Udynean Wedding Rite
History
The traditional Udynean wedding hasn't altered much from the times before the realm was a sprawling empire. Courtship, especially among the nobility, is a long process and a scandal if not lasting for at least a year. The wedding itself is seen as a sort of funeral, birth and union rolled together as one family loses a member and another gains one.
Execution
A traditional ceremony lasts for three days, with each step seen as necessary for the couple to receive a blessed union. Those who choose to rush through them are considered improper and barbaric.
The first day is a ceremonial claiming of their betrothed. This is typically done by the partner with the higher social/financial standing who marches to the home of their intended spouse with their entire family. This is due to a history of enemies using the ceremony to set up an ambush.
The second is known as the "final farewell" where the person of lower status spends their time with their birth family. This time was traditionally given because ties with their birth family are meant to be severed completely, including maintaining any alliances their family might have to another, but it has become a reason for feasting as well as bestowing heirlooms, blessings and gifts.
The actual wedding takes place on the third day and requires vows spoken before a chosen deity, often Araasi, the Queen of the Gods.
Components and tools
Whilst the precise vows given at each wedding can vary from one end of the empire to the other, the traditional type requires candles and a means to light them. For many, this is with their magic, although lighting it from another source (such as the temple lanterns or the symbolic flames) is acceptable. This candle is held aloft and lit as each half utters the same pledge.
The Vows
After the couple's union is blessed by the clergy and good fortune is asked of the chosen deity, the couple faces each other and clasp the other's free hand.“Under Araasi herself, in the light of the Flame Eternal, I pledge myself to you, both in this life and through all that comes after. My breath is yours. My tongue knows only your name. My gaze seeks no other.” He raised their clasped hands high. “I shall uplift you from sorrow and pain. The shield of my magic will always accept your passage. Your desires shall be as my own and you will want for nothing. I swear, as this flame burns—” The candle in Hamish’s grasp ignited with barely a pop. The flame danced joyously on the wick. “—my guiding light will be no less steady and the path we walk together will never darken. You are the light inside me, the beacon ahead and the sun above.”Their intended spouse then replies with: I, [name], accept your vow and add to them a pledge of loyalty of my body and my heart to you, [name of spouse]. After both partners have spoken, the priest will announce to the temple ceiling that the couple has declared themselves as one and implores their deity to watch over and favourably guide the union.- Darshan and Hamish's wedding vows, To Poison a Prince
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