[Child of the 7th Age]

Shirelings, Old Star crew,

I need help. As many of you know (or have yet to learn!), weddings can be devilish things to plan. Cami and Maura are no exceptions. I wanted to share my ideas and see if anyone has further suggestions.

General background: Tolkien wrote very little about hobbit weddings. When he considered having Bilbo run off to marry, JRRT referred to hobbits' eloping and their preference for keeping wedding plans secret. All this was dropped, when his plot went off in another direction.

Cami's particular situation:

1. Except for Rose Goodchild, Cami has no living kin. Remember that her mother had been cut off by the wealthier Brockhouse family.

2. Cami knows she has very little time with Maura and will not want to waste any of it. Once she and Maura are reacquainted, they are not going to want to wait a whole month to say their vows!

3. Because Pio is pregnant, Cami will not want a public ceremony until after the birth of the twins. She does not wish to draw attention away from that happy event, and will be afraid of tiring out Pio with too many preparations, especially as she is considering a venue away from the Inn.

4. Cami has the additional complication that Maura follows First Age customs, and she follows Third Age customs. My guess would be that the hobbits of Gondolin might have been influenced by the Elves, and that, in emergency situations, a simple exchange of vows between the couple would have been viewed as sufficient, with some sort of reference to the blessings of Eru.

I suspect the Third Age practiced what we call 'civil marriage'. Hobbits outside the Shire would probably include some rural folk customs in their ceremony; those living under the Edwardian/Victorian patina of the Shire might tend toward a public registration ceremony where names would be set down in a great book. The couple might reaffirm their commitment to each other in front of friends or family, then sign the town register.

For all these reasons, I am thinking of doing this:

1. Cami and Maura will privately exchange vows a la the First Age and go off to live in the old deserted borough. Cami will officially tell no one except Bilbo and Pio and Bird. However, her hobbit friends are likely to know and understand and even talk privately about it. (In a positive sense, I hope!)

2. Cami and Maura will have a public civil ceremony, at a venue to be disclosed, after the birth of the twins, plus a one-week honeymoon in that same venue (time condensed, to be sure). Mayor Samwise will bring along the Hobbiton register and have the couple set their names in that book, since Cami grew up there.

Does this sound alright? Any ideas? Orual, would you be willing to write a post for Sam's part in this?

sharon