Dear me! I have had many happiest days already! Now that I think of it, even finding my pa was happy, although back then I did not have so much happy feelings for him. But now he has become a part of my family again, and a good one, too.
The happiest day of my life was, when I first met Adrean. When we spent this lovely evening in Waymeet at the campfire and then, when I was about to leave, he asked me if he might court me.
The happiest day of my life was, when Adrean played his lovely song for me - and then asked me to marry him. And that was not very long after the first happiest day.
The happiest day of my life was, when Gardenia told me that we are going to have a youngling. How happy Adrean was, when I told him, and how he had to tell everyone later in the Ivy Bush.
And the happiest day of my life was last Sunday, when during Nannie's Ghost Walk through the Haunted Burrow, the Shirriff did a beautiful ceremony for us and we became Mr. and Ms. Rumblebelly. Our wedding day.
I was so nervous and so happy the whole day, I even forgot about the largest pile of catfish cakes I had ever made. I had one hundred catfish cakes prepared, a little more even, as Simbo was supposed to be there, too. And then I forgot all about them. That hot spooky costume made everything worse. I wonder what the dwarves made it of. I can surely use it when travelling to the cold north for ice fishing again. But for the time being, there is no plan of going ice fishing. No plan for anything apart from being totally happy and remembering that wonderful day. How great of Nannie to let us have the wedding during the Ghost Walk. It was lovely to see so many hobbits with lanterns marching into the Haunted Burrow! I guess it was very spooky, but I was even too nervous to be afraid of anything. I am glad me Adrean was there with me, in a smiling pumpkin mask. And me pa, too. And Chryssie and Rhinnie and Lina and Simbo and Tibba and Nimelia and Sevelda and many other friends. I would even have been happy to see Matzo. Since he gave me that huge jar of jam for our baby hobbit, he has got a place in my heart, too. That was so thoughtful of him!
But back to the haunted burrow. It was fun walking through there with all the other hobbits. Especially the dark spots, where not even the lanterns did help anymore. Everyone was running in every direction, bustling about like ants, that was really funny. We visited every spot of the main cellar, went on to the cobwebbed wing - and when we came to the secret room in there, Nannie gave over to Shirriff Nimelia, who started the ceremony. She said beautiful words, and a few hobbits started to sniff, including me.
Then I peeled myself out of the costume and Adrean saw my beautiful dress and flower wreath and the bouquet, that was actually a gourd. All in orange. From the looks of him, he loved it. I know he loves orange most of all colours. Who would have thought a few weeks ago that I once would become an Orangelay voluntarily? And that even for our wedding?
But then Adrean spun around, removing his costume, too, and there he stood, in the most elegant black suit with a beautifully embroidered collar, his eyes shining at me and I was the happiest lass in Middle-earth! I remember we said aye at some point, and I remember the bridesmaids, Miss Rhinnie and Miss Chryssie gave us the rings, and then Adrean showered me with flower petals and Pa cried. And then we were Mr. and Ms. Rumblebelly. The next moment, the most beautiful melody resounded and Simbo, my new cousin in law, sang a wonderful new text he had composed for this very occasion. This is when I started crying, too.
We had a lot more music and dancing, up in Bag Ends and later outside, right behind Lobelia's back and under a starlit sky. Miss Sevelda was playing her special song for us, and many badgers played along, and then Adrean sang his lovely songs for me and I sang the one I had written for him. The gourd throwing went a little wrong. At my first try, nobody caught the gourd at all. And at the second try, somehow all the lasses got little pieces of it, while the largest piece was caught by Simbo with his foot - and not with his belly, what you'd think. But also the happiest day has to end somewhen - in this case only with the dawning of a new day.
And then, of course, the day before it was our 5th year of the Order! And finally Pa took the misterious yellow dress and gave it to ... Miss Rowana! And his song at the talent show was dedicated all to her! So I guess Master Jiro will not be his enemy after all and all is well. No time to write more detailed about the 3-course anniversary meal competition, the tart baking competition and the talent competition. The latter I missed, because I had to be in the kitchen for preparing the wedding catfish cakes. But Pa came back beaming and told me he won. But now I really have to leave for another concert of the STROOOOOOOOOOLLLERS!
OOC:
For more pictures of the Haunted Burrow Ghost Walk and the Spooky Wedding see:
http://s1285.beta.photobucket.com/user/AkelayRumblebelly/media/A%20Spooky%20Wedding/Wedding001_zpsbb01e57e-1.jpg.html?sort=4&o=0
and
http://lostmathom.org/threads/congratulations-adrean-and-akelay.1283/
