"You don't understand; for people like us, the cycle of preparing a wedding is measured in years. Some people need to schedule at least two years in advance to free up a couple of days to attend a wedding, so of course you have to send out invitations early. Waiting until a month before the wedding is just too late."
"Do you hope to hold it before or after giving birth?"
"Obviously after, maybe even after the child learns to walk," Stark said. "That way, he can carry our flowers for us."
"Won't that be too much for Pepper?" Shiller sat back down at the computer and continued browsing vacation websites, adding, "Your wedding is certain to be a hassle, not exactly the kind of labor suited for a pregnant woman."
"We're not just two people," Stark said. "There's my parents and Obadiah, Jarvis and Wanda will help too, and more importantly, we have an entire professional managerial team. Pepper only needs to take care of selecting what she likes."
"Sounds like 'New York Socialite'," Shiller mentioned the variety show and said, "I think she could go on it, give you a good showing."
"Forget it, she'd think I'm insane," Stark said. "Although I believe she would never be at a disadvantage in a confrontation with those socialites, being angry isn't good for someone who's pregnant. Maria said I should take her out to get some fresh air."
Shiller's interest was piqued as he said, "A proper vacation might also do your anxiety some good. Do you have any ideas?"
"Considering she's not too keen on facing me 24 hours a day at present, and knowing I'm definitely going to annoy her, we finally decided to put our honeymoon off for a bit."
Stark's tone was full of regret. After the initial anxiety, he was now left with only the joy and excitement of being a new father. Shiller knew all too well the potential havoc an overly excited Stark could wreak. It was probably for this reason that Pepper vetoed the idea of a honeymoon for just the two of them.
"Looks like we have the chance to vacation together," Shiller said. "I've been thinking about taking a break myself lately; I've been too busy recently. Now just hearing the siren of the Elders Council Hospital ambulance gives me a headache."
Stark immediately became wary and said, "A vacation? You? Don't joke; what are you up to now? You're not planning another grand scheme that will ruin everyone's trip, are you?"
"I think you're filled with misconceptions about me, which I find quite regrettable," Shiller said, feigning sadness. But he quickly added, "Of course, if you're willing to reimburse all the travel expenses, I might just bring myself to forgive you this time."
Stark snorted disdainfully and after a long pause said, "Are you really planning a vacation? Just an ordinary vacation? Lounging around in a hotel like an average person, wandering aimlessly and doing nothing?"
"Sounds pretty good," Shiller said, supporting his head with one hand. "I've never lived like that before. Is it fun?"
"Honestly, it's utterly boring, but trying it out once in a while isn't bad," Stark sighed lightly and said. "And after trying it, you'll realize it's better not to take the vacation at all."
Shiller laughed, closed the webpage, closed the laptop, and said, "Where do you plan to hold the wedding? Maybe we can go check out the venue in advance."
"Although islands like Hawaii are quite romantic," Stark replied, "for security reasons, it will be on the American continent. We haven't decided on a specific location yet. I've got to stop talking now, the wedding team is about to have an online meeting with me. I think we'll decide on the location during this meeting, and I'll let you know afterward."
Shiller sat down on the sofa next to him, opened the invitation, and sure enough, it barely had anything written on it—no time, no place. It was less a wedding invitation and more like an announcement, alerting everyone that a wedding might occur within the next couple of years.
It sounded ridiculous—sending out invitations without even a date set—but for Stark, a wedding could be any occasion, anything but merely a wedding.
One could imagine the elite from all over the world and even the cosmos gathering together. Congratulating the newlyweds wasn't the most important part; an event with such a massive flow of interpersonal relationships required planning and strategizing on a level not unlike that of a war.
So, announcing a potential wedding one or two years in advance was essential. People needed to assess their current social status to determine their primary targets at the wedding, which connections they wanted to expand first, and what strategic objectives they aimed to achieve with each power. This wasn't something you could figure out in a day or two.
They would write back to Stark, and Stark would compile a guest list from all the replies expressing the wish to attend. Then he would send the guest list to everyone, allowing them to further identify exactly who would be attending the wedding.
This way, they could make contact with each other beforehand, using the wedding as a topic to bridge the gap, and ultimately achieve an exchange of interests at the wedding itself. Such a grand event might even catalyze several more weddings, creating a perfect cycle of interpersonal relationships.
Shiller believed that people from Asgard would definitely attend Stark's wedding, and Thanos might come as well. Representatives from the Three Great Empires would also be present, which would make the exchange of interpersonal relationships extremely complicated. No wonder the wedding was being planned for after the child learned to walk.
As for the venue, Shiller didn't think Stark would choose somewhere outside of Earth to accommodate the aliens. On the contrary, the Solar System's Star Port was almost complete, and it was fully capable of accommodating spaceships from the Three Great Empires. The wedding would undoubtedly take place on Earth.
New York would be a safe choice, but Shiller thought Stark would not settle for mediocrity. Of course, the biggest issue was that New York was a bit too crowded. With a massive number of guests, various traffic congestion accidents could easily occur, which would be quite embarrassing, even to the point of becoming a galactic faux pas.
By that logic, the East Coast was basically unsuitable. It was a populous area in America, and the appearance of various aliens might also cause public panic, which was not conducive to social stability.
In contrast, the sparsely populated West Coast seemed like a better choice. It was home to many large cities, and compared to the fast-paced East Coast cities, it was more romantic and relaxed, often the preferred destination for travelers and vacationers.
However, to accommodate so many alien guests, a city would inevitably need to undergo some degree of transformation. Therefore, a city with significant administrative functionality wouldn't work. It would be better to choose a city already enthusiastic about tourism with a relatively large land area that could accept investment and transformation.
The name of a city flashed through Shiller's mind, and just then, the communicator beeped twice. When Shiller saw the text message from Stark, it read the name of the city he'd been thinking of—"Hollywood."