"Corn Fed and Legally Wed"!

It was just before dusk as we gathered in my cousins driveway, lined with rows of white folding chairs, a beautiful spring day. In the front row sat the family, including the four corgis with pink bows tied around their necks. The ring bearer and flower girl made their way out of the house with only a slight "oops" as the little guy stumbled and provided me with a great photo, this always makes for a memorable moment and no wedding should be without one.

The ceremony began with a very nontraditional request from the minister. "Will everyone from Iowa please stand". Once everyone was standing he told them to put their arms in the air and yell "Woo Hoo! and to all of you from Illinois, you'll catch up!"

I've never been so choked up at a wedding as I was this evening, not my own nor my daughters. Understandably, as the couple getting married were two women who have spent the last eighteen years together without the same privileges as a heterosexual married couple. Despite having had two previous ceremonies exchanging vows and a shot gun wedding in Canada while at a dog show last year. How frustrating it must have been for them to not feel that same security of legal entitlement, to have their rings not just be a symbol of love but of a legal, binding unity.

The minister accounted their years together and said a few words and then turned to my Cousin's best friend to say a few words. She recalled for us their blind date that she had set up, the surprise exchange of renewing their vows at their ten year mark and apparently she too was responsible for this evenings event. Then the minister took over and they began.

The rings were held in the air and then passed around for each one of the guests to say a prayer or a wish according to their beliefs. As the rings made their way around the crowd, they proceeded with the lighting of the unity candle, (the slight spring breeze and the lack of matches made the lighting a tad bit difficult) this is where most of us began getting choked up and continued through the rest of the ceremony as they said their vows and were pronounced "wife and wife" (in case anyone was wondering how that worked). The happy couple then, literally danced a little jig to "You're Still the One", by The Orleans, on their way down the sidewalk and into their home; "Home" probably feels a little bit different now.

Peace
Liz

(I would like to give credit where credit is due. The title "Corn Fed and Legally Wed" was from a t-shirt and ball cap that they received as a Wedding Gift, made for them by a friend, unsure of the origins of the slogan )

Links of note: Oneiowa.org