our color scheme half as well as 'Edith Wolford'. And I simply don't believe in mixed bouquets at all." Jonathan says, kissing her hand and thanking her again for her trouble. She assures him that it's no trouble at all. We proceed to leave the shop and I halt just outside the door.
"'Dearest Daphne' is it now? Since when, are you such a suck up, Jon?" I laugh.
"Since the fate of our bridal bouquets rests in that woman's hands. You're not jealous are you?" He smirks.
"Please! No one with a single, solitary, jealous bone in their body could do what the four of us are doing. If I were the jealous type, I'd have been out of here long ago. I was only commenting, because I think with your dashing looks, it's hardly fair to go around giving young maidens false hope." I roll my eyes playfully.
"Oh, I'm dashing am I? If I'm so dashing, then kiss me!" He challenges.
"In the middle of town, Jon, you would want me to kiss my brother on the streets of Alicante, In front of everyone? What will they think of me?" I laugh. He cups the sides of my face and turns me to look him in the eyes.
"I'm not asking you to kiss your brother on the streets of Alicante. I'm asking you to kiss your fiancé." He whispers.
"Aren't they one in the same?" I ask.
"Yes and no. I can be your brother when I'm drawing an Iratze on you after a battle, or brushing your hair. I'm your brother when I'm buying you a stuffed animal for your secret collection. I'm your brother when I'm admonishing Jace for hurting your feelings. I'm your brother when I'm bringing you chicken soup in bed and putting cold cloths on your forehead when you are sick. But when I am kissing you on the streets of Alicante, I am your fiancé, my Love." He smiles and begins a passionate kiss, to which I surrender. As if there were ever any doubt that I would.