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Mercer Estate, New York (N!)— The much-anticipated wedding of John "Caestus Pax" and Samantha "Songbird" Carter went off smoothly yesterday, with a guest list that read like a "who's who" of Utopia.
No unpleasant surprises disrupted the wedding, something partly attributed to the overwhelming power present at the beautiful Mercer estate. Some pleasant surprises, however, cropped up, such as Alejandra's spontaneous (and stunning) rendition of "Ave Maria" and Splash's "rainbow sculptures" of the happy couple filling the sky as the ceremony reached its climax. Among other guests — aside from the families of the happy couple — were most members of the Teams Tomorrow, Antaeus, André Corbin, Utopia Director Justin Laragiome, and even living legend Maxwell Mercer himself, along with several of his former colleagues from the original Aeon Society. Though President Portman was unable to come — tensions with the Japanese government involving the Utopia/Directive debate have consumed his schedule for the last week — Mrs. Portman was able to attend, and extended congratulations on behalf of the Fireman.
The ceremony itself was a mix of the old and the new, as familiar wedding traditions were mixed with those of Songbird's neo-pagan beliefs. As anyone who hasn't been under a rock for the past three months knows, Jennifer "Slider" Landers was Songbird's Maid of Honor. Anthony Chang — Lightning — was the Best Man. There were two officiants, however — a priest and a priestess. The former was a reverend from the Unitarian Universalist church, while the latter was the high priestess from Songbird's former congregation, or coven.
Caestus Pax walked in first, preceded by the ring bearer and Lightning to the tune of Pachelbel's "Canon." Then Songbird's daughter Amber, Slider, and Songbird (in a flowing pale green gown) processed in to Wagner's traditional "Here Comes the Bride." After a blessing that seemed to some as much magical ritual as religious ceremony, the two legendary Team Tomorrow members made poetic vows. From there, after a surprisingly brief conclusion, the two jumped over a broom — a bit of folk tradition that has recently come back in style — and walked out amid a shower of birdseed. (Uncooked rice, the reporters had been informed earlier, presents a hazard to birds that eat it inadvertently.) (full ceremony)
At the intimate reception, catered by a multi-ethnic selection of A-list restaurants in nova quantities, things were fairly friendly and few surprises were in evidence — until Slider caught the bouquet. At that point, every eligible bachelor (and a few whose eligibility was questionable) crowded together for the tossing of the garter. A few calls of appreciation as the garter was removed were silenced by a single glare from Caestus Pax. Then, when Pax threw the garter into the air, it stayed there for several minutes as various nova powers flared above the crowd. Suddenly, it vanished, and André Corbin rolled out from the rest of the mob, holding the garter in the air to cheering, applause, and a few disgruntled mutters.
Shortly thereafter, when asked if she had any plans regarding this tradition, Slider replied, "Well, I'm taking my time. But you must have noticed how the garter simply vanished there..." With a sweet smile and a wink, she returned to the party.
After the reception broke up, with Team Tomorrow's Director and First Lady off for their honeymoon (at several undisclosed locations), comments about the ceremony were unanimously favorable from the guests. Even Alejandra, who is well-known for her advocacy of the Catholic church, had only kind words for the happy couple. "Our Lord spoke of two covenants: Love thy God, and love one another. In a world where so many hate for every small thing, it is good to see that love can overcome — whatever that love wears."
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