TODAY'S the big day. After years of speculation and more recent anticipation, the SDLP and Fianna Fáil are finally coming together to forge an alliance, of sorts.
It's initially expected to resemble co-habitation with separate beds rather than a full-blown marriage consummated in polling booths across the north in May.
Some in the SDLP want a merger, while others are opposed to any increased cooperation, so a compromise has been found that appeases both camps but arguably fails to please anybody.
There is little doubt there is merit in a project that brings two nationalist parties from either side of the border with broadly similar ideologies together.
Those within the SDLP opposed to greater partnership tend to overstate the party's social democratic credentials, conveniently ignoring much of the conservative, Catholic ethos adhered to by many of its representatives, especially in rural areas.
While many Fianna Fáil voters may know little of the SDLP, closer relations with its northern counterpart may well help reinvigorate Michéal Martin's party, which has been powered largely by residual support for the past decade.
The key to the success of the partnership will be maintaining momentum.
Expectations to begin with are modest, and while that perhaps helps avoid the venture being deemed a failure in the future, equally the lack of ambition could be its downfall.
Striking the correct balance that ensures gradual coalescence rather than a clunky collision is key but textbook examples of two parties in different jurisdictions developing policy platforms and closer ties are rare.
Brexit has transformed Ireland's political landscape irrevocably and a new cross-border political partnership should be seen as a positive by all those who aspire to one day see the two parts of the island united.
However, those who view the new joint venture as an electoral rival are bound to be less enthusiastic.
