#i just want a simple dance party in a field of flowers and some jam and toast with the AAA girlies

[madquerade]

There’s a Skirmish of Wit Between Them (1/?)

Rating: ??? T? M??? Who knows? Ten x Rose Much Ado About Nothing AU, fluff, angst, Other?? You can read it on Ao3 @ sherwhotreksings and soon on WhoFic too Chapter: One Two

Summary: Alternatively titled "Much a-Who About Nothing" by my girlfriend. A Much Ado About Nothing AU, featuring Rose and the Doctor as Beatrice and Benedick, and Jackie and Pete as a sort of Hero and Claudio. This isn't going to follow the exact plot, but the themes and spirit will be there.

A/N: I got pulled into a trash pile of Doctor Who and Much Ado... and this was born. I hope you like it as much as I do!

The Doctor is infuriating.

Rose has known this from day one. Years of friendship and still once he got his doctorate insisted everyone call him “the Doctor.” Rose rolls her eyes at John correcting her best mate, his sister Donna, on how his name is now “the Doctor.” She shuts the door behind him and lets her old friend into her family’s manor.

“Oi! Not much of a doctor now are you?” Rose then turns to Donna and says, “He doesn’t even treat patients. I told him I’d call him the Doctor once he successfully cures someone.”

“Ah, my dear lady disdain! Are you yet living?” the Doctor says while strutting past Rose.

Rose practically gags.

“My degree in astrophysics is something to fear. Bow before my knowledge, Rose Tyler.”

The way he rolls her last name off his tongue is something so uniquely him. It always makes her smile... not that she’d tell him that.

“You wish!” Rose crosses the foyer into the living room to a small end table to grab another cup of tea and a biscuit. “Anyone else want a biscuit?”

The Doctor holds up two fingers. “I’ll take some and some jam if you have it?”

“Anyone?” Rose asks again, forcing down a smile.

The Doctor sits down on the sofa next to Donna, pouting. He nudges her with his elbow. They have a silent argument, eye flashing, and lips moving, but no actual sound coming out.

Donna sighs, “I’d like two biscuits, Rose.”

The Doctor grins like a kid in a candy store as Rose returns with the two biscuits and hands them to Donna. Donna slides them across the table to the Doctor who snatches them up.

“Honestly, you two couldn’t be any pettier.” Donna folds her arms.

The Doctor shrugs, a twinkle in his eye.

“So who’s your new companion this time?” Rose asks. Every time John travels he brings someone along. Sometimes they’re friends, sometimes they’re co-workers, and one time he brought along a stranger he met five minutes before. Rose isn’t quite sure why he feels compelled to travel with a buddy. Maybe it’s the experience, or maybe he just doesn’t like being alone.

He smirks. “Why? Are you jealous?”

They’re also always men.

“Of your time spent with another man? Should I be?” Rose raises an eyebrow, smirk blazing.

“Wha- no- no! I’m not!...” the Doctor sputters, face turning a rare shade of red.

To Rose, Donna says, “His name is Jack and he’s staying with me and Jo- the Doctor in my flat. Rather cramped too.” Then to the Doctor, “If only you’d find someone here to marry, then I wouldn’t have to keep housing you and your travel mates!”

A moment of quiet washes over the trio. Rose studies the contents of her mug while avoiding eye contact. The Doctor turns a biscuit over and over in his hand, contemplating his answer.

“Nah. You know marriage isn’t for me. I travel around too much. I don’t want to settle down,” he wiggles his eyebrows, “Besides, this big ol’ brain of mine scares everyone off.”

Rose and Donna simultaneously roll their eyes and scoff, but the conversation lulls once again.

It’s an uncomfortable silence. Rose wants to make a quip or something, anything, to break it, but all she can think of is how she doesn’t want John to get married. She wouldn’t see him as often and she barely sees him now as it is. He’s her friend is all, they’re mates. There was one time, long before he went to university, that she would have considered him her best mate. They told each other everything, and he was the first person she wanted to talk to when she was upset. They were so close that once… but then he left her here and went off on his adventures. That was long ago, and now they spend their time bantering and poking fun.

Donna speaks up, shaking Rose from her thoughts, “So where are Jackie and Pete?”

Rose smiles, tucking a chunk of hair behind her ear. “He got back from his business trip last night and this morning took mum out for a romantic brunch. He’s planning on proposing. They should be back soon, so we’ll find out the answer then.”

“Oh, Rose! That’s so exciting!” Donna clasps her hands together. “I love a good wedding!”

“He’s pretty sure mum’ll say yes. He has this whole engagement party planned for tomorrow, a masquerade ball.”

“So that’s why he asked me to bring a black tie outfit.” The Doctor smacks his leg.

“He even took me out shopping to get a nice dress for it. I didn’t have one and he said you never know who I’ll meet.” Rose shrugs. “I never turn down the chance for clothing I don’t have to pay for, even though it’s something I’ll probably never wear again.”

Rose’s heart flutters slightly. She didn’t know Pete was going to invite the Doc- John. She had helped him create the guestlist and had purposely left him out of it. It’s not that she didn’t want to spend that evening with him, in fact, there isn’t anyone else she’d rather spend it with. But if he was there she’d spend the whole night worrying about if he wanted to spend time with her or if he thought she was pretty… Which is completely ridiculous because she doesn’t care if John thinks she’s pretty. Now at least she’ll have another friend there and someone to make fun of once everyone starts dancing.

“Nobody told me about the ball!” Donna complains, “I don’t have anything to wear.”

“Didn’t Pete send you an invitation?” Rose shakes her head. “I don’t understand it, he can’t follow a simple guestlist.”

The Doctor tips his head to the side, studying Rose in a manner not unlike the way a hummingbird studies a flower before drinking. Rose notices and blushes, turning her head away, towards Donna, to disguise it.

“I guess that just means we’ll have to go shopping!” Donna grabs Rose by the arm and pulls her to standing.

~o~

They spent all afternoon getting ready, Rose and Donna, and before that, she spent all morning helping her mum get ready. Jackie said yes, naturally, so the party was set into motion. A motion that started at 7am and will continue until who knows when.

Rose descends the grand staircase, heels clacking against the marble floor. She holds the railing, trying not to death grip it to keep from tumbling in her dress. It’s more than what she’d normally wear to a party. Not like she ever goes to any fancy galas, though. The skirt is daunting, several layers of tulle swirl around her legs and feet, contrasting with the dark velvet bodice. The whole thing plays like dusk. Dark purple, almost black at the top, fading into the palest lavender at the bottom of the skirt. Embroidered into the skirt are tiny silver stars that join together on her left hip and circle around the bodice to the off the shoulder sleeves that are completely made of little silver stars. She thought it was a bit much at the time, but Pete insisted she looked beautiful. She might have turned it down completely if the skirt had been any fuller. Luckily she can still relax her arms into the dress and doesn’t have to hold them awkwardly out.

She hangs back on the last step observing the crowd before joining in. The music pulses loudly from the east wing and she can just barely catch flashes of red, green, and blue lights from the hallway. From the west wing, she can hear the tinkling of glasses and the soft reverberation of a harp. That must be where they’re having the food… and providing a calmer ambiance for their less party inclined friends. She scans the group of people loitering between the two sections, looking to see if she can spot anyone she knows.

She can see her mum, waving her diamond ring around. Jackie catches Rose’s eye and points to her eyes. Rose reaches up, touching the corner of her eye and cheekbone lightly.

Jackie points even harder to her own eyes before finally calling out, “Put your mask on sweetie!”

Rose reaches up quickly and slides her mask down from the top of her head, where it had been pushed up to earlier. The intricately bent silver metal feels cold against her face. One of her loose curls got caught up in one of the metal twists, so Rose reaches up to work it free. Fingers moving quickly, she watches the curl bounce gently in her field of vision when she catches a glimpse of a tall man with brown hair sticking up in seemingly impossible directions and a simple matte black mask. Her heart jumps as she approaches the man. Just as she reaches out to grab his arm he turns and she can see his face. It’s not John. She doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s disappointed.

“Looking for John?” Donna says quietly in Rose’s ear.

Rose jumps, she forgot Donna was beside her. She resents that she can hear a smirk in her voice.

“No.” Rose crosses her arms.

“Oh, well I’m going to go get some food, where I’m sure John’s not.” Donna glides across the marble floor as if she’s done it a million times, before rolling her ankle and hopping to recover her balance.

Rose snorts, that’s her Donna. She resumes her crowd watching, trying to make up her mind whether she should join her mate and get food or wade into the dancing, pulsing, mob in the east wing. Now that she knows John is in the east wing her stomach has tied itself in knots. She’s not sure she wants him to see her now.

She furrows her brow, a thought suddenly hitting her. She put in all this work and it wasn’t for him, dammit. Her life doesn’t suddenly revolve around John just because he decided to waltz back into it for the time being. She put on this dress and makeup, and styled her hair because she felt like it. She wouldn’t have done it differently if he wasn’t here.

She takes a deep breath, grabs her skirt, and takes a determined step towards the east wing.

#ficandchips #ten x rose #ten x rose au #whofic #doctor x rose #doctor who #my fic #tasowbt #maan

[blancagriswold]

Real Weddings: Abigail and Jonathan by Angharad Thomas

Good morning and happy Friday Cwtchers!

We have a blummin beautiful wedding for you today. Images by the gorgeous Angharad Thomas, Abigail and Jonathan had a gorgeous, blustery wedding – not one that was planned as the wind changed it, but what do you do in those situations, embrace it! And goodness the results are breathtaking. With so many personal touches and fantastic DIY items, you’re about to get hugely inspired……

Abigail and Jonathan

What was your budget?

Anything in region of 10-15,000. 

How would you describe your wedding theme?

Fun, comfortable and homely. We got engaged in January 2016 so our timeframe was maybe a little shorter than most people. We both wanted people to feel relaxed and enjoy themselves and wanted them to experience the beauty of Pembrokeshire. Our service was in Emmanuel Christian Centre, we are both Christians and this part of the day was our focus.

It was emotional and moving service, with abundance of prayers, songs and teaching from the Bible about marriage. Making the commitment in this way was the most important thing for us and was a ceremony that really touched a lot of our guests. There were lots of little things touches across the day which made it personal to us. Jonny had used a type writer as part of the big marriage proposal, via a poem, so the type writer and poetry made an important feature of the invites and day. The invites and orders of services were painted by myself, with some help of a graphic designer friend!

We also brought an old Mini which we wanted to use as our wedding car, which we named “Gale”. I (Abi) didn’t fancy being driven by a hired driver but wanted my two favourite men, my Dad and new husband to drive around.

Other touches included; our vegeterian menu and served on long tressle tables ‘family style’, we had pebbles from Druidstone beach for place names, our bridesmaids and groomsmen were mix and match and we had a “naked” wedding cake made by my Mum.

What was your favourite part of your wedding?

I had many moments which really blew me away on the day and can cherish these. It am so thankful that I took on plenty of people’s advice to me to try and absorb the day as much as possible. Seeing it all come together so beautifully and to have all our loved ones in one place was so overwhelming. In addition – finally seeing Jonny as I entered the church was so much more hitting emotionally than I had envisaged, and the church service was so emotional and personal.

It was so special to stop and pray with my bridemaids and parents before we went to church too. One particularly fun moment was when Jonny and I were waiting at Newgale beach on our own for the arrival of the bridal party – Seeing my bridesmaids stroll along the beach front in their wellies and dresses made me chuckle, whilst children on the beach shouted congratulations.

The speeches, especially my Dads were amazing! Leaving the wedding venue with Jonny is a vivid memory too, our bridesmaids, groomsmen and parents gave us massive hugs and kisses as we were cheered away by all the guests in our Mini “Gale” – which had of course been hijacked with tincans!!

Tell us about your Wedding Dress

My wedding dress was bought from Brides of Winchester BOW and it was a Charlie Brear design. I went wedding dress shopping about a week after getting engaged and much to my surprise picked it out first dress shop. I must admit it was the last dress I wanted to try on out of the collection I tried.. It was very slim fit and simple dress, which could have easily been ignored alongside the big, beautiful sparkles which the shop had to offer. We added a lace overcoat, then lovely seamstress Emma Watling added sleeves, a modesty panel of lace and a belt. With the option to take off the overcoat – I was very in love with the fact I could go from pretty and lacey to tying up the bustle and showing off the low cut back.

I also chose a long, simple veil which was wonderfully wild as we faced the gale force winds of the wedding day. I had visions of wearing it with my wellies and wild flowers and it worked beautifully.

Who did you pick as your bridesmaids &/or best man and why?

Choosing bridesmaids was ever so easy, yet ever so difficult at the same time. I am blessed with many friends who mean to much to me so ummed and ahhed over the option of having nine (!!). In the end I chose those girls who really knew me at that time and could support me knowing the highs and lows of the last few years, with whom I could be completely human with. Grace and Emily I was at university with and Cat and Rachel I lived with for three years after this. They all feel like my sisters and was so honoured to have them alongside Jonny and I.

Why did you choose your venue?

We decided straight away we wanted to get married in Pembrokeshire, where my (Abi’s) parents and brothers still live. We are both fans of being outdoors and being a bit childish – we heard of a friend who hired Southwood Farm at Newgale beach last year and we looked into Tipi companies. After choosing the Timber and Canvas company and chatting to Paul at Southwood Farm we were excited by the idea of everyone bringing their wellies and gathering around a fire pit late into the evening overlooking Newgale beach. We imagined hay bales, playing in the fields, tucking into homebaked cakes and ceilidhing the night away. We had a slight blip in the plan, two days before, gale force winds were issued across the county and our Tipi venue had to be taken down. After some quick thinking and a lot of family/friends and village camaraderie – we managed to hire and decorate a local village hall.

Initially, when I was faced with an old hall, I was overwhelmed and disappointed. However, tables built, bunting up, an explosion of fairy lights and a delivery of hay bales equalled a gorgeously decorated hall and a wonderfully setting for a party. Noone minded the lack of sea views …and I still put on my wellies !

Tell us about your photographer

Angharad Thomas was our photographer – had met her in April for an engagement shoot too which was included in our wedding package. We absolutely adore our photos and she said what we said she would, she was discreet and captured Jonny and I and our day perfectly.

How did the proposal happen? 

Jonny took me to the Isle of White for the day. I knew proposal was in the pipeline as we had talked a lot about it and he had asked for ring ideas. Jonny had mentioned in passing a handmade jewellery shop on the Isle of White so I admittedly had an inkling it might happen when he planned this day out, and therefore had minimal sleep the night before (!!). We began on the ferry and Jonny’s car needed help starting as the battery died as we reached the island! It was a sunny January day, quite a classic date day for us – picnic in the car and a walk along the beach. I had then convinced myself he wasn’t proposing today as it all seemed so normal! Jonny took me up the coastal park and after a walk he stopped and pulled out a piece of paper – a poem that I had to read out loud. After a “yes” and chuckle that he was down on one knee next to a bin, we called our parents to let them know, and my parents then told me they had been asked by Jonny the previous week. We spent the rest of the day walking on the beach, picking up the ring from “Rust” jewellery and tucking into pizza and prosecco!

Any DIY stories/tutorials you’d like to share?

There were a number of things homemade – our invites, order of services, place names, the cake, flower crowns, flower arrangements, bunting.

Advice would be to ask around – it was amazing at the amount of people out there who had already spent hours sewing bunting or collecting jam jars for their daughters wedding and were more than willing to share their collection ! Our flowers at the venue were wild flowers – which was so super easy to create. My Dad and I literally shoved lavender and gypsophila into jam jars with ribbons tied round and it looked great. Our place names were pebbles from a local beach which was again easy to do with a permanent pen and half decent hand writing!! My mum is a clever lady and made the cake and flower crowns with help from my bridemaid Cat and Jonny’s Mum.

What was your first dance & why?

We didn’t have one! We had a ceiledh band who called us up first to the dance floor, quickly followed by our closest friends we had kindly ordered to come up. We didn’t fancy the added attention and wanted to avoid that awkward shuffle.

In hindsight, was there anything you would have done differently?

We had an issue with our wedding venue a couple of days before. To see the family come together and demonstrate such team work and getting everything sorted – I should have utilised people around me more before!! I also forgot to make sure we got a picture of all the wedding guests together. Don’t plan an outdoorsy wedding without a back up plan…

Do you have any advice for future couples?

Make sure you stop and just absorb whats going on at least once. I stood/ sat down for maximum a minute (not much alone time when you’re the bride!) and just looked around at all the fun going on and seeng all the people we loved in one place. Remember and remind yourselves why you are doing the wedding – you will be married – yay!! Practically – get wedding insurance!

What’s the best piece of marriage advice you received?

Ephesians 5 v 2 “Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ”

What was your favourite thing about planning a wedding?

I enjoyed having the excuse to channel my creativity into something, and also having families come together to organise the event.

The Suppliers

Photographer: Angharad Thomas Photography Ceremony Venue: Emmanuel Christian Centre  Reception Venue: Southwood Farm Bed and Breakfast Bride’s Dress: Charlie Brear Bride’s Headpiece: Home Made

The Wedding Album

Liked this? You might also like these! :)

Cwtch of the Week: Abi and her Bridesmaids by Angharad Thomas

Cwtch of the Week: A Newgale Cwtch

Real Wedding: Jenny and Thomas’s Edwardian Manor House Wedding

Real Weddings: Rhian & Mark’s Farmers Classic Daughter Wedding

Real Weddings: Allie & Rafe’s Day, Their Way

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