Lynette and Amy Tie the Knot Legally This Time!

Five years ago on January 1st, 2010, I performed a commitment ceremony for Amy and Lynette in my wedding garden. Of course it was not a legal marriage back then but it was a serious commitment nevertheless. (See that post.) Of course I am delighted that the marriage laws in North Carolina were changed in October of 2014 and that Lynette contacted me about doing a legal ceremony this time almost exactly five years to the date of their first ceremony.

A dear friend of theirs has a horse farm out in Kenly NC--about an hour's drive through beautiful countryside--where we had the wedding on Sunday January 4, 2105--my first wedding of 2015!

The weather was a pleasant temperature but the wind was blowing, the dark clouds were building and the rain was not far behind us. 

Amy and their attendants (Betsy and Cee) and I took our places in front of the fence and awaited Lynette's entrance! (Yay, I got to wear my cowboy boots for this wedding!)

 Julie, who is like a granddaughter to Lynette and Amy sprinkled some rose petals down the aisle. 

 Lynette was escorted in by dear friends who are like parents to her. 

And so we began the same ceremony from 5 years ago but expanded to include their friends and extended family there today.

This is also a double celebration: Lynette just recently reached her five year milestone in recovery from breast cancer. We are all so happy for them!

 Everyone was welcomed and a prayer was said. Some words on love and marriage then I asked them their vows. 

 They put their rings on each other's finger while reading their promises to each other from my book. 

 And now for the long awaited pronouncement that makes their union legal! 

 Celebrated with a kiss and some more rose petals! 

Lynette and Amy--thank you for being in my life. You are inspirations! It was my great honor to join you in matrimony and I am so happy for you! Let's do a renewal of vows ceremony five years from now!! Congratulations and I wish you all the best forever!

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First Wedding At Raleigh City Museum!

What a wedding we had Saturday night, March 13, 2010. It was a landmark for me and for Raleigh City Museum. This was the first gay wedding I performed and the first wedding ever at Raleigh City Museum which is located in the old Briggs Hardware building on Fayetteville Street downtown Raleigh. It is a unique and terrific place for a fun wedding. 

 

 The first floor of the Briggs Building is the home of Raleigh City Museum. John and Mark saw it and knew immediately that was where they wanted their wedding...for a number of reasons, one of them being that the museum features a celebration of civil rights for women and African Americans. John and Mark wanted this in their ceremony as a statement for gay rights. John contacted me in September and we all met and they contracted with me to preside over their commitment ceremony. I was thrilled because I have done several commitment ceremonies for women but none for men. They really liked being able to write their own ceremony with me as their guide. They came up with a fabulous one too which included the civil rights tribute.

This is the center area of the museum where the chairs had been set up for the ceremony. After the ceremony large circular tables were brought into this space for the reception and for dancing after dinner. Marty and I decided we did not want to miss this reception so we stayed for a while. Chris of Macaroni Grill catered the wedding and I must say it was delicious!  In the distance you can see me talking to Lenny Fritts of Touch of Class DJs. Lenny is great to work with. He takes care of plugging my theater mike into his system then we do a sound check to get the sound level perfect. He also lent Marty his camera this evening when mine ran out of space!

Looks like Sir Walter Raleigh has something to say to Mark and John! This is what you saw when you first walked into the museum for their wedding.

At the appointed time, with all the guests seated, I processed in with the attendants. Matthew, Mark's brother, was his attendant.  Corinne, a friend of John's was his attendant. They each carried white roses and I carried two. 

 

The roses were given to their mothers and then later the other two white roses were in memory of Mark's grandmother and John's sister. Many tears were shed as you can imagine. I think I gave out a record number of hankies! John and Mark also had their guests take a stone at the beginning of the ceremony and infuse it with their love and blessings for the couple to be displayed in their home as a reminder of everyone and all the love that filled the room that evening. They also made reference that in some countries "stoning a person to death" is done for people who fall in love with the "wrong" person. But this evening the stones were for love.

 

After the vows and rings, I pronounced John and Mark equal partners, partners for life, and the music began amidst all the cheering and well wishes. The guests were directed to the back of the museum for cocktails while the ceremony space was turned into the reception area for dinner.

Congratulations, John and Mark! You made it happen! What a great couple you are. Maybe one day you can legally get married in North Carolina! I sure hope so. 

I had promised John and Mark that I would dance at their wedding and I did. After dinner and all the funny and tear-provoking toasts to the couple, Lenny put on the music and before Marty and I got our stuff and left, I had a little dance with the two grooms whom I think were amazed since I had had knee replacement surgery only 6 weeks earlier.

Here's Lenny doing his job...........fantastic DJ that I can always count on.

 

This is their wedding cake. It was so pretty but I did not find out who made it. The cupcakes came in yellow cake with raspberry filling and chocolate cake with chocolate cream filling. On the top was the small cake and the two teddy bear grooms!

I lifted this photo from their Facebook page. Wonderful shot, guys! All the best to you and I hope to see you at another gay wedding of your friends.

Commitment Celebration Ceremony for Lynette and Amy on New Year's Day 2010!

Lynette called me on Monday, December 28th, to find out if I was willing to do a commitment ceremony for her and her partner, Amy, on New Year's Day. I was most happy to work them into my schedule and we were able to have the ceremony in my garden at 1:00. Thankfully the temperature was in the upper 40s and so it worked out well. The garden looks a bit brown and bare but nevertheless it was good to be outdoors on January 1st! They brought a few friends and were dressed in color coordinated flannel shirts and jeans--casual was the way they wanted it and so it was! I wore black jeans although you can't really tell in the photos.

 Amy is on the left, Lynette on the right. They were so happy to have this public vow of their love for each other. I had sent them a proposed ceremony and let them make the changes they wanted which were very few. They told me they loved the ceremony and it touched their hearts so much.

Exchanging rings with a few chuckles getting them on!

I pronounced them lifemates joined in a lifetime covenant.

What a great couple. I could tell they really cared for each other and were well matched. After the ceremony, Lynette wrote me a sweet (and revealing) thank you note that explained why it was so important to her and Amy to have this ceremony on January 1st. Here is what she said: "We had originally planned to do this in the fall of next year but upon thinking about how short life is and being absolutely certain that God puts people in your life at the right time prompted us to move forward together now.  I was diagnosed with breast cancer in Sept. and am currently winding up my battle at this time with radiation and we could not think of a better way to start a whole new year than how we chose to today." She also wrote: "Just wanted to drop you a line and say THANKS so much for making today very special for us.  We had a very nice lunch at PF Chang and Elizabeth and Jen had a cake made and presented it to us at lunch.  The wait staff was superb and took pictures for us and everything.  Our day started with you and a very nice ceremony and although it seemed it was over in a flash it was very meaningful and well done.  Thanks again." 

Lynette and Amy, congratulations! You have taken a great step in your relationship and I am grateful to have been a part of your special day! I wish you all the best, now and forever!