Dwarven Weddings

# Common Customs

Wedding traditions followed by most or all of the Dwarven Clans

**The Oathstone**

One of the oldest practices, the Dwarven Oathstone, is the quintessential piece to a Vothan wedding. Before the wedding day, it is custom for one of the partners to go out with their family to gather a fine stone big enough for someone to stand on. Generally, the person responsible for the Oathstone is the one who proposed.

The raw stone shall be polished and carved into a fine pedestal. It is there that the couple will stand to exchange vows for all to hear.

Some people may ask for a Runepriest to carve wards into the polished stone, though this custom varies across various Clans and sub-cultures back in Imeris.

Many oathstones end up set into a wall, hearth, or floor as a constant reminder of the couple’s vows though some clans and holds have other traditions. Some modern dwarves even have their stones carved down into kitchenware!

**Arms and Armour**

Dwarves are expected to be fully armed and armoured during a wedding. The bride and groom are excluded, as are non-Dwarven guests.

**Expulsion of Evils**

Every Dwarven couple must protect themselves from the dark tricks and spells of Morkith. To keep Morkith out of the couples’ marriage, rituals are done before, during, and after the ceremony.

First, a week or so before the wedding, each of the engaged Dwarves was meant to get together with their family members and friends. The bride or groom would then have their family celebrate their life. How this was done differed across each family, too. Some held feasts or parties, some had duels, and others held competitions of crafting or athletics.

Next, on the wedding day, a prayer was said to cast Morkith away from the event. If a couple could get a Runepriest to provide protective wards, they would. However, it was generally accepted that a group’s denial of Morkith was enough to keep him away.

Last, after the wedding, the couple was meant to share a private moment away from the ceremony. For some newlyweds, this was done after the ceremony but before the feast. For others, this custom involved taking a week-long trip away from home. It’s believed the couple’s time to enjoy each other as proper spouses would sicken and deter Morkith.

**The Party**

After exchanging vows and rings, the official ceremony would conclude, and the festivities were meant to begin immediately. The newlyweds’ families were to host a feast, dancing, and most importantly: DRINKS!

While the ceremony brought the happy couple together, the party afterward united the two separate families. Although activities varied for different Clans and families, it was always meant to be a time of celebration - sometimes for a week!

# Clan Konos

**Golden Rings**

To honor the symbol of Clan Konos, the parents of the betrothed presented a simple golden ring to their children. For some, these rings would be passed down across generations, while other families had new rings made for the betrothed. The ring was meant to represent loyalty - for the couple’s marriage and their commitment to their greater family. Some members of Clan Konos opted to use these rings as their wedding bands, while others kept the rings safe at home.

**Gathering Coins**

To ensure the newlyweds would be comfortable in their new household, it was custom for members of both families to gift the couple a single coin. The value didn’t matter (though people were indeed judged for giving copper over gold), for this bit of wealth was meant to pay for the wedding’s various costs. However, two gold coins would always be kept to signify the couple’s prosperity.

# Clan Lam

**Threshold Crossing**

After the official ceremony, it is customary for the newlyweds to hold hands and cross the threshold of their home together. It is a symbolic step into their new future.

**Lock of Love**

One of the most important traditions of Lam weddings was to have a small lock made as a gift for the married couple. Once the wedding was done, the couple had to use their padlock at a public place, such as a bridge. The Lams believed that a marriage could not be broken so long as the couple’s padlock remained in place and unopened.

# Clan Arelbel

**Two Steps**

Even though the Oathstone is a vital piece of every Dwarven wedding, the Arelbels have made a rather significant change to the practice. While couples from other Clans will only provide a single Oathstone, many Arelbels will have both bride and groom give an Oathstone. Once the wedding is over, both rocks will be displayed or used together to signify unity.

**Something Old, Something New**

Though infamous for moving forward with new research, craft, and customs, the Arelbels respect most Dwarven traditions. To show their appreciation for tradition, both bride and groom will wear something old - typically a family heirloom. However, each Dwarf will also present something new, such as their ring, dress, or personal Oathstone. The ‘new’ object symbolizes the Arelbel innovation as well as the couple’s future together.

# Clan Deler

**Bouquet Toss**

Many cultures across Imeris had customs for predicting future marriages, but the Dwarves of Clan Deler made it into a grand event. As the most populous Clan, Deler weddings were enormous and full of unwed folks desperate for their own spouse. Once a Deler wedding ceremony is complete, it is custom for the bride to throw her bouquet into a crowd of bachelorettes. Whoever catches it is supposedly going to be the next one to get married. It’s uncommon for the groom to do something similar for the bachelors, but it was done sometimes.

**Tower Cakes**

No good Dwarven wedding has ever been had without some kind of delicious dessert. This is particularly true for the Dwarves of Deler, famous for their agricultural innovation - and delicious cooking. When the ceremony was over, the parents would give the happy couple their tower cake, which would be made of several ring-shaped cakes stacked on top of each other and stuck together with icing. Once it arrived, the happy duo would take the top layer together and lift it. However, many rings of cake stuck to the bottom were said to be the number of children they’d have!

# Clan Ral

**Sword Ceremony**

Before their wedding day, both bride and groom were tasked with breaking into an ancestor’s tomb to ‘steal’ a sword. On the wedding day, they would present each other with the weapons as a symbolic way of joining their two families and promising to protect each other as blood-kin.

**Feast Race**

Ral wedding ceremonies were always done away from the feasting hall. This wasn’t to ward away spirits or enjoy a second location - it was to set up the traditional wedding race. As soon as the ceremony ended, both families would begin a mad dash for the hall. Whoever got there first would be allowed to sit, rest, and be served by the other family. This tradition has caused many twisted ankles and bloody noses.