[TheGrandMom]

So you want to get married!?

You can now get married in Vana'diel! Ah, to gather your friends and ls mates around and PAAARTY! Of course, just like any wedding, there are plans to be made and things to do! Let's cover some of the basics! Officially....

A wedding in Vana'diel is an official in-game event arranged for a couple and their friends, and is conducted by a Wedding Master of the Bastokan, Windurstian or San d'Orian government. Planning aspects take place between a chaperone and the FINAL FANTASY XI Wedding Master.

Weddings in Vana'diel do not grant the players any special privileges, rights (legal or otherwise) or abilities inside or outside of the game.

Requirements:

• A chaperone must submit the application. Think of him/her as your wedding planner.
• Applications are handled on a lottery basis.
• The desired date and time may not be available and the chaperone may have to apply again.
• Applications are not accepted from the bride or the groom.
• Both the bride and the groom must have at least one job that is level 20 or higher.
• The bride and the groom must be of different genders. Galkas will be considered males for this circumstance.
• The ceremony will only include the specified services. The following services are not included: Special events such as a reception afterwards, ushering or monitoring guests, dealing with disruptive guests (Guests are responsible for their own actions and if they violate the rules a GM will be notified.)
• No mobs or NPC's can participate in the ceremony.
• The minimum attendance for the ceremony is 3 (bride, groom, chaperone) and the maximum is 36.

So what exactly happens at a ceremony?

The Wedding Master will perform the ceremony. The bride and groom can say a few short words to each other. There can not be an actual exchange of rings since the rings are rare/ex. The Wedding Master will put them in your inventory and you can put an exchange of rings into your vows. The guests are provided with crackers/fireworks and are asked to not use them until after the ceremony.




What the heck is a "chaperone"?

SE doesn't take applications for a wedding from the bride or the groom. You'll have to find a friend that is willing to be your wedding planner! He/She will have to file the application and also be available an hour before the ceremony starts to meet with staff. Thank goodness you don't have to pay your chaperone like you do a real wedding planner! (But you better make sure you thank him/her!)




When are services held?

Ceremonies are from Wednesday to Sunday. No ceremonies will be held on Monday or Tuesday. The starting times for ceremonies are in PST and are 2:00 pm, 5:00 pm, and 7:00 pm. These are the only times and days of the week that are available.


The bride, groom, and chaperone have to arrive at your designated area at least one hour before the wedding ceremony starts. You'll need to confirm the arrangements with staff. So its important that you make sure the day and time you choose are going to work for all three of you.




Where can we have our wedding ceremony?

There are 11 traditional sites that you can choose from. Different sites can accomodate different size parties. So just like the real world, make sure you choose the right site for the amount of people you are inviting.


Windurst
Windurstain weddings are based on a traditional TaruTaru ceremony created by the first Star Sibyl. A Sibyl Celebrant presides over the ceremony in the Star Sybil's place. This is an excellent choice for those who want a cheerful ceremony. The bride and groom must each prepare an offering of food beforehand.

Orastery (Port Windurst E-8)- up to 10 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
Rhinostery (Windurst Waters Second Map K-8)- up to 18 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
Acolyte Hostel (Windurst Waters K-6)- up to 36 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
East Sarutabaruta (Inaccessible cliffs near H-12)- up to 36 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone

San d'Oria
In a traditional San d'Orian wedding, the bride and groom swear lifelong loyalty to each other before the goddess Altana. A Temple Knight presides over this solemn ceremony. The bride and groom must bring their weapons to the ceremony for their vows.

Count Caffaule's Manor, Indoors (Southern San d'Oria B-6)- up to 10 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
Chateau d'Oraguille (H-8)- up to 18 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone. NOTE: All attendees must be Rank 2 from San d'Oria or Rank 3 from other nations to enter.
Count Caffaule's Manor, Outdoors (Southern San d'Oria B-6)- up to 36 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone

Bastok
Registrars from the Department of Industry preside over these informal and relaxed ceremonies. The bride, groom, and chaperone join in a toast with drinks provided by the president.

Metalworks (Goddess Shrine F-5)- up to 10 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
Port Bastok (H-7)- up to 36 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone
South Gustaberg (Inaccessible Upper Platform- Morhen Lighthouse- L-10)- up to 36 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone

Jeuno (Available for All Styles)
Upper Jeuno (Goddess Temple H-9)- up to 20 attendees including the groom, bride and chaperone

Please note the following:
It is not possible to hold one nation's ceremony at another nation's site (for example, Bastokan ceremony in a Windurstian site).

Sites allowing up to 36 attendees may be open to increased capacity. Please discuss this with the Wedding Master after your date is booked.




What if I'd like to have my wedding ceremony is a different place?

Weddings that are in "special" locations will cost you triple the fees. It still goes by the amount of people attending your ceremony. So if you have a medium ceremony (see below), your fee for a special area would be $90,000 gil. Of course, you can't hold a wedding in an area with aggressive mobs or near the site where Notorious Monsters (NM's) spawn. And no, you can't have your ceremony in Burning Circles (BC's) or on the Airship. Any place that is busy like Auction Houses, certain areas in town, and areas that would inconvenience other players are also off limits.

All of your guests will be responsible for how they get to an area. So choose wisely if some of your important guests are lower level. It's not fun to try to get to an area and dying on the way there. You could be nice and offer to give lower level guests some silent oils and/or prism powders, if needed, to get to your ceremony.

When your chaperone applies for your wedding, have him/her indicate on the form that this ceremony will be in a special area. In the "Notes" area on the application, indicate the area by name and also the <pos>. If there are any landmarks nearby (i.e. a lake, tower, etc.), note that also. Also include your reason for having the ceremony in that area.




So is this going to cost me anything?

Are real weddings free?? Nooooooooo! So yes, there are fees involved in order to have a wedding. The price depends on the size of your wedding.

• Small Ceremony (3 to 10 people) $20,000 gil
• Medium Ceremony (11 to 18 people) $30,000 gil
• Large Ceremony (19 to 36 people) $80,000 gil
• Jeuno Ceremony (20 people) $80,000 gil

So is that all its going to cost?

Yep, this is the minimum it is going to cost you. Buuuuuuuut..........brides like to dress up you know! If your bride decides she'd like a wedding outfit, thats gonna cost some more! The bridal outfit will be $50,000 gil. All pieces of the outfit are rare/ex and can not be sold or traded. Included in the outfit are:






Now you can also get an outfit for the groom for $50,000 gil. All pieces of the outfit are rare/ex and can not be sold or traded. Included in that outft are Benedight Coat and Benedight Hose.



Those who have yet to apply for wedding services:
Those who have yet to apply for the wedding service should have their chaperone fill in the appropriate section (Optional Services) of the application form and indicate their desire to purchase a tuxedo or bridal outfit.

Those with a pre-existing wedding reservation:
Even those who have already made a wedding reservation and confirmed a date can purchase a tuxedo or bridal outfit. Simply prepare the 50,000 gil fee and consult with the Wedding Master at the pre-ceremony meeting on your wedding day.




You said something about wedding rings. Whats that all about?

The bride and groom will each receive a wedding ring to commemorate the ceremony. These rings are rare/ex and do not grant any special properties or have any special abilities. You can not sell or trade the rings.

NOTE: If you would choose to toss away your ring, YOU CAN NOT GET ANOTHER ONE. So once it is gone, its gone. Please be aware of that before doing so.




It would be really cool if you could have them engraved. Would that be possible?

Yes, there are 2 ways you can have your rings engraved and ONLY these 2 ways.

1) You can have your spouse's full character name engraved unto the ring.
Example: My character is Thegrandmom and my spouse is Balfree ( ) then the engravings would be like this:

• Groom's ring engraved with Thegrandmom
• Bride's ring engraved with Balfree

2) You can have your initials engraved on the rings.
Example: Using the same names as above:

• Groom's ring engraved with TtoB
• Bride's ring engraved with BtoT

Ok, I have a chaperone, what exactly does he need to do now?

Here's the scoop straight from PlayOnline.com:

Many chaperones are unclear about the application process and what their duties will be. Before applying, the chaperone must meet the following requirements:

• Account is free of any disciplinary actions.
• Be familiar with the use of PlayOnline email.
• Have the ability to communicate via email with the couple.

When the chaperone is ready proceed, they must gather the following information from the couple:

• At least the first choice of date/time for the ceremony.
• Groom's name, race, and job
• Bride's name, race, and job
• The world on which the wedding takes place.
• The number of guests
• There is a maximum for each site. For more information view KB article Q12794.
• Wedding location
• Whether or not the bride would like a wedding dress.
• If the bride and groom would prefer names or initials on their rings.
• The style of wedding (San d'Orian, Windurstian, Bastokan).
• San d'Orian ceremonies require the chaperone to enter the weapon types used by the groom and bride.
• Bastokan ceremonies require the chaperone to enter the rank, nation, and a motto for the groom and bride.

To apply, the chaperone must go to the Compendium from the FFXI top screen. The path is log into PlayOnline Viewer > Games > FINAL FANTASY XI > Compendium > Wedding Services:

• The first step will be to select dates. The chaperone must bear in mind that the lotteries book about one month in advance.
• The date for the next lotto and the dates that it will be booking will be displayed on the left under "news".
• When the application is completed, an email will be automatically sent to the chaperone's PlayOnline email address confirming the dates and times selected. If you do not receive a reply within a week, your mail may have been lost. Please resubmit your application. The chaperone may reply to the email if:
• He or she needs to cancel the application.
• He or she has a general question about their application.
• He or she believes that the lotteries have been run and they have not received results.
• Please check the application calendar page to see if the dates you'd selected have been booked yet.

When lotteries are held, the chaperone will receive a POL email with the results regardless of the outcome.

If results are unfavorable:

• The chaperone may apply again.

If the results are favorable:

• The chaperone must follow the instructions in the email.
• Upon replying, the Wedding Master will send more instructions to the chaperone. This email will contain instructions for holding the mandatory rehearsal meeting before the wedding day.
• The wedding party will be responsible for informing guests of the date, time, area and expected etiquette.
• All questions or concerns should be addressed by the chaperone. He or she may reply to the most recent email for help.

The weddings are booked by a lottery system? Why?

Some players would have an unfair advantage over others if it was done on a first come, first serve basis. So to make it more fair for everyone, it is done by a lottery system.




But its taken so long to reserve a date, is there anything I can do?

Weddings are quite popular and since the days and times are limited, it can be hard to get in quickly. But if you have tried for a very long time and still have not been able to secure a date, you could contact the Wedding Master and he may be able to give special attention to your application. There are no guarantees that a reservation can be made but its worth a shot.