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Eleventy-one Years: Too Short a Time   by Dreamflower 3 Review(s)
AndreaReviewed Chapter: 37 on 5/22/2014
[...]the hobbits began making their way to the smial. Some indeed were left slumbering beneath the tables. Bilbo made sure none of them were witnesses for the wedding.

A very nice wedding and and a convincing proof why standing witness for the groom also means making sure he doesn't drink too much ;-)

Author Reply: I had planned out a little anecdote about a famous Shire wedding that had to be postponed because the groom and half the witnesses were passed out, and how Bilbo wanted to avoid that--but I could not find a good place to fit it in. *sigh*

Exactly!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 37 on 5/22/2014
Our fanons agree, apparently! Heh! A wonderful wedding, and I love seeing Bilbo being so responsible.

Author Reply: Frequently, LOL! And once in a while, even on purpose! But this I think makes sense as an extrapolation from #214; some widows might be so bowed in grief they wouldn't feel able to carry the responsibility. (But in later years, after Lalia, a lot of widows gave over their headship to their sons for fear of being compared to her; then after the Troubles it came back round again, since some had been widowed during the Troubles whose sons were under age.)

Bilbo is on his way to becoming the staid Baggins of that first chapter of TH, who is very responsible and set in his ways!

LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 37 on 5/21/2014
What fun! Very hobbity wedding, from the matriarch's speech to the signing of the contract.

I must admit that when I read the chapter title, my first thought was "Poor Bilbo. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride."

I do love how diligent Bilbo is, and his attention to detail. (And the mention of his pocket handkerchief -- or was that in the previous chapter and my brain just brought it up?) Locating all the witnesses and keeping them straight, cutting off the groom after his third ale (brings back an echo from an old story: "You want to enjoy your wedding, don't you?")

Comfortable tradition, celebration, and merrymaking. It's one facet of hobbits that brings them close to my heart. (Along with, of course, resourcefulness, loyalty, and courage in a pinch, among other things.)

Author Reply: LOL! Well, groomsman, at least!

I just love writing hobbit weddings! It's so much fun, and I enjoy making the ceremony center around the signing and witnessing of the "Marriage Lines"!

Comfortable tradition, celebration, and merrymaking. It's one facet of hobbits that brings them close to my heart. (Along with, of course, resourcefulness, loyalty, and courage in a pinch, among other things.)

And a loud "Amen!" to that!

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