Whoever said all the planning that went into a wedding only for it to fly by was far more accurate than Daff would have ever imagined. Her ideal, small, intimate family gathering wound up feeling like half of Hogsmeade was invited. She supposed that their family had grown (and was still growing!) considerably in the last year or so.

Despite the chill in the spring air, the Plunkett’s barn was nice and toasty warm now, if only for the sheer amount of people tucked inside. Daff hadn’t been able to truly nail down a color palette that she liked, which considering she did this for a living, was a little humorous. Instead she’d just opted for a rainbow of wildflowers tucked in every nook and cranny she could find, even her own hair. Ama had wound it into some complicated plait lacing flowers throughout so that it hung beautifully over her shoulder. Of course this late in the evening, it was starting to come loose, but that was to be expected for her.

All in all she was perfectly content. There was a lot of laughter, love and a general sense of warmth that she hadn’t realized she would feel today and it was making her a little emotional. She also felt the slightest bit guilty that Zinna hadn’t been able to have something like this for herself and was cognizant of the fact all day.

Dinner was over and the merriment in full swing; it had to be closer to the end of then night than the beginning now, she'd lost track. Daff watched both her parents and Elias’ on the dance floor, smiling softly with a glass of cider in hand. She'd had one glass of champagne earlier to celebrate, but that was all she'd indulged in. With half a mind to go sneak another piece of cake, the contentment she was feeling had settled and swelled so completely in her chest, she was too mesmerized to move. Thankfully, she didn’t need to look to see who it was that had come up beside her; she’d had big doe eyes on him all evening, unable to keep her gaze from him for very long. ”I think it’s gone well.” She hummed out, leaning into him, sighing.

Delighted to hear he agreed, she chuckled as he plucked a tiny bud from her hair. She was probably shedding them all over the place as she moved around, but it was hardly noticeable about the sheer amount of greenery. Ama had done her best to get the braid to stay put and it had lasted longer than any of her normal updos, but her hair was so fine it always escaped whatever she tried to contain it with. Elias better get used to finding it everywhere.

"No, I won't be sad to miss the clean up." Always the hardest part. So much care went into assembly and then by the end of a long night, taking it all back down was almost a little miserable. Daff had been so focused on putting it all together so carefully last night and this morning that she hadn't even realized just how hard it would have been if she had to be the one to take it down. Fortunately she would be spared. Of course she had asked her mother to keep the bouquet so she could press it when she got back. That would be the only thing left and that was alright. Today was just one day, they had every day after this and that was what she was looking forward to.

She'd get back into the habit of tucking flowers all over his workshop, just like in the barn at the moment; and now the house too. All of the little vases she'd used today would come with her and he would never get away from flowers ever again. It was a good thing he wasn't allergic. "I was going to steal some cake though, I'm starving." They'd been so busy and even though she'd sat down for dinner she wasn't even sure how much she'd actually eaten. She cast him a conspiratorial smile and looked over her shoulder to where the cake still sat on the table. Truthfully she was ready to go, but unsure of how to even go about trying to sneak out.

Despite the fact that it was their wedding, Daff felt as though she had woefully little time with him this evening. It was to be expected, she supposed, so much attention to be paid to those celebrating with them, but as they moved in sync toward the cake, she realized she was getting a little impatient with it. She had started wondering just how early was too early to leave.

Taking the knife, she cut out one big piece of the delicious dessert and put it on the closest plate. She added a fork on either side, one for each of them, taking hers in one hand and holding the cake between them. Almost all thoughts of cake flew from her mind though at that comment. She flushed, feeling the heat in her cheeks as she bit her lip to keep a giggle from escaping. He probably didn't mean it like that, but Daff certainly couldn't pretend she wasn't looking forward to their uninterrupted time together as well, even if she was the tiniest bit nervous.

Daff pulled a little bit of cake off with her fork and took a bite, just to give herself a moment to get through being flustered. "I'm ready to sneak out when you are," she decided it couldn't be too early. "Well, after this slice of cake." She was hungry and didn't want to have to think about it later. "Are you going to tell me where we're off to yet?" The time might as well be spent on what else she had to look forward to.

Maybe she could forget the cake. The hand on her back, though light, started a shiver that ran from the base of her spine, all the way up to her shoulders, visible in a little shake. There was no playing it off, nor did she feel the need to. He knew exactly what he was doing.

She looked up at him, popping another bite of cake into her mouth, not rushing, but not finding it necessary to savor it either. Did she really want to know? Daff wasn't used to not knowing all of the details. The details were her job, she decided the details, always knew who, what, where and when. She'd been happy to leave the honeymoon up to Elias, amidst planning everything else, but she was dying of curiosity.

"Is it going to take a long time to get there?" Daff tapped her fork lightly on her lips. That was her main concern, the travel time. Once they left, she just wanted to be wherever they were going, without a ton of time needed to get there. Once it was just the two of them, she didn't want to share him even in the slightest.

He was enjoying this just a little too much, Daff could see it in that little ghost of a smile on his face and she narrowed her eyes at him, eyeing him curiously. It was hard to keep the expression though, so she bought herself a moment with another bite of cake. She was eating far more of it than he was, but she supposed once she was done, they could sneak out the side door to take their portkey and that would be just the start of the rest of the night.

"Heading south then," she mused, getting the last of the frosting off of her fork. That didn't really narrow anything down, a lot of the world was south of here, but she supposed that if it wasn't that long to get there, it wouldn't be too far of a journey. The destination really didn't matter to her, but she was relieved for a variety of reasons. Still, she didn't want to give him too much of the upper hand. His question about being tired had her pondering a reply. Truthfully she wasn't all that tired, the energy of the day lingering in her limbs and the excitement and nervousness of what was still to come kept her energized, but it would be more fun to tease him.

"Mmm," she said over another bite of cake; pleased that she was almost full. Daff let the sentiment simmer for a moment, hoping to mislead him just a little bit while she finished her bite. "I am very much looking forward to falling into bed tonight." She leaned in as she said it, hardly above a whisper, tilting her head to the side to look up at him again. She bit her lip again, trying to hold back the smile, hoping he could read her expression instead of her words.

This battle of having the upper-hand seemed to volley back and forth at a rate that was approaching more suggestive than she thought anyone else should be overhearing. The best part was that they were married and nobody could say a thing about it. Still, watching him all flustered and knowing she still had a deep blush on her cheeks solidified that it was time to go. Daff stole the last bite of cake Elias had failed to pick up and licked the frosting from her lips as she set the plate back down on the table.

She looked out over the crowd one last time, smile softening just a bit at the celebrating all around them. A tiny part of her felt guilty for skipping out early, but it was overwhelmingly overshadowed by the readiness to escape. (And it really wasn't that early either!) It was far too easy to be content with sneaking off when she knew she had so much more to look forward in the evening. Turning back to Elias, she reached out hand to him and led him off to the side, tiptoeing around a table and some chairs, through one of the side rooms of the barn and out one of the more obscure side doors. Briefly she wondered how long it would take someone to notice they were missing, but she couldn't bring herself to worry about it.

The chilly night air hit her skin, washing over her like a soft sigh, leaving goosebumps in its wake, refreshing after the warmth of inside and the conversation that had left her flushed. The dim light and the quiet of the field outside the barn was almost a jarring contrast to the party inside, but it was as much as a relief as the temperature. Veering to one side, heart hammering in excitement, barely containing the laugh that was bubbling up, she headed back toward the front of the barn, creeping along the wall, to where the path led back to the house. Daff had unconsciously picked up the pace before realizing they were finally alone. It felt silly to have her leading the way now; her planning for the evening was at an end, it was up to Elias. Daff slowed near the front of the barn, light from the merriment inside spilling out through the wide barn doors into the night all around them, stopping before the could become visible to anyone else again. The last thing she wanted was for someone to spot them now!

Unsure of what came next, Daff had at least come to the conclusion that she was over having any distance between them. She stepped closer, reaching up her free hand to pull him in for a desperate sort of kiss. All of the nerves and the worries faded in that single moment and when she finally leaned back, she smiled at him almost sheepishly. "Where to now?"

Portkeys were not her favorite way to travel and then the ferry left her a little queasy, but maybe it was the nerves? Daff hadn't the faintest about what to be nervous about; she had been looking forward to the time it was just the two of them all evening. The cold air across the water helped and as she leaned against him, never out of reach, at least one hand on him at all times, she took a few deep breaths and let the sound of the waves and the breeze lull her into a dreamy sense of peace.

Of course that all slipped away from her as soon as they reached their cute little French cottage and the rest of the night was right in front of them. Daffy, being ever the one to need the details, had, after hearing Dahlia's story of their mother's information for a wedding night, had gone straight to Amaryllis to get the facts. No flowery metaphors or innuendos, just the necessary information, which Daff appreciated. Her sister's no-nonsense approach was probably the extreme opposite of her mother's, but Ama did hold a level of affection for her husband that showed when she spoke, so Daff knew she was getting a good sense of what to expect. It did little to quell the butterflies taking up residence in her chest.

The gardens could wait, but she was excited to see them. He had taken great care to choose places he thought she would like and that softened the edges of her nerves a little bit. It was just the two of them, exactly what they wanted, there was no reason to get caught up in her head. "I can't wait," Daff assured him with a quiet chuckle, turning back to him after she took in the quaint little room. Tomorrow she would wander through every inch of the gardens, dragging him with her to see everything they could. But that was tomorrow and this was tonight and Daff had already started to unwind the flowers and plaits from her hair, tossed and tangled from the wind on the boat. She needed something to do with her hands and that at least seemed like a useful thing to do. Soft brown waves slowly came unwound, hanging loosely around her shoulders as she plucked the last of the flowers from the bottom. She toyed idly with the tiny sprig of pink forget-me-knots with a smile.

"My feet hurt a little," she teased lightly; the new shoes were a bit stiff, but not unbearable. The new corset too, laced a little tighter than she would have liked, but she hadn't been about to argue with her mother. "But otherwise, I'm good." Even if she could feel the heat on her cheeks and the uptick in her heartbeat. "You?" She eyed him carefully, watching his expression, lip caught between her teeth again.

Daff softened into the contact instantly. She absolutely loved the feeling of his hand in her hair and her own landed on his chest as he leaned in to kiss her. That lovely dizzy feeling took over and she leaned in completely, surrenduring to the sensation. This was good, it was easy to get away from the nerves when she couldn't think.

Thinking was all she had done in the days leading up to the wedding, when she couldn't sleep for trying to figure out what else needed to be done and what to do at the shop before she was gone for a few weeks. In the quiet darkness of her room she kept coming back to being unable to give Elias any firsts; not her heart for the first time or her first kiss. She had trusted him with her heart after it was broken and that felt like something monumental, but tonight was a first she could share with him and only him. Being somebody's first love was something special, but being their last love was everything; she had always meant it when she'd said she had never loved anyone like she loved him.

It was her turn to be distracted at the feeling of his fingertips on her skin at the neckline of her dress. The sigh was inaudible, but the feeling sunk in deep, the warmth spreading across her skin, and it left her wanting more. Daff chuckled quietly as she looked up at him, shaking her hair back out of her face. It had sunk in for her about halfway through the ferry ride and she was so ready. "Very real, I'm all yours." Her hands slid up over his shoulders, looping her arms around his neck, pushing up to her tiptoes to kiss him again.