The Wedding

When Deirdre Young found out about the wedding she absolutely insisted that it be held in her garden.  Not only did she have wonderful trees and beautiful flowers, but it would free up quite a few possible wedding dates.  With the wedding being held in Tadfield, the children wouldn't need to worry about being on holiday from school.  It could take place any weekend they wanted.  Aziraphale thought that sounded absolutely wonderful and so it was agreed upon.  The weekend that was chosen was that of June 15th.  It gave them six months to plan and get everything in order. 

The first thing that Crowley arranged for was a short holiday for Arthur at a cottage by a lake to go fishing and just be away from all the wedding nonsense.  It wasn't really his thing, after all.  And it made both of them quite a bit more comfortable.  When Deirdre had asked what their decorating budget was, Crowley's only reply was "Whatever the angel wants."  They were both extremely wealthy, after all, as well as being able to just miracle up whatever they needed.  This made Deirdre very excited. 

There were some of the wedding traditions that Aziraphale had insisted on following.  It was just part of his old fashioned nature.  One of those traditions was not seeing each other the day before the wedding.  Crowley had thought it slightly fitting that he rent Jasmine cottage.  He arrived in Tadfield on Wednesday afternoon and the wedding was planned for Saturday.  That would give him time to look over the last minute details, make sure he did actually have everything he was supposed to have and not be late to his own wedding.

The most amusing thing about the wedding planning had been, in Crowley's mind, telling the printer that they needed a combined total of fourteen invitations printed.  They would give one to each of the guests and wedding party members as well as having one for the album that Crowley knew Aziraphale was going to put together.  It seemed only fair, to Aziraphale, to invite Adam's friends' parents to the wedding as well.  He wasn't sure if they would come, but it was the nice thing to do.

Saturday morning, Deirdre was in the garden making sure that everything was being set up correctly.  There were workmen bringing in the chairs, even if there weren't that many of them.  They had a lovely flowered archway at the end of the aisle that had white and red roses intertwined.  The whole floral theme was white and red, aside from the flowers that were already growing in the Young's garden.

"It really is lovely."  Deirdre said as she lightly caressed one of the soft petals on the archway.  "Thank you again for letting me help with this."  She smiled.

"I'm the one that should be thanking you."  Aziraphale replied as he adjusted the positioning of some of the chairs.  The positioning was only off to him but of course it had to be fixed.  "I think we'd have still been discussing venues if you hadn't offered."

"And dates, probably."  Deirdre chuckled.

"That too."  Aziraphale smiled at her.  "The cake should be here soon, yes?"

"Mr Crowley arranged for delivery to take place about half an hour before the ceremony.  Just to be safe."   Deirdre went over to check that everything was in place on the table that was off to one side.  The plan was for the reception to take place in the garden as well.

"I have a question."  Pepper asked as she stepped out of the house carrying a basket of rose petals.  She was wearing a black tuxedo with a red shirt and tie, the same as the boys were wearing.  The whole outfit had made her very happy.

"Yes, dear?"  Aziraphale took the basket from her and placed it at the end of the aisle.  The flower person was something that Aziraphale had decided to leave as a surprise.

"What will your name be after the wedding?"  Pepper tilted her head a little.

"Well, it'll still be the same, I imagine.  I can't see changing it after all these years."  Aziraphale hadn't even really thought about it.  And it wasn't like Aziraphale was his surname.  "And I believe the fact that I just call him Crowley would make things very confusing if I changed it, don't you think?"  He smiled at her.

"That's a very good point.  Besides, I like your name better anyway."  She smiled and then went back into the house.  Pepper never was one to hold back her thoughts.

"Right."  Aziraphale said with a chuckle.  He checked his pocket watch, though this was a new one.  He'd woken up that morning to find a neatly wrapped box sitting on the table next to his bed, black paper with a red bow.  There was a note attached that said "happy wedding day, angel."  and inside was a lovely new gold pocket watch with the date engraved on the back.   "Looks like it's time for me to go get ready."

"Yes.  It is, isn't it?"  Deirdre grinned.  "You go get dressed and I'll see to the rest of it.  Alright?"

"Thank you again, so very much Deirdre."  Aziraphale went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"It's no trouble at all, love."  She smiled and set back to making sure it was all perfect.




Crowley thought for sure that he'd be absolutely calm when it came to the actual ceremony.  Marrying Aziraphale was something he'd wanted for quite a very long time and it was finally happening.  It should have been the very happiest moment of his life.  But he was currently half dressed pacing in the living room of Jasmine cottage on the verge of being a nervous wreck and he wasn't even sure why.  He jumped slightly at a knock on the door and wasn't surprised when it opened without him saying anything.

"You're not dressed yet."  Adam said as he walked into the cottage.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious."  Crowley said as he rolled his eyes. 

 "Everything okay?" Adam asked. 

"Not sure."  Crowley continued pacing.

"Everybody gets nervous on their wedding day, you know?  At least that's what I've heard."  Adam went over and sat down on the couch.

"Everybody?"  Crowley scoffed at the thought.  Surely it couldn't be everybody.

"That's what my dad says.  He was so absolutely certain that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with my mum.  Said he felt it down to his very bones.  But when the day of the wedding came he was so nervous, his best mate had to stop him climbing out a window in the church."  Adam grinned.  It was one of his favorite stories.  Crowley stopped pacing and just looked at Adam.

"Well, that does make me feel a little better."  He'd felt the love between Arthur and Deirdre on more than one occasion.  Seen the way they looked at each other.

"Mum's taking care of the final details.  Aziraphale is getting ready.  I got sent to make sure you weren't going to be late.  Pepper is helping to set up and Bryan is probably trying to get a stain out of his shirt."  Adam shook his head.

"Right, yes.  So everyone is good.  Right."  Crowley started pacing again.  Seemed that everyone was handling this far better than he was.  Adam got to his feet and stood in front of Crowley, forcing him to stop.  He put his hands on Crowley's shoulders.

"You love him, right?"

"Well, of course.  Have for a very long time."  Crowley sounded as if it was a stupid question to ask.

"Then finish getting dressed and go marry him already.  Don't make me make you."  Adam grinned and there was a little glint in his eye that had Crowley wondering if the boy really was completely human.

"Alright, alright.  Getting dressed.  Just....stay down here, okay?"

"I will.  We can walk over to the house together."  Adam nodded before taking a seat again.

"That sounds good, yeah."  Crowley then went back upstairs to finish getting dressed.



During the wedding planning it had been discovered that Pepper's mother was actually an ordained minister.  It came from her time in the muddy field and the polythene tents.  She'd double checked that she could actually perform weddings and got the necessary paperwork filed so that they could have a nonreligious ceremony.  They both agreed it was the easier  way to go. 

The cake was delivered promptly half an hour before the ceremony was set to start.  It was a beautiful cake with a half and half design, as was the modern thing to do these days.  One half of the cake had white frosting with edible ivory flowers and a pair of angel wings sitting on the top tier of the cake.  The other half had black frosting with edible red roses and a black and red snake made of modeling chocolate and slithering his way up from the bottom tier.  The cake was vanilla with black cherry frosting.  They'd agreed that it represented both of them beautifully. 

Crowley was standing under the archway in a lovely black tuxedo.  This one was different from the one he'd worn to propose.  It didn't have the red embellishments because he was wearing a red waistcoat with his black shirt and tie.  On the lapel of the jacket he wore a single white rose.  That was Aziraphale's idea.  Crowley had even had special sunglasses custom made for the wedding with little angel wings on the temple pieces, big enough to be noticed but small enough to be tasteful.  Adam stood to his immediate right with Bryan, Pepper, and Wensleydale in that order.  After a large amount of deliberating it was decided that they should stand in alphabetical order.  Wensleydale had tried to argue that J came before P but nobody ever called him by his first name so it didn't really count. 

On cue the music started playing.  Aziraphale wanted a classical piece to walk down the aisle to and Crowley's only request was that it not be something from the fourteenth century.  Aziraphale still wasn't sure why Crowley hated that century so much.  Anathema had agreed to be one of the bride's maids and she was the first down the aisle, wearing a lovely ivory dress with little blue flowers along the bottom of the skirt and the cuffs of the sleeves.  She was carrying a bouquet of deep red roses.  Madame Tracy followed after her, service as the maid of honor.  She was wearing the same dress and also carried a bouquet of red roses.  Next came the flower person, which in this case was Dog.  The basket had been specially designed so that the petals spilled out the bottom as the dog walked down the aisle rather obediently. 

And then came Aziraphale.  He'd put a great deal of thought into his suit for the wedding.  The jacket and pants were f ivory with pale blue pinstripes.  White his shirt was bright white, his waistcoat and tie were a pale blue that matched the pinstripes on his suit.  On his lapel there was a single red rose tied with a black ribbon.  He was trying very hard to keep tears at bay as he walked down the aisle in time with the music.  The whole thing had him very emotional indeed.  Crowley found himself choking up a bit as he watched his angel coming toward him.  He looked absolutely gorgeous.  When he got to the archeway, Crowley and Aziraphale took hands. 

"We are gathered here today to join these two lovely men in matrimony.  If there be anyone here who takes issue with this union, speak now or forever hold your peace."  There was a brief pause and Crowley found himself holding his breath.  He was certain that Gabriel would show up and ruin everything.  Fortunately, that didn't happen.  Pepper's mother continued on with the ceremony for a little bit.  "The couple have prepared their own vows."  She said with a smile and motioned to Aziraphale first. 

"My darling Crowley."  Aziraphale said, his voice already a bit shaky.  "I know we haven't always seen eye to eye.  I've told you no considerably more than I've told you yes in the time we've known each other."  He chuckled and there were scattered laughs from the small congregation.  "But the one thing that I know for certain is that I love you with everything that I am.  With the entirety of my being.  I will always be here for you, take care of you, let you borrow some of my books."  He said with a smirk and there was a little more laughter.  "I promise you, from now until the end of time, that you will never have any reason at all to doubt my love for you."  He squeezed Crowley's hands before reaching up to wipe away a single tear that rolled down his cheek.  Crowley had to take a deep breath and clear the lump out of his throat before he could continue. 

"Aziraphale, my love.  My life."  He smiled.  "I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would not be the man I am without you in my life.  You've made me realize that there's far more to being me than just being a bad guy.  You've taken this person that was supposed to be unforgivable, unlovable, and proven them all wrong.  Not only have you shown me love and forgiveness, but you've brought that out in me as well.  I only hope that I can live up to being the man you truly believe I am. "  Crowley cleared his throat again.  Damn these emotions always getting in the way.  "I promise you that I will spend the rest of eternity doing everything I can to make sure that you are never anything but happy."  He squeezed Aziraphale's hands.  There was a collective awwww from the guests. 

"And now, the rings."  Pepper's mother said and motioned to Adam.  Adam pulled a small box out of his coat pocket and opened it up.  Crowley took the first ring out of the box and took Aziraphale's left hand.  Crowley repeated after Pepper's mother as he placed the ring on Aziraphale's finger. 

"With this ring, I thee wed.  In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse as long as we both shall live."  They'd both agreed that the "til death do us part" bit was a little ridiculous in their case.  Adam then shifted the box so Aziraphale could take the other ring out of it and he took Crowley's hand. 

"With this ring, I thee wed.  In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse as long as we both shall live."  He said before slipping the ring on Crowley's finger. 

"By the power vested in me by the church of the bright sun and the field I now pronounce you married.  What we have joined here today, let no man tear asunder.  You may kiss."  Pepper's mother grinned at the two of them.  Crowley wrapped one arm around Aziraphale's waist, the other went to the back of his head and he pulled him close for a rather lovely kiss.  It was a tender, loving kiss that lasted just the appropriate amount of time for the ending of a wedding ceremony.  There were some applause and then everyone started working together to clear a sort of dance are for the reception. 


"Absolutely lovely ceremony."  Madame Tracy said as she dabbed at her eyes.  Her mascara was a mess she was sure.  "So wonderful." 

"Yes, it really was beautiful."  Anathema said, taking a moment to look over at Newt before turning her attention back to Aziraphale. 

"I'm quite surprised I made it all the way through without being a blubbering mess."  He said with a slight chuckle before sipping a glass of champagne. 

"You did very well, dear."  Madame Tracy patted his arm.  "So, you'll be going to stay at the cottage then?"  She wasn't sure how long they planned to stay in Tadfield. 

"Um, no, actually.  We'll be leaving right after the reception.  The Bentley is all packed and ready to go."  He smiled.  Crowley had insisted that the honeymoon be a complete surprise.  "I'm actually rather excited." 

"It'll be great.  Believe me."  Anathema said with a little smirk, exchanging a glance with Madame Tracy. 


Crowley was standing off to one side just watching Aziraphale as he talked to Anathema and Madame Tracy.  He couldn't keep the smile off of his face even if he'd tried.  They'd really done it.  They were married. 

"There is only way one I can possibly describe the look on your face right now."  Adam said as he walked over to join Crowley. 

"Oh yeah?  What's that?"  Crowley asked before sipping from his own glass of champagne. 

"Ridiculously happy."  Adam smiled.  Crowley let out a soft laughed and nodded. 

"You're definitely right there.  I never thought I'd get a chance to feel this way.  Not after...."  He shook that thought away.  Didn't need to bring up that particular moment of darkness, not at his wedding.  Adam just nodded and let the sentence end where it did. 

"I'm really glad for you, Crowley.  Not everybody gets to be this happy.  You're exceptionally lucky."  Adam ran his fingers through his hair. 

"I can certainly agree with you on that."  Crowley said absentmindedly before he looked at Adam.  "I'm sure you'll find something like this one day.  When you're a bit older, perhaps.  It's entirely possible." 

"I'm not worried about that."  Adam chuckled.  "I've got loads of time.  It's just....seeing you two looking that happy together does give me a bit of hope." 

"Glad I could help."  Crowley raised his glass to Adam and then took a sip. 



Aziraphale and Crowley did stay at the reception for a good couple of hours.  They made sure to mingle with everyone, which wasn't difficult.  There was dancing and drinking and just everyone having an all around good time.  And then it was time to depart.  They said their goodbyes and made their way to the Bentley which was parked on the lane outside the Young's house.  Crowley opened the door for Aziraphale before going around and getting inside. 

"Not sure if I told you this yet or not but I really do love you very much."  Crowley said with a grin as he took Aziraphale's hand and kissed the back. 

"You know, I don't recall if you did or not, but I do appreciate it."  Aziraphale smirked.  "And I do believe I can say the feeling is quite mutual." 

"That's very good to hear."  Crowley chuckled softly before he started the car and took off.  He was actually driving and a semi normal pace, rather than the bat out of hell speed he usually took. 

"Darling, there is one particular thought that came to my mind this afternoon."  Aziraphale shifted a little in his seat so he could watch Crowley as he drove. 

"What's that, my dear?"  Crowley took a second to glance at Aziraphale before putting his eyes back on the road. 

"I do believe that the idea of eternity is now considerably more tolerable."  Aziraphale smiled broadly.  Crowley looked at him over the top of his sunglasses with a raised eyebrow. 

"I do believe you're right."  Crowley smiled back.  Yes, the idea of eternity did seem far less daunting now that he knew he'd be spending it with his angel.