The Imzadi couple have finally arrived at their wedding day... Deanna Troi and William Thomas Riker humbly invite you to be in attendance of their wedding, on the eleventh day of December. Join them as they take their vows of matrimony, in equal Betazoid and Earth tradition. This will be an event to cherish forever. The couple values your presence.
Thank you,
Mrs. Lwaxana Troi Mother to the Bride and Wedding coordinator
And so begins the first day of the rest of their lives...
Will Riker was busying in his designated portion of the room trying to get ready for the big event. A holo-generated wall (barely) sectioned off his quarters equally enough so he couldn't see Deanna while she was dressing. As he continued to struggle with the collar of his suit, he thought, 'I can't believe this is really happening.'
The anxious and slightly nervous First Officer was referring to the arrival of his wedding day. And yes, as he had always dreamed, he was taking his vows with his one and only, his Imzadi, Deanna Troi. A smile easily found its way to his lips at the very thought of her. They had come so far in their relationship and been through so much together since the day that they had first met all those years ago. Overall, Will was thankful for all the frustration, tears, and fears they had conquered to get them where they were today. All their hard work had all been worth it in the long run.
"Damn," he cursed as his fumbled with one of the buttons on his shirt. Just then, the chime of his door rang. "Come in,"
In strode Lwaxana Troi, his soon-to-be mother-in-law. She gave him a hopeless look and said, "I take it you're not having an easy time getting that thing buttoned are you, William?"
He sighed heavily from frustration, "Nope. Would you mind giving me a hand?"
"No, not at all, " and came over to assist him. Sensing the anxiety in his mind, Lwaxana said, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. Deanna isn't doing any better with her dress."
Will chuckled, "I can imagine. If I know you, Lwaxana, you've got her wearing a gown fit for a Betazoid empress."
The older woman smirked slightly and added, "Then I guess you do know me well, Commander. But I don't think you'll be disappointed, that I can guarantee."
As she finished the last button, she said softly, "You know, I'm proud of you, Will. You and Deanna both. I never thought you two would make it to this point in your lives. Sure, I always fantasized about you and Deanna getting married," she said, and one of Will's eyebrows rose slightly from curiosity, "but I never imagined it would actually happen."
As she smoothed out his shirt, and gave him a look-over, she began to get misty eyed, "Seriously Will, you don't know just how happy this has made me, to see you take your place with her."
"Call me an old romantic, crazy..." "Or maybe just a telepath?" he interrupted.
"Whatever," she said, easily dismissing his comment, "From the first day I met you, I already knew that you and Deanna were meant to be together. I could see it in your eyes and hers that day I shooed you away from her. Gods, you can't imagine the grief I felt after breaking the two of you apart. I didn't think Deanna would ever forgive me for that."
"Deanna can be forgiving, given time," he reminded her. "We had plenty of that between us back then." After a pause he said, "You know, Lwaxana, you can't place the blame on yourself. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for you, Deanna and I might not have met again, and you probably wouldn't be here talking to me."
"I see your point. It's too bad that you didn't work things out sooner. You probably would have been on your second child by now."
Shaking his head, Will laughed, "I don't think we were running on a time schedule, Lwaxana."
She simply shrugged her shoulders, "Well, no. I mean, no sense in rushing these things. I just thought it would have been nice."
"Don‹t fret, though. We've already had a discussion about having children," he said returning to the mirror to inspect his appearance.
"You have?"
"Yes."
"Really? What did you conclude?"
"We decided," he paused, trying to recall the conversation, "to just let nature take its course. It's bound to happen sooner or later."
Lwaxana pointed at him, "Better sooner than later. You're not getting any younger, you know."
"Maybe not," Will defended, "but you're not going anywhere either."
She dismissed his remark with a wave of her hand, "Despite what I would like to believe, and contrary to what you may have been hearing all these years, I am not immortal, Will Riker."
"You mean to tell me the legends are all false?" he said with light sarcasm, "Oh, well, then, I better tell Deanna not to plan on getting any sleep tonight."
She placed her hands on the outside of his arms, looked him straight in the eye, and said, "It's never too late to start."
A wall away, Deanna Troi was having one hell of a time getting her gown on. "Damn mother," she swore, "Always has to go overboard with everything." She regretted the remark instantly. This was-after all-her wedding day. Things like these didn't happen every day. It was only natural that Lwaxana Troi would want to make this a moment in time her daughter would never forget, even if she were a little eccentric at times.
Her face softened a little as she remembered the day she told her mother they were finally tying the knot. Lwaxana was absolutely ecstatic. She had cried, she was so overjoyed. "Deanna, I‹m so happy for you, Little One. A marriage between Imzadi is always blessed, and so very, very sacred."
For the first time in her life, Deanna was grateful for having made the choice to honor at least one tradition in her Betazoid heritage. *Thank you, Mother, *she thought without reason. In the meantime, she had her dress to attend to.
The gown was exquisite beyond words. It was white (against her mother's protests, of course, because it went against tradition. Deanna certainly was not a virgin any longer), complete with tiny sequins and real pearls laid in beautiful patterns throughout the satin material. At the top, her shoulders were left bare, and the bodice began at her shoulders. It was cut just right to give her a very elegant, very feminine appearance. The back of it was pinched in small sections by pearls, and left parts of her skin showing. The fit of the fabric and placement of the sequins perfectly formed her torso, and went down in a V shape to her hips. From there the rest of the satin flowed gracefully, adorned with pearls and lace patterns all the way down to the 10-foot train.
The make-up of her face was just as enchanting. Her eyes were made with dark, and passionate hues (to harmonize with her emotions) and were flawlessly outlined in black liner. Her eyelashes were made long and graceful with velvety mascara. Deanna's cheeks were colored in only the most natural of tones. Her delicate lips were tinged with the same dramatic tones identical in her eyes, but were touched with just the right amount of gloss to give them shine. Deanna's hair was prepared the night before so it would hold throughout the rest of the day (and much longer into the evening). It would be pinned up eventually to fit the structure of the headdress, but for now she let it hang loose about her face. Though she was without the matching satin, 3-inch heels to complete her ensemble, she considered herself done for the most part.
Deanna gathered the weight of the dress and went over to the mirror to see the results. She stood tall, her shoulders back, and spine straight. She let the gathers in her hands fall, and the dress began to fan out before her, spreading across the entire floor. Looking proud and slightly flushed with love, Deanna Troi (Daughter of the fifth house, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Riix, and future heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed) truly had the appearance of royalty (if not a goddess).
Everyone gathered in council commons on Betazed, awaiting the arrival of the guests of honor. Elegant green vines from the Jalara jungle hung accordingly throughout the place (a small sentimental token to commemorate their first meeting), with pure white rose buds intertwined into them. Various jungle fauna was spread throughout the hall. The chairs were lined up in perfect rows. The orchestra was located in their own section off to the side from the group, and were carefully tuning while the guests piled in.
Meanwhile, back on the Enterprise, Jean-Luc and Will's father, Kyle Riker, were standing patiently outside Deanna's quarters, waiting for her to open the door. They were both dressed in full Starfleet dress uniforms. "Just a moment, Captain, Kyle." Jean-Luc smiled at the elder Riker, "You know, it amazes me how even after all these years, she still refers to him as 'captain,‹ rather than just Jean-Luc."
Kyle laughed, "Yea, well, I forbid her from calling me 'Dad.'"
After a minute or two the door opened, but Deanna was nowhere in sight. "Deanna?" Picard called, hoping to God that she hadn't suddenly decided to ditch her own wedding.
"I'm in here," she responded from the bedroom.
The two men came in and gaped at her in awe, "You look like an angel," Kyle complimented.
She smiled, and blushed slightly, "Thank you. I hope my fiancé is as impressed."
Chuckling softly, the captain replied, "Believe me, Deanna, I'm sure once he catches sight of you, he's bound to faint, at least."
Headpiece and shoes finally on, Deanna took one last glance in the mirror. She took a deep breath, exhaled, and thought for the briefest second, From this moment on, Imzadi. I do. She went over to her captain and soon-to-be father-in-law, and they both helped her to gather the huge train of her dress. With a smile and grin exchanged between them all, they began to head to the transporter room, where they would be beamed down to the hall where the rest of her friends and family awaited her.
Lwaxana had helped Will to put on the final touches of his ensemble, and now stood with him, looking into the mirror. "She's going to be impressed," she said, referring to Deanna.
"Who says she hasn't been already?" he smirked, pulling a Picard maneuver on his jacket. He had to do something to loosen up. The anticipation was nearly killing him.
"Will," Lwaxana said as she sent a calming sensation through his mind, "You're going to be fine, stop worrying. Deanna's not going to leave you stranded at the altar," she joked with sarcasm in her voice, "trust me. I already threatened her with death if she tried to pull something like that."
He shook his head, and smiled, easing up a bit, "When I asked her to marry me, she was probably thinking, 'Maybe if I say yes, I can finally get my mother off my back, and put an end to the hounding I've had to put up for the last few years of the entire crew urging me to get back with him. Leaving me stranded was probably the last thing she would do." They both laughed.
After taking a glance at the chrono, Lwaxana said, "Come on, Will. It's time."
He stood still for a moment, took a deep breath, and exhaled, releasing all the tension in him. And for the briefest second before he walked out the door and to the hall with Lwaxana on his arm, he thought, From this moment on, Imzadi. I do.
"It's time."
A huge gong sounded-similar to giving thanks. The priest announced the beginning of the ceremony, and everyone stood. Will and Lwaxana (only slightly beaming, mind you) entered first. Once they reached the end, Lwaxana stood off to the side at Will's left. Then the flower girls (various children of the Enterprise crew and those who belonged to relatives of Deanna and Will) came in, dusting white rose petals on the floor. The ring bearers came in after them.
Once they had all made their way to the altar, the orchestra opened in a chorus (followed by the holo-projected voice of Placido Domingo as he sang the classic, Ave Maria) announcing Deannas arrival. With the opening of the doors to the hall, she came into view, Jean-Luc and Kyle on either side of her. There was a spontaneous gasp that filled the room as everyone caught sight of her extravagant gown. As she made her way down the aisle, four to six additional flower girls followed behind Deanna‹s train, making sure it stayed in perfect condition.
Lwaxana was smiling with pride, as was the rest of the audience. Will Riker, on the other hand, managed to be stunned and amazed at the same time. *My God, Imzadi,* he thought to her. *You look like a queen.*
Deanna smiled (though he could not see her from where he was), and sent back, *For you, Imzadi. I do it all for you. And my mother, of course.* He smiled, hearing her quiet laughter in his mind.
It took her five minutes before she could reach Will (it was a long dress!). Captain Picard kissed Deanna softly on the forehead, and then left her to Will before he sat down next to Beverly Crusher. Kyle Riker unlocked arms with her, and took his place at Deanna's right
Gazing adoringly into Will's eyes, Deanna thought, *Here we are, Imzadi. Our wedding day. Are you ready for the challenges ahead?*placing her hands in his.
He grinned as he held her hands, *Probably not, but hey, at least we'll be facing them together,* and squeezed them assuredly.
With that, the Betazoid priest then began the ceremony.

END