Yesterday, November 2, Jay officiated a wedding! Two of his friends from Apple got married in a beautiful outdoor ceremony and asked Jay if he would do the honors of making performing the ceremony. It was finally a gorgeous day in Raleigh, too – our first gorgeous day in a full week and our second gorgeous day in a month (it was a rainy, cloudy, crappy October) and the perfect weather for a wedding. Jay was ordained online a few weeks ago. It was easy peasy; he pretty much gave his credit card number and was given some “suggested reading” if he wanted to know what being an ordained minister entailed beforehand. [Rant: Anyone can pay $50 and be able to marry people over the Internet, yet there are still people out there who insist that gays are the ones ruining the “sanctity of marriage”? Give me a fucking break… /rant.]
Jay took his duties seriously and did a great job. I was so proud of him! He practiced all week. I’m pretty sure I married myself about 9 times on Thursday night. The entire wedding was lovely. Yesterday was my first ever Southern wedding and man, are they different from how weddings are done back home in New York! It’s a very laid back attitude. The ceremony & reception were both outdoors. The location, Fred Fletcher Park in Raleigh, was a beautiful setting. They served a Southern BBQ buffet as the meal (pulled pork, beef brisket, green beans, mac ‘n’ cheese, mashed sweet potatoes) and cupcakes instead of cake (although they did cut a cake). In place of a DJ, they had a country music/grassroots band. I need to sing the praises of this band. They were great. The lead singer was a 15-year-old girl who sang better than 98% of female singers on the radio today. She was just incredible. I hope she has a long, successful career someday because I have never heard a 15-year-old that talented before. Instead of dancing, there were lawn games set up, like croquet, giant Jenga, and bolo toss. There was even an area set up with a big picture frame hanging where you could take pictures of yourself inside the frame with props. All in all, it was a lot of fun. Congrats, Emily & Eric! Many years of happiness and love!
P.S. If you live in the Raleigh-Durham area and need someone to officiate your wedding, I know just the guy… 😉
Some pictures:
