Wedding preparations

[Lady Edfeil]

*She felt slightly overwhelmed with what all they needed to do. But at least she had offers of help. Lady Dream had said she would do all what was within her might. And Cara and Simone and Astridur had assured her of such. She knew she could count on the men of the Frysian court. And Kyle.. though she still feared he nae approved, would do what he could to make things easier. But there was so much to do.

Still, a first step had been taken last even when she had ventured to Maclaaran. It was good to see those familiar faces again, so many. Spi, Lord Gray, Lord Tristram. She nae knew iffen she had met his betrothed before, but she seemed a pleasant woman. Cara had been there, as well as Astridur, their current guest who had accompanied her and Prince Gregor who had caught up later in the evening after his horse had thrown a shoe.

She had met others, Angelous of Maclaaran, and then there was Faolan, the man who clearly had made Spi's eyes sparkle and whom she belonged to. There had been tales, and memories... and of course there was the promise of Lord Tristram to see Windstorm's cellars supplied for the wedding. She'd nae counted on such generosity, merely wishing his advice, yet... how could she do else but accept. Blessing poured forth it seems in the wake of her decision. The return of Phelan, Siya, Hawkmoon... it must mean something.

What it meant for now was that they would have to work. She had found guidelines for a tournament that once was to be, and she would leave it for the men to see iffen 't was doable. A first step, mayhap soon.. March.. April? The first step of a year of festivities.





((this is supposed to be a longer story arch. Any random preparations thoughts, etc that are wedding related, can be put here, like a catch all for things that do not have their own storyline.))

[Lady Edfeil]

Dorian had offered to help fund the wedding. The offer in itself had been .. amazing. She had been poised to refuse of course, yet he had framed it as the chance to do what he would nae be able to do for a sister or daughter of his own. She had accepted the offer from Maclaaran to help fill up their cellars. Why would she nae accept the offer from a friend to stand for one of the events? It was customary for those close to the couple to throw parties in their honor. And it would keep the pressure off Windstorm's coffers.

After the last four harvest's those coffers were well filled, but a royal wedding demanded quite a bit of coin. There were the extra men at arms that would need to be called, there were the gifts for the guests, the alms for the poor, the clothes, the meals, the events. They would of course try to offer as much of the work to their own craftsmen. The money would be kept in the realm and the people of Windstorm prosper. Yet some things would have to be offered to others. She needed to remind Ulbrecht to stop by the convent of on his next journey to Eire, for the newly embroidered altar linens she wanted to order for the occasion. And then she really should start to put word out for the sparring event that would be the first celebration.

[Lady Edfeil]

The banners for the inner courtyard had been finished, the village weaving mistress had informed her. The woman had been.. rather excited that so much of the orders for fabric for the wedding had gone directly to the village. It was Lady Dream who years ago had suggested to set up the weaving looms, and offer the village women a chance to earn extra coin. Over time the village had started to organize. The looms were still in the homes, but a weaving mistress headed the group. It had seemed naught but good sense to have all that could be made in the village made there. And the weaving mistress had taken to the project with alacrity. She'd overseen the selections of wool and flax, the spinning, the dying, the weaving AND the sewing. The colours of the first selection of banners were those of Windstorm, though Fryseland would need be represented too. Definitely in the two large banners that would be hanging next to the gate.
The Master Sergeant was having some issues with the exact placement, since they were to be more than tall enough to cover three men standing, and he nae wished them in any way to become a possibility for someone to find shelter under while climbing the wall. She'd nae argued with him and left it between him and the weaving mistress to determine the exact placement before she would order the looms to be warped off. Even though she had wondered how any would approach the walls to climb them, since the growth had been removed for years for an arrow's flight distance. Still those were nae matters that truly concerned her. But they took time to solve.

[Simone]

Over the past months Simone had spent a good deal of her time in her chambers working on a project.. Though she was typically open with what she was working on, and would even sometimes ask opinions. This, whatever it was, was something she was keeping firmly a secret.. Late one afternoon while still recovering from the illness that had taken over she sat in the floor of her chambers with the material of her project spread out on the floor around her.. Having begun to run out of room at her sewing desk. It was a vibrant pattern of colors, sewn together in patterns surrounding the Frysian and Windstorm Crests side by side. A quilt for her Majesty and Prince Gregor.

Sitting, looking over the finished product Simone smiled as her fingers brushed the material.. Lingering for a moment over the Windstorm Crest, and then again over the Frysian Crest.. Her fingers lingering here perhaps a moment longer on thoughts of one who it belonged to.. She was quite proud of how the Crests had turned out.. Having no hand at embroidery work she had used the same quilting method to complete the Crests.. using an ivory toned fabric and a very very careful hand..

Slowly folding the material up until it was a small-ish bundle, she then gently wrapped it and tied a red ribbon around it into a bow... pondering as she looked around her room for a good hiding place.

[Cara McKenna]

Cara too had been busy working on the preparations for the wedding. Things had nay changed so much that she felt such was wrong, naught yet. Her mind once more was on the wish that everything be made perfect on that most special of days! There was a feast menu to prepare, oh aye and an large one at that! There was also her gift to the Queen and Her Prince Consort to think about. Her gift had already been planned out however and this day she it a reality, for once it was jarred it would last for a while yet.

Humming to herself as she works Cara leaves the berries for the girls to wash and ready for the pot whilst she herself settles down at the prep table to begin making final preparation and changes to the Wedding Feast she had planned. If she had her way it would be the grandest feast that Windstorm had seen in its lifetime! That was her hope.

The lassies at the wash basin called her name then breaking her thoughts as they told her the berries were ready for their next step....hmmm time to go to work!!

[annabelle]

With everything being in the works for her Majesty's wedding, I would smile, Finally after talking with Simone a bit before having to rush off, I had gotten the stitched in the needle work i had been doing going the right way and I was soon back on track on working on the gift, this was differnt in a way, but the symbol or prehaps the meaning of it would hopefully speak many levels.... i would take extra special care on this as it had to be perfect, okay so the rose was close, but this would have to be beyound close.... so once the outlines was done, i started to work on filling in with color and more color? and in a few hours, okay alot of hours, later the gift would be done, folded and placed into my chambers~

[Lady Edfeil]

Benches.. Lady Dream had advised her to have them made, and with less than two weeks to go, it would seem better to have such done now. Of course they had some, but nae enough for the amount of people that were expected. And thus the carpenter within the village had been asked to the castle and descriptions were given as to what was needed.
After that, questions went out to the kitchens. Were there any tools or ingredients needed still that would need to be ordered? The time seemed to slip through their hands as the wedding neared. Banners were in order now. And table linens would nae need be renewed. The benches were ordered. Now there was the ceremony, the feast, the music, the gowns, the safety of all, and the gifts that would be exchanged. There was a goodly amount of cider to be made as well, and honey to be found. Oh.. there were thousands of details it seemed.

[Dream Loxley]

((Placing this here along with the Castle Duties Thread to avoid confusion))

As Chatelaine of Windstorm, many of her duties were behind the scenes.......discussions, preparing lists, delegating and trusting in others to do their own chores with diligence and enthusiasm. She knew the Kitchens and the Infirmary were in very capable and caring hands.....the Stables and stockroom also had people she trusted taking care of their responsibilities. Most of the Servants were under her wing, with only the newest lads and lasses working more closely with Cara, they all seemed to be comfortable with their duties as she had not heard otherwise.

For the celebrations and the actual Wedding, there were many more items to be dealt with. She had spoken with Edfeil of her concerns and assured her the Hall would be made ready, also having ordered enough new benches to be made. The local carpenter and the blacksmith would work together and promised everything would be finished and delivered in plenty of time to be arranged in the Hall. Banners were well in hand, the table linens were expected within a few more weeks and extra trenchers, goblets and serving platters had also been ordered.

The food would be left to Cara, but Dream had begun to speak with both her and Edfeil of an idea she had heard tell about. Although the thought of slaughtering any animal was not something she enjoyed, of course it was a daily necessity and the Swan, along with each fowl bird that would be boned and placed within one another, would certainly be a most impressive centre piece, especially if the feathers could be attached again. This was something she had no idea of in truth, but would strive to see it completed if at all possible. Boar, venison and pies had always been well received at other functions, and this was by far the most important event Windstorm had ever witnessed. It would be the talk of the Realms for many a year to come.

For now, Dream had been spending a lot of time making plans and speaking with those of the Castle and Village, employing extra folks to serve and help clean the Castle, making sure the guest rooms would be suitably received. The Hunt would be left to the menfolk and the stables to Perran who had also been given more lads to help prepare. She hoped that she had made herself both available and approachable should the need arise for more planning and discussions.

[Lady Edfeil]

Things were falling into place. The groom had returned, and that was the most important part. There was talk of a hunt one week before the wedding, for game and game sausages and stews. And then of course there was the cattle fattened for the occasion. Her wedding dress was a bit of a worry still, the fabric still with the seamstress. Her gift for Gregor had been ordered from local craftsmen and would be ready in time they had assured her.
The banners for the courtyard had been finished and those for the hall too, the colours of Fryseland and of Windstorm would be displayed side by side. There were things that would need to be decided still, the oath Gregor would take, both to her and to Windstorm for one. And the position of the guests at the feast. Long trestle tables would fill one side of the hall and there would be dancing and music, and hopefully many a person to come and witness the union.

[Lady Edfeil]

There were many things that they could control. Some things were up to the Lord, the weather being one of them. Spring had been late, the summer nae as warm as expected in the beginning. The harvest had taken longer to ripen than expected, not all had been taken in yet. They could nae call in the farmers and workers from the fields. Well, they could, but it would mean a miserable winter for most of Windstorm's lands if what was nae yet stored was lost.
But there were things that needed to be done, and needed to be done before the guests arrived. With winter travel unreliable, some might be here a few days before the wedding, and of course the Frysian court would arrive as early as possible. So word had been sent out to the surrounding lands that good workers could earn good coin in a single day and more for the week iffen they arrived this Saturday, they needed hard workers, skilled craftsmen and women to get the castle ready, the food prepared and all in shape for their guests.

[Lady Edfeil]

He'd kissed her. When he had brought her to the library she had thought he would berate her for the questions she'd asked. After Dieter's remarks.. it had nae made sense. Gregor's fortune was.. greater than her own. His lands more extensive. She had.. assumed to know his reasons for agreeing to the marriage. He was a sensible man, and they got along well. He was kind and he liked her. And in marrying her he would have a throne to pass on to his heirs, something he would nae have otherwise as a second son.
He had stared at her, asked Cara if she could help her see, and finally guided her to the library. She had.. appreciated his kindness in seeking privacy iffen he wished to berate her and then... there had been the kiss. Soft, chaste... but with narry a doubt within that what he wanted out of the marriage was.. her.