Topic: Operation Wedding Bells: The Preparation

Riley ORourke

Date: 2011-01-09 14:53 EST
Despite the fact that all sorts of weirdness was currently occurring in her life ? Rhys's return, the return of the constant threat of faeries and demons and angels swooping in and mucking things up, whatever was going on with Leo-Bjorn and Mesteno, her building being haunted and subsequently exorcised, and the bizarreness of Judah Bishop and Aoife ? Riley was still getting married in a little bit more than a month. She hadn't even had time to start getting nervous about it, although the fact that David still had not found someone to serve as his best man or groomsman filled her with no small amount of trepidation.

Since Sunday had long ago been declared their day of rest, Riley decided to spend it on wedding plans. She sat in their kitchen, sipping a cinnamon latte and plowing through a plate of freshly-made orange-cranberry muffins, while looking over her lists. The big things were already taken care of: the date ? 12 February; the place ? the roof at the Gardens Building; her attendants ? Duci as her maid of honour and 'Taya as her bridesmaid; the colours and flowers ? red roses and white Stargazer lilies; the caterer ? Carito's Cucina and their sinfully delicious food; and Colleen MacLeod, or was it Fenner now, had generously agreed to officiate, thank god. Now she had to find a dress for herself and help the girls find theirs, too; she had to find a baker, help David track down a tux, work on the guest list, send out invitations after the guest list was finalised, figure out what to do about music for the reception, where to have the rehearsal dinner...

She sighed harshly and scrubbed a hand over her face. ?Christ, maybe we'd be better off eloping and then throwing a big party after we get back from our honeymoon,? she muttered. Her mother would never let her live that down if that's what Riley and David decided to do, though, as tempting as the thought was.

All right, time to get organised. First things first ? the dress. She grabbed her coffee mug and downed the rest of the latte and then headed into their bedroom to get dressed. She'd head over to Luks Condos to track down Duci and then they'd hit the shops. She had a vague idea of what she wanted and held out a slim sliver of hope that she'd find it. If not, she was certain Duci knew a dressmaker...or possible a whole legion of them. After all, the blonde bombshell was possibly the best dressed woman Riley had ever known. She couldn't possibly get all her clothes off the rack.

David Lo

Date: 2011-01-12 00:34 EST
"Let's get a drink, huh?"

"That is an excellent idea," Riley nodded and moved in the general direction of the bar, stripping off hat and gloves and loosening the scarf from around her neck. Since the room was wicked warm, what with the fire and the bodies, she unbuttoned her cardigan, revealing a t-shirt that said 'Vegans Are Annoying'.

Over at the bar, David rested one hand on her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. "What're you in the mood for?"

"Uh... Peppermint hot cocoa." She paused and grinned. "With extra marshmallows."

He grinned back at her. "Coming right up." He turned, slipping through the break to fix a pair of hot cocoas for them. Both mugs got peppermint in them, but only one had a layer of marshmallows on top. When they were ready, he came back out to the patron side and sat down on the stool next to her, sliding hers over.

She sipped the cocoa, purring softly at the taste. "Thank you," she said softly and graced his cheek with a kiss.

That was his preferred sort of payment, too. "Welcome," he said, taking a sip of his own cocoa. Nice.

"Oh! Speaking of weddings," she turned to David. "Picked the Best Man, yet?"

"What? When were we speaking of weddings?" He raised both brows a bit. Of course, he didn't really have a good answer for her, either.

"Well, we weren't. But I was thinking about them. Ours is in just about a month, you know."

"Yes, I'm well aware," he said dryly, though a thread of anticipatory excitement sneaked into the response.

Her eyes narrowed, glinting at him in mock annoyance. "Maybe you should take out a Help Wanted ad in the Post. Or, no! I know! The It Man can write an article and we can hold a competition. 'Who Wants To Be The Best Man?' It'd be awesome!"

"You know," he said, keeping a perfectly straight face, "that sounds like a pretty good idea."

She grinned, knowing David was probably having one over on her, but hopeful nonetheless. "Hmmm... An obstacle course and then a trivia contest and um...something else."

"An obstacle course? To prove they can handle passing a ring over?" He chuckled, nodding.

"Yes! Exactly! Or you could always ask Mesteno."

"What kind of trivia, do you think?" Yeah, he was just going to pretend she hadn't said that last.

"Umm... It should be stuff about us, don't you think? Like...where did we meet, where did you propose, where our first date was, stuff like that."

"Ah...so we'd have to give them a study guide beforehand, then."

She nodded, sipping her cocoa. "Yep. Or you can always ask Mesteno. And Sam, too, I suppose. You'll need a groomsman, after all. Not just the best man."

"Christ," he muttered, trying to picture that scene. A random contest winner suddenly seemed far less outlandish.

David Lo

Date: 2011-01-12 00:34 EST
She grinned in triumph and polished off the cocoa. Setting the empty mug down on the bar, she leaned against David and grinned up at him. "I really think you ought to write to Emmett and tell him of your plan and ask him to help publicize it. Maybe that society editor, too. Mitchell? She might help get the word out, too."

His arm slid around her, the move almost reflexive by now, holding her close to him. "Maybe I should. Probably get further than I have trying to figure it out myself."

She nodded. "Yep. Hell, you might even wind up with a really good guy out of the bargain, too. A friend, a pal, a...uh...buddy?"

He snorted again. "Yeah, maybe." This conversation wasn't surreal or anything. Still, joking about it was a lot better than fighting about it.

She chuckled and kissed his cheek, proud of him for being such a good sport. "I think I'm gonna try and round up the girls next week to do all the stuff that still needs to be done."

"Guess I should start writing." He chuckled again. "Or try to make some friends quickly."

She nodded. "But you'd have to actually...you know...talk to people to do that."

"Hey, I'm getting better, " he said a little indignantly. "I made small talk with a couple of strangers the other day. And I met that figure skater."

She pressed her fingers against her chest and gasped in mock surprise. "Strangers? No!"

"Shut it." He resisted the urge to stick his tongue out her, instead poked her into the ribs. "Want to get out of here?"

"Oh. Well, okay then. Anxious to get started on the competition?" She summoned up a smirking little grin and stood up.

"Well, you know. Gotta find the dictionary and thesaurus for help with those big words." He grinned back at her and slid his free hand into hers before tugging her towards the door.

"Like...dear and help and wedding?" She followed him, hand firmly, securely in his.

He laughed, nodding. "Exactly." He let her open the door. He was used to her anti-chivalry.

She hip-checked the door, sending it slamming open to rebound off the wall with a loud bang. She bit her lower lip and turned a contrite smile on David. "Whoops."

"Save it for the game." He grinned at her. "Just don't break the other team." He hooked the door with one foot, flicked it closed behind them. Ambling down the steps, he glanced up at the sky, then headed off down the road, taking her hand firmly in his again.

Riley ORourke

Date: 2011-01-14 23:31 EST
The invitations had been sent out, courtesy Geisha Express. David had finally asked Jin to stand as his best man, and while Riley was happy that he'd finally made a decision, she was a little disappointed that there would be no obstacle course or trivia contest. The caterer, florist, DJ, baker, and officiant had all been engaged, and the thousand origami cranes were slowly being folded by herself and David.

She'd found The Dress, too. Pristine, snowy white, with gold brocade and a shockingly red obi that she knew would make her mother cry. It was the perfect mix of Western, Japanese, and Chinese traditions, and if a dress could be said to do such a thing, it summed up the life she and David were slowly building together.

There was nothing to do now but wait - wait for the days to slowly roll by, wait for people to RSVP, wait for her parents to arrive. Patience had never been a strong suit, and there was at least six or twelve times a day that she'd look at David and think about asking him to just elope and be done with it. Then she'd think about all the money and time and energy they'd invested in everything and realise that her father would strangle her if she did such a thing.

Her morning meditations had suddenly begun to span an extra fifteen minutes.

Riley ORourke

Date: 2011-03-06 02:59 EST
Well. It was all over. The preparation, the ceremony, the reception, and the honeymoon.

And what a honeymoon it was, too. Two glorious, sun-drenched, utterly relaxing weeks in Paradise on Earth - the Maldives Islands. David really had done a spectacular job of picking the most perfect place for them to spend the first days of their marriage together. White sand beaches, turquoise waters that were teeming with life, swaying palm trees, warm and friendly natives, and the most amazing place to stay in, too!

Their suite was about 90 or 100 yards off shore and built on stilts. There was a sitting room, a small kitchen, a bedroom, bathroom, and a balcony with a jacuzzi on it. And in the middle of the sitting room was a large square of Plexiglas set right into the floor! Riley discovered that she could watch fish and turtles swim right by.

Riley found that she'd missed Duci and 'Taya more than a little. So she had picked up a little something for the girls to show her appreciation for all they'd done for her - both with the wedding preparations and with everything else, too.

http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-set/BQcDAAAAAwoDanBnAAAABC5vdXQKFjJ2RjBlc1ZINEJHU3NIQUNmbU0zNWcAAAACaWQKAXgAAAAEc2l6ZQ.jpg

Rubies and diamonds set in white gold plumeria flowers for Duci. Black pearls and white gold for Mataya. The girls would find carefully wrapped boxes on their doorsteps when they awoke on Sunday morning, each accompanied by a little note that said, "I love you. Thanks for everything. Riley."