A Wedding Story

Welcome back, everyone, to yet another wondersome (is that a word?) day at Monkeesims! It also marks a full week I've gone without taking the time to shave, and frankly, it's driving me a little batty (if I were a sim, facial hair would definitely be under my "turn offs"). Stupid stuff sets the tone for my days quite significantly, though, like that, or the fact that I'm not positive the shirt I wore to work today is clean and I feel like a filthy hobo now. It could be worse, though…I could be my dog. See, he's a lab/husky mix, and he's only like eight months old but he's huge, and he needs to get a few things snipped (not the least of which is his nails). I've been putting it off for a while, because as a fellow male (albeit of a different species), I don't want to deprive him of what makes him a male any sooner than I have to. Then people will be saying, "what a sweet puppy…is it a boy or a girl?" I hope nobody ever has to ask that question about me - I shudder thinking about it.

I can tell already at this moment that I don't have it in me to stay nine hours at work today, but luckily, I don't have a choice (mandatory overtime is such a joy!). Oh, well - whining about it won't change anything, so I'm not gonna'. Let's focus on happier things…the life and times of our friendly neighborhood sims! Our story today begins at the Andrews home, where we're just in time to find Aiden Andrews proposing to Vyn Daniels. If this seems out of the blue, it's my fault, since I haven't followed the doings of the kids/teens very much in my posts, but Aiden and Vyn have been an item for quite some time, and when they simultaneously reached adulthood, the time just seemed right to take things to the next level. Careful there, Aiden…getting grass stains out of khaki pants can be a nightmare!


Aiden: "...I got it on clearance at Target!"
Obviously, Vyn accepted the proposal, or this would be a very sad, very short post. Clearly, she felt the timing was right too. Maybe it's the adulthood thing, or maybe it's because her parents are a little bit kooky and she needs some space (although her room is the nicest room in the entire Daniels house, due to a request on my part for my wife to decorate it - I know nothing about how a teenage girl would decorate her room). Maybe, just maybe, she's ready to move out because the ghastly half-werewolf specter of Felmer McNugget has recently begun rising from the grave frequently and scaring the daylights out of the household.


Felmer: "All I want is a shave…sniff..."
Well, Aiden didn't waste any time taking a big fat chunk of the family funds and getting a place of his own. In no time, the joint was decorated much more tastefully than it had any right to be given the budget left over after construction. I'm afraid after years of playing the sims, I'm accidentally starting to develop some decorative tastes (I guess those "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" folks won't be paying me a visit now). After performing some serious clothing makeovers and moving in to the new place, Aiden and Vyn went through the usual humdrum of greeting sims visiting them to the neighborhood (most of whom they already knew from their other houses). Head of the neighborhood welcoming committee, Kitty Wilson, was present, as usual (okay, so there's not really a welcoming committee, but she DOES show up with the first visitors at almost every house).


Vyn: "Is visiting part of some community service you're working off or something?"
I know I said that Aiden's new house was nice, and it was for the most part, but it was also one other thing - really small. I generally don't mind smaller places for my sims, since it simplifies life. A four story Hugh Hefner mansion might be cool to look at, but when it comes to functionality, I can't help but love single story compact houses. Plus, too many gadgets seems to limit the socializing that goes on, and that's what the sims in my neighborhoods love the most. That, and making passes at each others significant others and fighting about it later. Luckily, there's none of that going on in the scene below - Marty Wilson chats with Kenna Crumley (another of our created sims) while Kitty watches the cooking channel with Vyn, who really needs to learn to cook.


Kenna: "No, seriously…it was big and green and had two heads!"
As much fun as sitting around the house chatting with visitors can be, Vyn decided she and Aiden needed to get out and properly celebrate their engagement. I'm still not terribly familiar with all of the Downtown hot spots (I confess, I usually send my sims to the Freetime Lounge which is in the actual town, because it's spacious and has just about everything). The couple headed off to a high class snooty looking restaurant, where they were promptly seated by the greeter. Seated at separate tables. I guess they thought Vyn and Aiden looked like riffraff, and figured if they kept them apart, they wouldn't create a disturbance.


Vyn: "Don't blame me, blame that idiot at the podium!"
The couple quickly scarfed down the food they ordered, due to the fact that they were sitting so far apart they couldn't talk to one another. Not the worst thing in the world, though. You see, I try to keep my sims fit by making sure they never fill their hunger bar all the way while they eat, so I must carefully monitor them during meals. When there are other sims present, they gab and don't eat, and it takes them forever to finish. I actually don't mind the slobby sims who shovel food in their mouths in these cases - unless they are eating "sparkly" food and max out their hunger meter before I can stop them. Anyway, once dinner was over, Vyn headed on over to the bar and grabbed herself a drink…


Vyn: "Thanks for not carding me…heheh..."
After Vyn had finished off her illegally acquired libations, she thought it might be fun to give bartending a try and see how the pay was. Strangely, the pay was nothing, and I haven't quite figured that one out yet. I mean, sims get paid for taking over as the DJ, even if nobody is dancing, but there's no money in working the bar even if they serve a ton of drinks (if there is, I've yet to see it). Vyn wasn't too concerned - it gave her a chance to meet some of the locals, and just having become an adult herself, she could use more adult friends.


Vyn: "Nobody's getting another drink till I see some green!"
Well, tending bar got old eventually, just like any non-paying job (not that I've had too many of those), and Vyn ditched it in favor of socializing with one of the people she'd met. For the life of me, I can't remember the name of the guy in the kilt pictured here, even though he's like everywhere my sims go. It doesn't matter, though - we'll just call him "kilt dude" for the purpose of this post (I don't feel like researching his name on the internet). Anyway, so Vyn struck up a conversation with kilt dude, and hit it off pretty well. Meanwhile, Aiden was off doing who knows what…I can't keep track of em' all you know.


Vyn: "With the right pair of pumps, that skirt of yours would be adorable!"
Deep conversations with kilt dude notwithstanding, Vyn was finding the whole snooty restaurant scene a tad boring, and she was still harboring some resentment toward the greeter for seating her and Aiden at different tables. Thus, she decided to abuse her new relationship with kilt dude by influencing him to prank the place while her and Aiden slipped out. Yes, Vyn and Aiden are fun loving sorts - I couldn't have picked a worse possible place for them to go hang out! They can thank me later...


The kilt dude adds new meaning to "getting sudsed at the bar"...
It was inevitable, but the couple eventually found their way to the Freetime Lounge, gathering point for sims of all shapes and sizes in the Monkeesim neighborhood (sort of like Cheers without the charm or wisecracking bartenders). They quickly felt the call of the poker table, which is what the last spot they visited was apparently lacking. Aiden's mom, Amy, likes to spend a lot of time there too…hmmm…perhaps her influence at work there. At any rate, the couple found playing cards a lot more amusing than anything that had taken place at the restaurant, not that that experience was all that difficult to top or anything…


Aiden: "You do realize we don't actually make any money gambling against each other, right?"
The next order of business was for Vyn and Aiden to hit the dance floor, and hit it they did. I just can't get enough of dancing sims myself. It costs nothing, and there's nothing quite like the synchronized dancing of total strangers, which happens frequently whenever someone starts doing "the Smustle". Vyn and Aiden must have seen it done on the dance channel, because they already had all the moves down despite never having engaged in any dancing I've seen before. Even the bartender got into the act…


Bartender: "Forget doing my job…tonight, I just gotta' dance!"
Well, events happen quickly in the sim world, and it wasn't long before the day of the actual wedding had arrived. A total of eight invites were sent out by phone (great way to cut the cost of invitations there), and surprisingly, all eight guests showed up. Below, from left to right, we have Marty Wilson, Clarence Andrews, Jack Daniels, Regina Daniels, Kitty Wilson, some girl in yellow I don't know but was listed as a family friend, Tommy Wolf, and Amy Andrews. Vyn and Aiden were careful not to invite anyone who disliked one another, which is quite the trick in itself in this neighborhood.


Let's hope everyone doesn't head for the bathroom all at once...
Despite being basically broke and not having jobs, Aiden and Vyn were able to rent the needed materials for a nice ceremony outside the house (I say rent because you know they'll be selling those non-edible items back the moment this puppy is over and before their resale value decreases). Take a look at Vyn…that's her "formal" wedding dress. I know, I couldn't believe it either. I know Aiden's suit ain't the greatest thing ever to hit the fashion world, but it's heads and shoulders above that night club getup Vyn's got on. While the couple exchanged vows, Kitty sat inside the house and drank a can of something out of the fridge, missing the whole event. Why exactly did she come then anyway?


Kitty: "I wonder what all the commotion outside is about…"
At about this point in the proceedings, I took a closer look at the party guests, and found myself wondering why "K-Fed" had shown up in a white suit. Then, to my horror, I realized that that was what Marty Wilson's "formal hair" looks like! Now, I wasn't drunk when I created Marty, so I have no really good excuse for why that is. I assure you though that at no point have I ever thought that hairstyle looked good on anyone. Maybe I was focusing pent up frustration toward the world at him or something. Anyhow, everyone gathered around the champaign bottle and toasted the bride and groom and thought about Amy. Maybe they're trying to figure out why she's the one and only person who didn't dress up for the occasion. Come on, even Kitty dressed up, and she didn't even go outside for the ceremony!


"Here's to Amy! Yay, Amy!"
I don't question it too much. Amy is my favorite sim these days - she's funny, quirky, outgoing, and unpredictable, and she wasn't even a sim I created, just an NPC maid in the beginning. She's allowed to be different. Clarence found a quiet moment to congratulate the newlyweds, and compliment Aiden on what a fine young man he'd become thanks to Clarence. Kitty came out of the house to finally join the party, and decided to change into her outerwear before doing so. So, she sits inside in her formal clothes, then ditches them when she finally does come out. Then, rather than mingle, she stands around sighing and thinking about how hot Marty is. Oh, Kitty…


Clarence: "Would this be the wrong time to discuss that haircut of yours, son?"
Everybody loves a good party, even people who aren't invited. Local newcomer Alex Kent dropped by to grab a glass of champaign and toast the newlyweds (then get toasted himself). All the chicks love a bald guy (something about high testosterone levels), so nobody bothered to chase him off. Geez, if you're going to crash a wedding and drink booze for free, you might at least be courteous enough to bring a gift of some sort. Wait, I guess nobody brought gifts of any kind to the wedding. Those miserly sims.


Alex: "Here's to drinking other peoples' free booze!"
I know this is a weird thought to have, but my wife is a photographer, and she's talked about how difficult it would be to photograph a wedding and do it right, so I went back and skimmed the wedding photo portion of this blog, and determined that if those were actual wedding pics I'd been hired to take for someone, I probably wouldn't get paid for them. Heck, I probably wouldn't even get a bag of leftover mints (you know, the kind they put in little bowls on tables at weddings that people dig through after going to the bathroom and not washing their hands, leaving traces of urine on them). Thank goodness actual photography isn't an interest of mine. At any rate, the party eventually came to a close, and a black limo almost the length of the entire house pulled up to whisk away Vyn and Aiden.


Vyn: "I wonder if we get to keep this thing afterwards…"
And that, my friends, concludes the blessed event, not to mention one super long post. I don't have an actual limit on how many pictures I post in a given entry, but my goal is to not choke those slower PC's so I hope I haven't done that to anyone. Next time, we'll take a more casual approach to the story telling, as we visit a few different houses in the neighborhood to see what develops. Till then, have a nice life, everyone!