This chapter is dedicated to GhibliGirl91, Sammibelle, JDLuvaSQEE, Ranger04, and the others who united their voices to tell me to MARRY THEM PLEASE! All right, fine, you win. Here's the wedding chapter. Enjoy. :)
The ship was already within sight of Port Royale when the wedding began, only an hour or two from the harbor. All hands were on deck; Gibbs stood with Jack, who stood gazing out to sea in a reverie, and Agatha waited for Elizabeth. Maggie stood off to the side holding little Jacob, while all the rest of the crew gathered around wearing what passed for their best clothes. Teague propped up one foot on a barrel next to Scrum so he could play, and when Elizabeth emerged from the captain's cabin, the two of them played a short bridal march on the guitar and mandolin.
Elizabeth looked lovely in a royal blue dress with collar, cuffs, and trim made of some of the Belgian lace that they had "liberated" from de Vrees' ship. She had finished putting the lace on only that morning. *
When he saw her, Jack's preoccupied expression slipped; his eyes lit up and his face seemed to soften. He gave her a tiny, nervous smile, which she returned, and they went to stand in front of the clergyman who was waiting with a Book of Common Prayer in his hands.
"Dearly beloved," Philip began. "We are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the face of this company, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony; which is an honorable estate, instituted of God in the time of man's innocence, signifying unto us the mystical union that is betwixt Christ and his Church…"
When Philip reached "Therefore if any man can show any just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter for ever hold his peace," the quiet click of Teague's pistol being cocked was audible. No objections were made. Teague de-cocked his pistol.
Philip went on. "John Robert Sparrow, wilt thou have this woman—"
"Smith," Jack broke in.
"What?"
"Smith. Me real name."
Elizabeth's eyebrows went up. "Your real name is John Smith? Seriously?"
"'S the name I was born with, aye," Jack replied.
"But it's so... well, commonplace!"
"Why d'ye think I use Sparrow? Remember when we made the bet? When I told you there was only one circumstance under which I'd tell you my real name? This is it. If ye married me, I'd tell you."
Philip cleared his throat and went on. "John Robert… Sparrow… Smith, wilt thou have—"
"Teague," interrupted Jack's father. At Jack's surprised look, he shrugged. "My son, my heir, my name."
Jack whipped his head around to look at his father in surprise.
Teague shrugged a little. "If ye want t'accept it, that is."
Jack was silent for another moment, staring at Teague, and then he swallowed. "I... uh—Aye, I'd like that. Thanks, Dad," Jack said.
Teague nodded, looking pleased.
"There, now that that's settled, may I please marry them now?" Philip made an impatient gesture. "John Robert Sparrow… Smith… Teague—" Philip paused between each name and looked around to see if anyone else had any contributions to make.
Hearing none, he went on, "Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?"
"I will," Jack replied evenly.
Philip turned to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth Agatha Turner—"
"Swann!" Elizabeth, Jack, and Agatha all spoke up together.
Philip threw up his hands and turned away. "God above, will you make up your minds?" he cried in exasperation. "Fine. Elizabeth Agatha Swann. Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?"
"I will," Elizabeth replied.
Philip asked, "Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?"
Elizabeth and Jack looked at each other. Oops; they had overlooked this part.
"I do," came a new voice from the fo'cs'le.
Will.
He came down the stairs and the crew parted for him like a bow wave. Two sailors in the back started spitting and twirling to ward off bad luck.
Will looked at Elizabeth. "If I may, that is."
Elizabeth nodded, beaming at him.
Jack shrugged. "You are uniquely qualified for it—just as long as you understand I'd still marry her even if you didn't want to let her go."
"Of course," Will replied in amusement. "I'd expect nothing less." He came forward and took Elizabeth's hand.
"I do," he repeated to the clergyman. "I give this woman to be married to this man." Philip nodded, swallowing nervously, knowing now who Will was.
Will clasped her hand in both of his for a moment, kissed it, and then placed it into Jack's hand. He gave Jack a warning look, and Jack returned him a smug, gleaming grin. Will stepped back into the crowd, who once again gave him a wide, wide berth.
"Jack, take Elizabeth's right hand in your right hand and repeat after me. I, John, take thee, Elizabeth, to my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I plight thee my troth."
Jack dutifully repeated the vow, and then it was Elizabeth's turn to say hers. Her hand shook in Jack's, but her voice was steady. "I, Elizabeth, take thee John to my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth."
There was a brief pause, and then Philip whispered to Jack, "The ring?"
"Oh! Oh, right!" Jack removed a gold ring from his little finger that Elizabeth had never seen before. It was a simple band at first sight, but when Elizabeth looked closer she saw it was in the shape of two hands clasped—just as their hands had been, a moment ago. **
Jack placed the ring on the prayer book, and Philip raised it heavenward and then gave it back to him.
Jack held it up so it caught the morning light. "With this ring, I thee wed," he told Elizabeth. He gave her one of his intense, velvety-black looks as he said, "With my body I thee worship." He swallowed and went on. "…and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the name of the Father," he held the ring at the tip of her finger, "And of the Son," he slid it to the first knuckle, "And of the Holy Ghost—" The second knuckle now. "Amen!" he finished loudly, with a relieved grin, sliding the ring home to the base of her finger.***
Philip smiled at Jack's enthusiasm, as he urged them to kneel on the deck for the marriage prayer. "Let us pray," he said. "Eternal God, Creator and Preserver of all mankind, Giver of all spiritual grace, the Author of everlasting life: Send thy blessing upon these thy servants, this man and this woman, whom we bless in thy Name; and may ever remain in perfect love and peace together, and live according to thy laws; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
"Amen," repeated some of the pirate crew in reverential tones that amused Philip even more, considering their source.
He joined Jack's and Elizabeth's right hands together again, sandwiched between his own, and announced loudly, "Those whom God hath joined together, let no man put asunder!"
He faced the rest of the crew and guests, and said, "Forasmuch as Jack and Elizabeth have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, and thereto have given and pledged their troth either to other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving of a Ring, and by joining of hands; I pronounce that they be Man and Wife together, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen."
He bowed his head. "God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, bless, preserve, and keep you; the Lord mercifully with his favor look upon you; and so fill you with all spiritual benediction and grace, that ye may so live together in this life, that in the world to come ye may have life everlasting. Amen."
"Amen!" repeated the pirate crew, and some of them put their hats back on.
Philip said with a smile, "You may now—"
Elizabeth grabbed the back of Jack's head and pulled him in for a passionate kiss, which lasted several seconds while the pirates whooped and laughed, and Agatha blushed.
When they parted, both breathless, Philip finished his sentence. "—Kiss your bride."
"Guess once wasn't enough after all!" Jack cried to the crew of the Pearl, most of whom had been present for his previous refusal of Elizabeth's kiss two years ago. They yelled and cheered as he kissed Elizabeth again, bending her over backward over his arm and making a show of it for them. He finally brought her upright again and ended it, with both of them laughing along with the rest of the crew.
"Mr Scrum!" Gibbs called.
"Aye, sir?"
"The moment calls for some music!" Gibbs shouted.
Scrum grinned as he hollered back, "Aye, sir!" and started playing a lively, merry melody on his mandolin. Several sailors whooped and cheered, and some of them started dancing.
Will retreated to the shadows when no one was looking, but Elizabeth called out, "Will! Don't go away yet!"
Notes: The wedding ceremony comes word for word straight out of the Book of Common Prayer, which is what Philip would have used in the 18th century, assuming he was Church of England as Elizabeth and Jack would have been (if they were of any church at all, that is). You'll notice how formal the language is; marriage was considered a sacrament of the church, and therefore extremely sacred, serious, and important—that is why Will and Elizabeth's spur-of-the-moment "wedding" in the middle of a battle, with made-up vows and an unqualified officiator, was invalid even before you get into the issue of the registry filing.
In this story I am overlooking the detail that according to the church custom and civil law at the time, Jack and Elizabeth really ought to have cried the banns (made a public announcement in the church) of their marriage every week for at least a month before the wedding. In this case, my justification in taking that particular creative license is because (a) Shipwreck had no church and (b) they're getting close to the governor's deadline and couldn't take the time to cry the banns even if they wanted to wait that long... which they don't.
* It used to be tradition that the bride's wedding-dress wouldn't be completely finished until the day of the wedding. The last stitch was always left until the morning of the wedding, so that the marriage would be blessed.
** Jack gives Elizabeth was an old Roman-style "fede" ring, which you can see by doing a google image search for "roman fede ring." The first few images, the ones that show two right hands clasped, are what this ring looked like, only in gold.
*** It was traditional, when the groom put the ring on the bride's finger, to put it on gradually. He would either start at the ring-fingertip for "in the name of the Father," and advance, knuckle by knuckle through the rest of the blessing and then slide it into place at the base of the finger on the "amen" as Jack did, or he would begin at the tip of the thumb for "in the name of the Father," proceed to the forefingertip for "and the Son," the middle finger for "and the Holy Ghost," and then put it onto the proper ring finger on the "Amen."
Men did not commonly wear wedding rings until the mid-20th century. Any stories or movies that show a double-ring ceremony before World War II is anachronistic. It was in WWII that soldiers began to wear wedding rings as a visible connection to their wives back home. Also, in historic times, a wedding ring was seen as a mark of the husband's ownership of the wife; however, in the latter half of the 20th century, with the advent and advance of women's rights, marriages became much more egalitarian so that the husband would belong to the wife as well, and would be more willing to symbolize that belonging by wearing a wedding ring. The idea became more popular as jewelry stores realized they could make more money with it, and that's how and when the tradition of men's wedding rings began. Jack would not have worn one, as it would never have occurred to him, nor would it have occurred to Elizabeth to give him one.