I was reading a really interesting pro/con marriage article (yes, primarily about whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry, and the benefits/detriments of this) and I ran across this little tidbit:

    “In February, a Michigan court ruled that the state’s amendment bars
public employers from offering health coverage and other benefits to
unmarried partners, gay or straight.

    Similar moves to revoke domestic-partner benefits are afoot in other
states.  Kentucky’s attorney general recently decided that the
University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville could not offer
such benefits. A lawsuit is pending in Ohio over Miami University’s benefits.”

And it hit me. This is one of the reasons that divorce rates are so high. Looking at just the heterosexual side of things (I can get into homosexual unions, something that I am “for”, in another post), when people get denied the right to take care of their Miss or Mister “right now” (and in all fairness, when you start worrying about getting them health care coverage, etc, you may think it’s forever… and it may be), they start to get desperate. So, some may jump into the commitment of marriage before they’re ready. What the hell?! Is that any reason to tie the knot? Shouldn’t there be a better, more efficient way to get the benefits, without spending thousands of dollars on costly divorces?

And to that end, what about the people that just don’t believe in marriage; that are against getting that “piece of paper”, for whatever reason?! Are we going to force them to get married, in order to be able to adequately take care of one another?

What the hell is wrong with this country!?!

…can you believe it!?! It was an amazing few days leading up to the wedding, and it was followed by a perfect honeymoon. Here’s a recap:

Peter and David came in on Tuesday, so we all got to hang out for a few days; we went to Dallas on the DART, played the wii, heard all kinds of fun “pre-me” Alex stories and just relaxed. Our first hiccup came with Ian’s flight… he was stuck on the east coast (after his first flight) because of the storm, and his connecting flight was cancelled. In fact, just about every flight was cancelled… much frustration abounded, but two days later, he finally made it in. Oh, and another hiccup: two of Alex’s family couldn’t make it in because of the same storm and cancellation issue. That was a bummer.

Hmmmm, my mom came in Thursday, as did my grandparents, so I spent the evening with them–nothing fun to report there. (It was fun to see them, don’t read that the wrong way, it’s just nothing overly-exciting or out of the ordinary happened… I could write about the food I ate, or the room we sat in when we just chilled, but that’s just dumb.)

Friday was my big spa day. Six hours of pampering… ahhhhhhhh….. LOL. I got an hour massage, facial, mani/pedi, and my hair trimmed and styled. They even bought me and my mom lunch! Afterwards, it was time to get ready for the rehearsal. After a year and a half of planning, it was all coming down to the moments I was about to face. Looking back on it, it was all a blur, but I was really trying to be “in the moment.” I remember the first time I saw the church decorated, I remember talking to our pastors, I remember laughing, and crying, and laughing some more… I remember walking down the aisle with my daddy, and how nervous I felt—not because of Alex, but because of all the people focusing on me. I couldn’t stop giggling. We ran through the ceremony a few times (inserting a few “blah blahs” along the way) and it was off to the rehearsal dinner. FINALLY, I was able to relax and enjoy being with my family and friends. We gave out gifts, we got a few, too… but most of all, we spent time with people. It really calmed and centered me for the big day…

Ah, the big day. Well, of course I couldn’t sleep. I woke up at 5, and just laid there for about an hour before sneaking downstairs for breakfast… I ran into my daddy, and we hung out for a bit before I had to go get my hair and makeup done. Sara, mom and I went to the salon at 8, and Kristan (my stylist) put up my hair, and did my makeup beautifully! We showed up to the church around 10:15 (yes, we were late, but that was because it took longer for my mom to get her hair/makeup done, too….) and they put me in my dress. IT WAS INDESCRIBABLE! It was the first time that I felt 100% beautiful. That still didn’t stop me from being nervous and hyperventilating a bit, but that was because there were 80 people waiting in the sanctuary to see me! As we were walking to line up in the hall, we realized we forgot Alex’s ring back in the dressing room. Our coordinator ran back to get it; it was amazing that anyone could move so quickly in heels!

As the wedding march was playing, and the doors opened, I stayed focused on Alex, and only him. Everyone else literally became a blur. I stopped only once, for a second, so that I could take a breath. I guess it was kind of loud, because everyone laughed a bit when I exhaled. Finally, I arrived at the end, and my daddy handed me over to Alex. It was the most beautiful 30 minutes of my life. Our families spoke their word of support for our union, our pastors gave the best sermon I had ever heard, the choir sang, and Alex almost cried. When I first took his hand and looked in his eyes, a rush of complete calm fell over me, and the nerves went away. It was fantastic. Our vows were perfect, and the kiss was the best we’d ever shared. We walked back down the aisle and I realized that all the frustration, excitement and anticipation of May 26, 2007 was completely worth it. We were married, which was our goal.

Our reception was gorgeous. We walked in to Green Day’s “Poprocks and Coke” and danced our first dance to Lifehouse’s “You and Me.” The food looked great (didn’t have a chance to eat much), the restaurant was beautiful, and everyone looked so happy to be there. After much dancing, talking and stuffing cake in our faces, we departed around 4:30 to get changed so we could meet back up with family for our after-reception. Yes, it was the day that didn’t end, but that’s ok. I didn’t want it to!

We ended up opening lots of gifts and just really letting the adrenaline settle. The next day, we would go off to Disney World, and have the time of our lives!

I want to thank everyone for wishing us well, being there, supporting us, giving us gifts, or even just thinking of us—it really means a lot to us both. A huge thanks to those that were an integral part in the wedding; the family and friends that helped us get it all together. Without you, it wouldn’t have been the perfect day we were blessed with.

LOL, we’re our own family now!