Question.
How many steps are there to get married in New York City?
The answer is two steps.
First, apply for a marriage license, then you can hold the marriage ceremony.
So...
On the first day after the holiday, which is a working day for the New York City Hall, bright and early, Hawk and Gwen headed to City Hall with all the necessary materials to apply for a marriage license.
Applying for a marriage license is the most important step in getting married.
Without this thing, you can't legally get married.
Except for Vegas.
In the City Clerk's office.
After the clerk checked Hawk and Gwen's documents, he took out an application form and handed it to them.
Gwen quickly filled out the form and, when handing it back to the clerk, glanced at Hawk beside her.
"Last chance, Mr. Phoenix, you can still regret it."
"Regret?"
Hawk raised an eyebrow, looking at Gwen, who wore a smile: "You have no idea how long I've waited for this day."
Gwen beamed with a bright smile.
"Then, we're getting married, Mr. Phoenix."
"Alright, Madam Phoenix."
"...You're not married yet!"
Sitting at the desk, unexpectedly stuffed with dog food, the clerk twitched at the corners of his mouth, watching Hawk and Gwen gaze at each other lovingly, oblivious to the world: "You still need to wait 24 hours before you can get married."
As everyone knows.
Every application has an approval period.
The marriage license is no exception.
Although once you've obtained a marriage license, you have sixty days within which you can hold a ceremony in New York state on any day within that period.
However!
There is a mandatory 24-hour waiting period from the issuance of the license to holding the marriage ceremony.
You can think of it as an approval period.
Of course.
You can also think of it as a cooling-off period before marriage.
In any case—
"At the very least, today you cannot be called the Phoenixes."
"Now, take the license and leave my office."
"Next."
Today, just divorced on Christmas, the clerk coldly stamped the license after handing it to the couple, immediately urging them to leave.
Hawk and Gwen exchanged a glance, took the license, and quickly left.
They are very busy.
Busy with tomorrow's wedding, otherwise, the two of them would have gone to the mayor's office to complain about the clerk's lack of service awareness.
Oh, right, this is a capitalist society.
Never mind then.
In a flash.
Hawk drove back to Palm Street No. 521A, while Gwen, sitting in the passenger seat, took out the 'Wedding Preparation Manual' from her bag, flipped it open, and checked off the 'Marriage License' which was adorned with stars.
The next second.
"Shit."
Gwen suddenly paused: "I forgot to book a qualified wedding officiant with City Hall."
Hawk, driving, said: "No need, yesterday I confirmed with George at Trinity that their priest is certified."
Although most clergy can serve as wedding officiants.
But...
Better safe than sorry.
As everyone knows.
After Wanda gave birth to three of Hawk's descendants, Gwen didn't go crazy and acted very generously.
But if tomorrow's wedding can't proceed smoothly.
Heh.
Gwen would definitely lose it.
So—
Hawk specifically confirmed with Trinity's priest yesterday and had Sharon check to ensure nothing could go wrong.
Sure enough.
Hearing Hawk's words, Gwen breathed a sigh of relief, then looked down at the next line in her notebook.
"Groomsmen."
"Peter, Thor, Clinton, and Pietro, they tried on their suits the day before yesterday, I told you already."
"I know, I was just confirming. Sharon, Jane, Dr. Zhao, Natasha, and Mary's dresses... wait, Mary."
Gwen raised an eyebrow, took out her phone, and called Mary Jane, who had gone to Los Angeles.
The call connected quickly.
"Mary, have you returned to New York City? I'm getting married tomorrow and you haven't tried on the bridesmaid dress yet."
"Oh my god, Gwen, you asked me about this an hour ago."
"...Did I?"
Gwen blinked.
Hawk, driving beside her, looked over at Gwen and nodded: "Yes, you called Mary when you set out this morning."
Gwen, hearing this, smiled: "Sorry, Mary, I forgot, you know, I wanted to make sure everything is prepared."
Mary on the other end of the line said in a serious tone: "Rest assured, before 3 PM in New York, if I'm not there, you can kill me to spice up your wedding."
"Alright then."
Gwen said with a bright smile, then hung up the phone and continued checking her wedding preparations notebook as if nothing had happened.
"Mary is returning to New York City in the afternoon. Next, the flower girl?"
"Didn't you promise Jean?"
Hawk smiled and patiently replied, even though Gwen was asking for the second time.
The so-called flower girl is usually a little girl aged three to eight, who scatters petals or carries little decorations when the bride enters.
His daughter Jean, after finding out, insisted on being the flower girl.
Gwen agreed too.
It was quite amazing.
However...
As for the way Gwen and Wanda interacted, Hawk tried his best to not get involved, letting Gwen and Wanda grow freely and wildly.
After all, no matter how he participated, it seemed to be more harm than good for him.
Hawk did once ask Gwen about it.
Gwen's answer was intriguing.
She regarded Wanda as Hawk's ex-girlfriend, one who didn't marry him, and after breaking up, all the child custody rights went to Wanda.
Ex-girlfriend, huh.
In the West, that's normal, as long as they don't keep in touch.
Gwen wasn't worried about this at all.
Hawk had always handled this in a way that reassured her.
He was momentarily dazed when he heard Gwen say this.
But...
Forget it.
It's a wedding, as long as the bride is happy.
"Ring bearer?"
"I originally discussed with Peter to use the Time Gemstone to speed up Ben Hawke Parker's growth since The Ancient One hasn't retired, but Peter refused. No worries, Clinton's eldest son, Cooper Barton, is five this year."
The ring bearer holds the wedding rings and walks down the aisle, but they're fake, as the real wedding rings are kept by the best man.
Just like flower girls are little girls aged three to eight, ring bearers should be little boys aged four to eight.
Initially, Hawk planned to give the roles of best man and ring bearer to his good friend Peter Parker and his godson Ben Hawke Parker.
But...
Stubbornly refused to use the Time Gemstone to age Ben a few years.
Luckily, Clinton, that is, Hawkeye's eldest son, Cooper Barton, is just the right age, and he's well known, as Clinton moved his entire family to New York City yesterday.
Except for Natasha and Hawk, everyone else was surprised, not knowing that Hawkeye had quietly gotten married and even had three children.
Oh well.
That's not important anyway.
Gwen glanced at Hawk, who signaled to move on to the next topic, blinked, and then looked down at the notebook.
"Guest list?"
"I don't have many on my side; it's all given to Anya, and Anya has already given it to Helen."
Hawk explained.
Everyone knew.
There aren't many people who could become his friends, so his guest list was short. Anya wanted to help out, so he let her take care of his guest list.
"Mom confirmed it with me yesterday."
Gwen remembered the moment she confirmed the final guest list with her mom yesterday and then said, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue."
Hawk, upon hearing that, looked at Gwen: "The new wedding dress and the rings are sapphire."
There's something new, and something blue.
"Mom's wedding hairpin and borrowed Bob's family's bracelet."
Gwen added, drawing a circle around that on the notebook.
Something old, new, borrowed, and blue is a wedding classic, meant to bring good luck to the bride.
Old represents ties with past family, continuing tradition—Helen's family hairpin passed down from her great-grandmother is still here from her wedding.
New represents the beginning of a new life and hope for the future, just like the new wedding dress.
Borrowed symbolizes the happiness borrowed from friends and family with happy marriages—Bob, whose full name is Cole Bob, is an old friend of the Stacy family, and the Bobs have been married for over twenty years with a happy marriage.
Blue symbolizes pure, faithful love. Not long ago, Hawk went to the cosmos and had a sapphire meteorite made into a blue wedding ring.
With a snap.
Gwen closed her notebook and looked at Hawk.
"The last item, tonight's single party."
"Thor can't wait to drink with me, so he prepared a lot of alcohol for tonight, no strip dancers."
Hawk quickly explained tonight's plans as he met Gwen's gaze.
Yet again.
The bachelor party should have been organized by the best man, Peter Parker, but Thor had been wanting to drink with him for a long time.
So...
Peter and Thor had a fight.
Thor won, and since the best man and maid of honor are unmarried, Thor not only took the best man's position, but also the maid of honor's.
Gwen didn't mind at all about this.
If the best man and maid of honor get together, it's also a blessing for her wedding.
So Gwen's maid of honor became Jane Foster.
Gwen smiled slightly at this: "Jane didn't arrange any male dancers for me either. She, Sharon, and Pepper prepared gifts, so we'll just open presents and chat tonight."
With that said.
Gwen put her wedding notebook in her bag and smiled at Hawk: "So, we're getting married, are you ready?"
Hawk glanced at Gwen, smiled slightly, and reached out to hold her hand.
"Always ready, I can't wait to fast forward to tomorrow."
"Really, don't force yourself, Mr. Phoenix."
"No pressure at all, let's get married."
"Okay!"
Gwen's smile blossomed again.
"Then let's get married."
"..."