The Wedding Guide

INTRODUCTION
All weddings are special events of great personal importance. They call for a deep and lasting commitment between two people, and should not be entered into lightly. That said, the joys and happiness of marriage await!

Here in Dereth, representatives of the heritage groups have agreed upon a common ceremony, which is presented herein. The Officiator will provide the wedding rings, emblems of marriage, and the celebratory gems. Misuse of the items is strongly frowned upon.

It is suggested that all participants read this book thoroughly and have their spoken material prepared beforehand.

ARRANGEMENTS
To schedule a wedding, bride and groom must set a location (complete with map coordinates), time and date, and all other relevant information.

Once this is done, one must go to the top level, main Asheron's Call Zone page. Enter News and Events. From there, choose to Submit an Event.

Once there, read the guidelines and then fill in the form. Keep in mind that Sentinels who set up the wedding may be unavailable at the requested time.

THE BEGINNING
Before the ceremony, the Officiator provides the participants the rings, emblems, and gems, and gives them time to examine and inscribe them.

It is customary to have the Officiator stand behind the participants, who face each other. Guests then stand or sit in a semi-circle around them, at a respectful distance. Guests may be asked to make short speeches before the ceremony begins.

Officiator: Welcome, friends and family of <bride> and <groom>! Let us begin.

OF FREE WILL
Officiator: <bride>, are you here of your own free will?

Bride: Yes

Officiator: <groom>, are you here of your own free will?

Groom: Yes

Officiator: Are there any here who have legitimate cause to oppose this marriage?

[Pause]

THE GROOM's VOWS
Officiator: <groom>, do you take <bride> to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Groom: I do.

Officiator: Do you pledge to love, cherish and honor her, through all your time in Dereth?

Groom: I do.

Officiator: Do you promise to remain faithful unto her, to support her, to be her finest friend, through all trials and tribulations, joys and victories?

Groom: I do.

Officiator: What seal do you place upon your vows?

Groom: The seal of [my own honor/the name of a higher authority].

THE BRIDE'S VOWS
Officiator: <bride>, do you take <groom> to be your lawfully wedded husband?

Bride: I do.

Officiator: Do you pledge to love, cherish, and honor him, through all your time in Dereth?

Bride: I do.

Officiator: Do you promise to remain faithful unto him, to support him, to be his finest friend, through all trials and tribulations, joys and victories?

Bride: I do.

Officiator: What seal do you place upon your vows?

Bride: The seal of [my own honor/the name of a higher authority].

THE INTENTIONS
Officiator: <bride>, please share with us your loving intentions toward <groom>.

Bride: [Speak about how you will love and cherish the groom. It helps to have this prepared beforehand.]

Officiator: <groom>, please share with use [sic] your loving intentions toward <bride>.

Groom: [Speak about how you will love and cherish the groom. It helps to have this prepared beforehand.]

FRIENDS AND FAMILY
Officiator: You who stand here as witnesses are the friends and family of the bride and groom. You are charged with the task of helping them in their new role as wife and husband, to support them in their times of need, and to do all that you can to make their marriage a blessed and happy union.

THE RINGS
Officiator: Please exchange the rings.

Groom: With this ring, I thee wed.

Bride: With this ring, I thee wed.

THE PRONOUNCEMENT
Officiator: You have made your vows under the seals of that which you hold important.

Officiator: Before the witnesses of your friends and family, you are now pronounced husband and wife. May your marriage bring you great happiness.

[Guests may now congratulate the married couple. Emote freely. Save celebratory gems for use outside.]

Private Weddings: Updated Instructions - From the Zone

April 28, 2000

In the spirit of this season of hearts and flowers, the faithful Sentinels of Dereth are conducting Wedding Ceremonies for all willing lovebirds. As our new society on the edge of chaos matures, so grows the desire to express devotion that goes even deeper than a fellowship or allegiance. Though this ceremony has only the powers and benefits that the betrothed bring to it, a wedding union symbolizes a bond that endures the many trials of life in Dereth.

Sentinels conduct Private Wedding ceremonies upon request. To request a Sentinel, you must sign up online. If the request can be honored, a Sentinel will marry the betrothed in a location of their choice. Read on to learn how to request a private ceremony. All requests MUST be made 2 weeks prior to the Wedding Date.

On the Zone's AC pages, click News & Events in the Table of Contents, then the Events heading. At the Events page:

Click Submit an Event.
Read the guidelines.
Fill in your character name.
No Web URL is necessary, though you can supply one if you wish.
For the title, say, "Private Wedding of <names>," as appropriate. Fill in the names of those to be wed.

In the description for a Private Wedding request, please supply the following:

In the Description field, mention the character names of the people to be wed and any other information you would like to include.
For the Location field, accurately describe the location. Give both the landmark (such as "the hill above the Shoushi Grotto") and the map coordinates ("36.3 S, 16.1 E"). Keep in mind that we cannot honor requests for ceremonies in naturally crowded areas such as towns or popular dungeons/battlegrounds. Nobody will be protected from Portal Storms!
The world where the characters reside.
The Starting and Ending date and times. The date must be at least two weeks after the date that the request is made. Note that without both spouses-to-be present, the Sentinel will not wait around for long after the starting time!
Recurrence should be 1 Time Only.

The betrothed will be provided with a pair of wedding bands to exchange as a token of their commitment to one another. Any number of guests can be invited to a Private Wedding; doing so is up to the betrothed.

Aside from the following disclaimers, that is it. We hope you enjoy the weddings!

Requests for Private Weddings are not guaranteed to be honored; the scheduling depends on the availability and volunteered effort of a Sentinel. The AC Events Coordinator will accommodate requests on a first-made, first-served basis.
Unless you specifically request the wedding to be unpublished, Private Weddings will be put on the Events Calendar, displaying the information you provided.
Note that Player Killers will, as always, NOT be protected by the attending Sentinel. If bloodshed makes the ceremony too chaotic, the Sentinel reserves the right to end the ceremony.
This is a "common law" type of marriage. It has no special powers or considerations, and the bond may be broken or redefined by the wedded participants.