okay as promised last night it is TIME. for an incomplete collection of some Orsimer wedding thoughts. let's go
- the traditional Orcish wedding is held so that the formal ceremony occurs precisely at midnight. however there are a number of festivities both before and after, which means the wedding event itself lasts typically sundown to sunup. this DOES lead to some confusion from people not familiar with Orcish custom about which day anniversaries are celebrated, often to the baffled response: "you only celebrate one day?"
- this means it's common to choose an autumn or winter night as the period for celebration is longer. getting married on the summer solstice with the shortest night of the year would be an ill omen and suggest a lack of investment in the success of the marriage. the winter solstice's LONGEST night of the year however is a very coveted choice. many a dramatic falling-out has occurred over someone setting their wedding date ahead of another pair
- the traditional wedding color is red, though other bright vivid hues are occasionally worn as well. contrary to the general assumption by non-Orcs that the red is meant to evoke the blood of battle, it's actually representative of the vitality, new life, and prosperity wished upon the union. and also it's pretty :)
- the ceremony itself involves handfasting with a three-stranded cloth that is then braided to represent the strengthening of everyone involved by the act of joining together, with one strand each representing half of the couple and the third strand representing the community. the braided cloth might be kept on for anywhere from a few minutes to the rest of the night - for a while it was popular to see how long you could go without unbinding, but usually at some point in the night it comes off... and it's better when it's intentionally unbound so that you don't lose track of it 😬
- because the festivities take place at night, it's common to have outdoor weddings situated around a large bonfire. clever use of a screen and elaborate hand gestures = shadow puppet storytelling, generally tales about the newlyweds by close family members or friends which are highly exaggerated for comedic effect (though wealthier couples may hire professional storytelling actors to perform a favorite folktale or two)
- DANCING... so much dancing!! the musicians typically change through the night so one group is not performing for hours and hours on end, and so everybody gets to join the rest of the festivities if they so choose. it's considered bad luck for the wedding couple to participate in the dancing until after the ceremony, when they lead the first dance post-midnight together
- and the food!!! wedding food is lavish and there's a lot of it - slow-roasted meat and seasonal vegetables, plenty of cheeses, dense cakes, and so on. the wedding couple may fast during the day; this makes the food taste that much better once sundown hits, and also allows them to partake of a little bit of everything: it's considered a minor faux pas for the guests to eat a dish the wedding couple hasn't had first
- by the time the sun comes up the venue is usually a mess. the wedding couple is not officially expected to lead the clean-up efforts in the morning, but it's become a fairly widespread gesture of expressing that the dedication of commitment here is not only to each other, but to the community as well!
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