The Nott-Novak wedding

Round 26: Winter 2023

Gordon Nott is 27 and Lia Novak is 26.

Winter has just begun in Sullivan and the first flakes of snow fall on the morning of Gordon and Lia's wedding.

Thankfully, they've chosen an indoor venue for the ceremony and the reception. They're still planning on having their photos taken outside, so hopefully the snow will hold off.

All the guests and members of the bridal party have filed into Sullivan Community Church for the wedding. Steve (Gordon's friend and co-worker) and Luc (Gordon's former room mate) are serving as groomsmen. Next to Luc is Maia, Lia's sister and bridesmaid.

The bride's other sister (and other bridesmaid) Tessa, is seated across the hall with Jace and Magdalena.

Fortunately, everyone is seated by the time Gordon and Lia are ready to exchange vows and rings.

And finally, 8 years after they got together and 3 years after their reunion, Gordon and Lia are husband and wife!

To save money, the reception is held at Lia's childhood home. Even if they'd had the money for a fancy wedding at a hotel, Lia thinks she probably would have opted for a home reception anyway. Family is so important to both Lia and Gordon, so a reception at home seems perfect for them.

Once the guests arrive at the house, Lia's best friend Ione is the first to congratulate her...

...followed closely by Jace. Even though Lia hasn't lived at home for 8 years, her dad still feels a little sad about "losing" his daughter today.

Another reason to hold the reception at home? Magdalena got the opportunity to put her cooking skills to good use! Lia's mother has been cooking all week and she's pretty confident everyone will be very satisfied with her offerings.

Magdalena even made a very elaborate dark chocolate wedding cake for her eldest daughter and her new husband.

It's almost a shame to cut into it but Gordon feels that cake is meant to be enjoyed!

Lia fell in love with Gordon knowing he wasn't the neatest guy on earth, so she can't do much but laugh.

She thinks he may have got some cake in her eye though.

Lia still can't believe she's actually married!

Over cake, Gordon ends up sitting next to Maia's boyfriend Nick and they discuss how completely terrifying they both find Jace. Nick thought maybe Gordon had some advice on how to get on his good side but Gordon isn't exactly Jace's favourite person.

His number one tip would probably be to avoid making out with Jace's daughter in the dining room. That's probably not going to go over well.

Tessa, meanwhile, is using the wedding to check out boys. Or men, really, as everyone here is way too old for her. And in Calvin's case, way too gay for her.

And Steve just isn't interested in anything she has to say. He's not usually so blunt with people but Tessa just won't let up.

Tessa might have switched her focus to Luc, if he'd tear himself away from Asha for 3 seconds. No luck on that front though.

There's no room for a real dance floor in the Novaks' living room but there's just enough space in front of the fireplace for Gordon and Lia to share their first dance as a married couple.

Inspired by the bride and groom, Maia and Nick find a little spot behind the couch for a quick waltz.

Tessa is doing some dancing of her own, though it's not quite as elegant.

Even kind-hearted Lia can't help but laugh!

Time for the father of the bride to give his toast!

Jace is happy if Lia's happy and he can tell Lia is very happy. That doesn't mean he's going to stop watching out for Gordon though. Someone has to!

It seems six months of living together hasn't killed the romance for Steve and his girlfriend Olivia. Seven years on and these two are still very passionate!

Lia's been on her feet all afternoon, mingling and playing hostess.

Normally, all these people would make her nervous but everyone at the wedding is either a family member or a close friend, so Lia's feeling quite at ease.

She's still pleased when she finally gets a minute to relax on the couch with Gordon.

Gordon's been busy too. He's spent his afternoon doing the wise thing and making a good impression on his new mother-in-law.

It's not really necessary. When Lia forgave Gordon, so did Magdalena, so there's no bad blood between these two.

Nick feels like he's finally making some headway with Jace. When he first came home with Maia to meet her parents last year, Jace seemed immediately suspicious of Nick.

Now, he seems a lot friendlier! Nick's certainly not planning on doing anything untoward, so hopefully, Nick will be more well-liked than poor Gordon is!

After the reception, Lia and Gordon head straight back to Lia's unit (where Gordon is now also living) where they catch the shuttle to the airport.

For their honeymoon, Lia and Gordon are staying in Takemizu Village, at a luxury resort. It's a little warmer there than it is in Sullivan right now, so they can do things like lounge around by the pool. No one is doing that at home at the moment, that's for sure!

They've also got themselves a very nice hotel room they're planning to make good use of. Gordon's pretty excited but Lia's a little nervous. It's her first time, so there's that but Lia's a nervous person in general.

Gordon puts her at ease though and they don't do much else for the next couple of days.

All that sex might be the cause of Lia's sudden nausea.

Some newlyweds probably wouldn't want a baby so soon but Gordon and Lia aren't among them. Nothing would make them happier!

Back at home after their honeymoon, Lia heads to the doctor to confirm what she and Gordon have both already been assuming.

Yep, she's definitely pregnant! Gordon and Lia are both very keen to start a family, so the news couldn't be more welcome for the pair.

Posed pics! Not quite spam, really, because man - I'm really blabbing today!
Aw! Lia's dress is probably the dress I would have picked out for myself when I was 8 years old but I see Lia as the type who's probably been planning her wedding for that long anyway! I also think she'd go conservative and traditional. And it's a winter wedding, so sleeves!

This one isn't really for framing. I'm just such a nerd about my weddings that I take a full length shot of every bride where I can see the dress really clearly and keep them all in a separate folder so I don't double up on gowns! I've doubled up a couple of times but it was either intentional or there was enough time between the weddings that I didn't care.

With Lia's parents. Gordon, in the grand tradition of townies, appears to be an orphan. I'm still deciding if I want to make up a back story for him (and for Steve and Rob, seeing they're all new enough that I could do it if I wanted to).

Lia got sleeves but her bridesmaids weren't so lucky!

I'm seeing a slight resemblance between Tessa and Maia and Lia now that Tessa is older. When she aged to toddler, I didn't think she looked anything like her older sisters. Lia and Maia are very similar.

Gordon and his groomsmen. Gordon is my only male Sim whose height is set at below the default. I just always pictured him as short. He's 0.98, Lia is 0.96. Steve and Luc are both above the default (Luc's waaaaay above it - he's my tallest Sim at 1.06)

And the whole bridal party! I'm glad I bought Celebrations because I can have matching dresses for adults and teens. Not many CC creators have done that.

Notes:

• Technical stuff: I moved Gordon in with Lia seconds before I sent them to the church, threw a wedding party and got them married. Once I had all the pics I wanted, I exited to the hood without saving. Then I moved Gordon and Lia in with Jace and Magdalena (Gordon's dog Paddy acted as a placeholder so that all of the furniture and household funds stayed in place) and threw another wedding party at the house. You have to do it that way, or else you won't get any interactions with the wedding cake and there's no "toast to newlyweds" option on the champagne either. Post photos, I moved Gordon and Lia out and back in with Paddy, where everything was just as they'd left it and then they headed off on their honeymoon! It seemed to work pretty well!
• Oh, Tessa...she followed several of the guys around heart-farting at them for the whole reception. She's also rolled up the want to go steady with Nathan. She'll have to ask Jace and see what he thinks of that!
• Boy was Lia ready to get married! "Have Very First Woohoo with Gordon" was a constant want for her. Didn't even need to lock it. I was pretty sure Lia would get pregnant on the honeymoon and seeing I haven't actually played a Sim in the later stages of pregnancy for a good while, I scheduled Lia and Gordon's proper update for Summer 2024, assuming she'd be in her third trimester by then. I bet Lia will be an adorable pregnant Sim! There's just one baby in there right now but she and Gordon are both Family Sims, and both have the twins benefit, so that could possibly change!