my parents had brett's family and two of our closest friends who were in town early to our house on Wednesday night for BBQ and we didn't decide what we were going to do until all the dishes had been washed and my parents were in bed.
we finally decided that we would accept the legal rights that come with marriage, but we wouldn't allow them to be in any way associated with our marriage ceremony. instead, we decided to go to the courthouse the next morning and have a judge sign our certificate without flourish or fanfare. we also wouldn't claim to be married until the minister pronounced us so. this way, we would minimize the importance of the legal part of being united (since the spiritual part is what matters to us) and not let the state get all up in the church's business.
we invited our two friends to go with us to witness our legal contract, and wrote a statement to read after the certificate had been signed. It said:
Today we take advantage of the rights afforded to us by the law as a united couple. However, we believe that the legal rights associated with marriage should not be limited to heterosexual couples. Our country was founded on principles of equality but as the institution of marriage currently stands, there is great inequality and injustice. As Christians and Americans we uphold the separation of church and state because such a relationship increases their individual integrity and strength.
we were true to what we believed and haven't regretted the decision.... but i guess there was a moment's pause when we looked up and saw the giant Ten Commandment's plaque hanging behind the judge's desk. ;)
*the photo above is from the "ceremony" that the justice tried to perform for us. by the time that we realized what was going on he was asking us for a ring!
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