On the Winter Solstice, Iroh announced that he would be stepping down as Fire Lord in the spring and handing the title over to Zuko.
"I never wanted the responsibility," he said when he'd called Zuko and Katara into his study to give them the news. "And at my age, I should be spending my days drinking tea, playing pai sho, and doting on my little grand-nieces and nephews. So, when do you two plan on making your engagement public?"
Zuko and Katara looked at each other and blushed. They both loved the old man, but there was no keeping a secret from him. He must have spotted the jade pendant of Katara's betrothal necklace discreetly hidden in the folds of her robes.
"We're going to announce it during the New Year's festival," Katara said.
Zuko put a hand on Katara's shoulder. He still couldn't believe such an amazing woman had agreed to marry him.
Iroh threw his arms around the two young people and pulled them into a crushing platypus-bear hug.
The next several months were busy planning a wedding and a coronation. One evening at the height of spring, when the wisteria in the palace gardens was in bloom, Iroh led Zuko and Katara into the great hall. The Fire Sages from the temple of Agni and several witnesses were waiting for them. They all knelt around the sacred hearth in the center of the hall.

"Let the setting sun bear witness," said the Head Sage.
Servants slid open the screen doors leading out to the garden. Agni, the god of the sun and of fire, showed his approval by making the gilded walls sparkle.

The Fire Sages brought an oil lamp that Iroh had lit with his own flame when his reign began. They extinguished this flame, and Zuko stepped forward and relit the lamp.
"What are they saying?" Katara asked when Zuko returned to her side, and the Fire Sages chanted an archaic blessing that she couldn't understand.
Zuko took a moment to translate. "It means something like, it is setting and it is rising," he said. "It's a lot more eloquent in the Ancient Fire Tongue."
It was Agni's will that the sun should rise and set every day in an unbroken cycle. The same with the lives of men and the reigns of monarchs. The sun was setting on Iroh's time as Fire Lord and would rise on Zuko's when he was coronated the following morning.
"You look stunning by the way," Zuko whispered to Katara. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Katara blushed prettily. She was radiant in her white bridal kimono and its matching crescent-shaped headdress. The finest embroiderers had spent months rendering cranes in silver thread and iridescent beads onto these garments, along with phoenixes in black silk and gold sequins on her red outer robe. A skilled needlewoman in her own right, Katara helped them because a Water Tribe woman was expected to show off her feminine accomplishments by making her own wedding clothes.

"Ready sis?" Sokka, Katara's brother, offered her his arm. She accepted it. Since Sokka was Katara's only living family, he would give her away.
Zuko smiled at his uncle. With his father dead and his sister estranged and living in the Earth Kingdom, Iroh was the only relative Zuko had at the wedding. But Iroh was father, mother, and uncle all rolled into one.
Zuko and Katara decided they would marry before the coronation to be crowned together. Fire Nation weddings were held at sunset, symbolizing now the couple's lives as single people were ending, with the bridal feast celebrated the following morning. The wedding itself was a small, private affair with only a handful of witnesses, usually close family, in attendance. Aside from Iroh and Sokka, Zuko and Katara's witnesses were their dear friend, Master Toph Beifong of Gaoling, Sokka's wife, Yue, Katara's handmaid, Meng, Lieutenant Lee, a loyal officer aboard the ship Zuko was given command of during his banishment who'd saved his life more than once, and Lo and Li, two ancient sisters who in their far-distant youth were Zuko's grandfather Azulon's concubines and had since risen to become the de facto heads of the royal household. Not inviting those two old dragons to the wedding would have been unthinkable.
Holding hands over the sacred fire in the hearth, Zuko and Katara recited their vows, and the Fire Sages pronounced them husband and wife. A Water Tribe priestess of Tui and La blessed the newlyweds.
"He is the sun, she is moon," the priestess said. "May their joys be as numberless as the stars."
Zuko leaned in and kissed his bride. Katara kissed him back and threw her arms around him.
"Mrs. Fire Lord," he whispered to her.
She giggled. "Mr. Katara."
The witnesses made their applause. Iroh burst into tears of joy, and Lieutenant Jee gave him a handkerchief.
Sokka playfully nudged Iroh's arm. "Remember," he said. "You're not getting a niece, you're getting rid of a nephew."
Now that the wedding was over, the newlyweds celebrated with their guests with tea and sake. Katara brought the tea utensils over to a basin of water on the table. Using her water-bending, she cleaned each utensil: the dipper, the scoop, the whisk, and the bowl. She could easily wash them by hand, but she never missed an opportunity to show off. Her confidence was one of the things Zuko loved about her.
Katara took a few deep breaths, then bowed to her guests. She knelt at the table and opened a small box containing green tea powder. Three scoops of powder went into the bowl with a little bit of water from the kettle. She whisked the powder and water together until it formed a paste. Some more water and she had tea.

Zuko knelt at Katara's right and was the first to take a sip before passing the bowl on to Iroh. The old man was the one Katara had practiced for weeks to please, not her husband-to-be. No way in Agni would Iroh let Zuko marry a woman who couldn't prepare tea.
Iroh bowed his head in appreciation, then took a sip. "Well done, My dear," he said, wiping the bowl's rim with a napkin before passing it on to the next person.
Katara smiled. Iroh was the ultimate tea conisseur. If her tea preparation met with his approval, then she'd certainly done an excellent job.
"He's not demanding that we immediately get a divorce," Katara whispered to Zuko. "I count that as a success."
The tea bowl made its way around the table. Each person took a sip and toasted the bride and groom.
Lieutenant Jee raised the tea bowl. "To the new Fire Lord and Fire Lady."
"Here, here," Iroh added.
The other guests clinked their sake cups in agreement.
Toph, who'd already downed at least two cups of sake, giggled. "Kiss, kiss," she said.

Zuko and Katara glanced at each other, then gave into the demand that they kiss, not that they needed much encouragement.
When the tea and sake were served and drank, the bride and groom embraced and, blushing, parted to retire to separate quarters. They'd both decided to wait until their honeymoon on Ember Island to consummate the marriage. They had to wake up before dawn tomorrow morning to prepare for the coronation.
Katara gave him a quick smooch. "Goodnight, My Lord Husband," she said.
"Goodnight, My Lady Wife," Zuko replied. He squeezed her hand and wondered what he ever did to deserve to be so happy.