August 3, 2009

"Commenting from a mountaintop: we are still sitting on the rock where we exchanged rings, and now we are married."

My comment, at 3:59 today, Central Time (though we are on Mountain Time), in the post "We're here in Colorado not just for the scenery, but for the law," which read: "What is the law we love so much — this beautiful example of the benefits of federalism? I will tell you soon!"

The first commenter there, reader_Iam, instantly got the answer:
Are you wanting to solemnize your own marriage, as opposed to having an officiant required?
Yes, in Colorado:
Couples themselves may solemnize their own marriage (perform one's own marriage ceremony). According to Colorado Revised Statute 14-2-109, a marriage may be solemnized by a judge of a court; by a court magistrate; by a retired judge of the court; by a public official whose powers include solemnization of marriages; by Indian tribe officials; by clergy; by the parties to the marriage. If you wish to solemnize your own marriage, you will be responsible for acquiring, completing and returning the license to marry to the appropriate county Office of the Clerk and Recorder.
And that's just what we did. This afternoon, we drove from our hotel in Bachelor Gulch to the Office of the Clerk and Recorder in Eagle County, where we showed our driver's licenses, answered a few questions, paid $30 cash, and got a license that empowered us to marry each other. We drove up Bellyache Ridge — just the 2 of us — where we did things our way and solemnized the marriage on our own. Then, we did the additional red tape — filling out the bottom of the Certificate of Marriage and handing it back to the county official who'd asked us the questions earlier. And now, we're here at Yeti's Grind on Broadway, in Eagle, eating our first food (sandwiches) and drinking our first drink (mango smoothies) as husband and wife. And we're both on the WiFi.

One thing I love about American federalism is that — subject to the limitations of national law — individual states can do things their own way, and we can move around finding the law we like. We decided against marrying in Madison, because under Wisconsin law, not only do you need to pay $125 or so for the license and then go get a minister or a judge to perform the wedding — you have to wait 6 days between getting the license and doing the wedding. What's that all about? It's insulting, not to mention avaricious. We went west, out of the grip of a paternalistic state, for greater freedom and individuality.

And, yes, we think same-sex couples should also have the right to marry. You'll have to travel somewhere other than Colorado if that's the freedom you want. We traveled and got what we wanted, and obviously, we have the additional benefit of getting a marriage that will be recognized everywhere. I hope the day will come when the Coloradan attitude that favored us will smile on gay people too. But for now, I'm just really happy to be married in Colorado, on Bellyache Ridge, with just me and Meade on the scene. Aptly, it turned out that there was a big old cell phone tower on top of the ridge, so we texted and emailed and telephoned.

And I made a blog comment — a comment, not a post, because that's where I found my dear husband, in the comments.

148 comments:

Michael Haz said...

May I be the first one (of many, no doubt) to wish you a long and happy married life.

Palladian said...

Congratulations dear Althouse and dear Meade. Blessings be upon you both.

John Enright said...

Congratulations to both of you!

TWM said...

Congratulations to the former groom and best wishes to the former bride.

May you live well.

Jennifer said...

Congratulations to you both, your love has been a joy to witness and a delight to comment on.

Bayoneteer said...

Congratulations! On your marriage and on explaining how federalism is supposed to work.

Methadras said...

Hey, congratulations on your self-nuptials. May you both have love, happiness, and blessings in whatever order they come to you as long as those three things are the main ingredients in your lives. YAY!!! I'm happy or you both.

michaele said...

My eyes welled up with happiness as I read about the beautiful simplicity of your wedding. You are obviously both very independent spirits and this was the perfect way to make your pledge to each other totally your own. Sincerest best wshes!

Roman said...

Congratulation to the newlyweds, all the best, always!

I lived in Colorado many years ago, it was great then and still is.

dick said...

Congratulation and best wishes to both of you. I think it is just fantastic and may you have a very long and very happy life together.

Paddy O said...

Big congrats to both of you!

You made your announcements in the comments, but I can't help but notice that your ceremony was just about as anti-blog and anti-internet as possible.

Just two people alone on a mountaintop. Not needing a crowd. Not needing ceremony, or electricity, or feedback.

Just two people--both of whom were going fine through life on their own. Then they realized they were a bit lonely, and wouldn't mind a companion. A guy was found in the woman's comment section and became a whole man to her.

Something rather original about this sort of marriage.

He even tends a garden.

yashu said...

Yay, heartfelt congratulations! This marriage (between 2 people I've never met)-- and the narrative of the love story, with all its quirks, we've gotten glimpses of on this blog-- really makes me happy. You did it your way.

Laura(southernxyl) said...

Be happy.

sonicfrog said...

Congrats!

And that's cool. I had no idea people could get married all by themselves! With out help from the Daddy State!

Paddy-O said it best:

Just two people alone on a mountaintop. Not needing a crowd. Not needing ceremony, or electricity, or feedback.

PS. I bet Paddy-O's last name is Furniture.

Cedarford said...

Nice. I like the whole approach you two took.
My sister lives in CO and remarried to a Jack Mormon. For their wedding, they dressed in 19th Century wedding outfits.
'Bout anything goes, except gay marriage..

lohwoman said...

Your wedding your way. That's as it should always be. Congratulations on your selves' discovery!

And thanks for that link to marriage laws (or the plain-language version anyway). Interesting that you can solemnize your own vows but a friend or relative who isn't credentialed cannot do it for you.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Yippee! Way to go! I hope you two enjoy the best of everything together!!

David said...

Congratulations. May your love grow and glow.

john said...

Ann and Meade - congratulations. I wish you nothing but happiness for the remainder of your lives - and then some!

Regards

Once written, twice... said...

Also, congrats. I did not realize you were getting hitched. Thanks for including the context of same sex maariage. Truly classy.
Finally, I am glad you did not do the whole Las Vegas hillbilly wedding thing.

john said...

ZPS really wanted to live blog this occasion. Oh well.

chuck b. said...

Will you continue west, to California? I will treat you both for cake.

john said...

L.E. Lee - it's always hillbillies with you, isn't it?

chuck b. said...

I mean, I will treat you *TO* cake. Cake is not a disease. It is a blessing.

Once written, twice... said...

Yes John. I hope Titus joins in. It would be a shame otherwise.

Susannah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
kentuckyliz said...

Cake is urban slang for money. Recent freebie on iTunes was a rap song called "Loco Wit Da Cake"--so, how much cake are we talkin?

lohwoman: if you want to use a nonapproved person, get an instant online ordination from the Universal Life Church and check with your county to see if ministers need to be registered to administer nuptials. Boom, instant minister (or pick your own guru title).

I am an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church.

I used the ULC press pass this weekend to do some good photography of a labor rally.

kentuckyliz said...

Oh and btw, congratulations to the lovely couple!

We've got to get ourselves back to the garden....

Unknown said...

Ann and Meade-
Congratulations from LSG

traditionalguy said...

Eagle,Colorado is a great community in the middle of nowhere, but thanks to internet Eagle is now the center of the Blogosphere for this day. Very nice planning indeed.

Susannah said...

Congratulations! I wish you all the best for a wonderful life together, full of adventures, joy, and strong wireless signals!

Peter Hoh said...

Blessings and best wishes to you both!

Damn, $125 for a marriage license in Wisconsin? Sounds like they are trying to drive you to an out-of-state marriage.

The Crack Emcee said...

Congratulations!

Listen, you two aren't *too* far from me now, so if you want to meet up,...I'm anxious to prove, to both of you, that a black guy swearing, in person, is a LOT different than it comes across in written form.

Let me know.

Zachary Sire said...

Couldn't have done it any better.

I want a movie made about this!

kate said...

that is so incredibly romantic! it makes me cry. i hope you danced a bit up there on bellyache ridge.

blessings to you both.

Ralph L said...

"You would like me to marry you? Sorry, I am already marrying this gentleman."

1775OGG said...

Congratulations and may you have a happy married life together.

kjbe said...

Congrats! and what a very cool way to do it. You're right, why let all that other stuff get in the way. A toast - to mountain tops and self ceremonies and federalism and smoothies and wifi!

Big Mike said...

I already congratulated you, but now I'm just a teensy weensy bit worried. You got married on Bellyache Ridge? You couldn't find a place that was named "Happily Ever After Ridge"?

I wish you more luck with your marriage than with your luck in finding well-named places to tie the knot.

Gretchen said...

Just lovely! Congratulations!

dbp said...

Congratulations and may you have a long, happy life together.

1775OGG said...

Times have changed since 1964 when we married. In Minnesota, the land of many blue laws, a marriage license could only be issued in the home county of the prospective bride. Not the county where the bride was born, but where her parents were then living. No idea about a bride who was born out of state or whose parents lived out of state; perhaps that couple would have to live in "sin!"

The couple had to wait three days. There might have been a provision for requiring a blood test too; can't recall that.

Bender said...

Couples themselves may solemnize their own marriage (perform one's own marriage ceremony).

That is hardly new.

In the Catholic Church, the minister of the Sacrament of Matrimony is not the priest, it is each of the intended spouses -- the man and the woman marry themselves. The priest is merely there as a witness and to bless the marriage.

And marriages made at common law were/are made without the intervention of government or other people. Indeed, the fact that people married themselves before the existence of government demonstrates that government lacks the power or authority to redefine marriage.

Marriage is what it is, and government -- either by court or legislature -- cannot make it something that it is not. If marriage were dependent upon government for its definition or otherwise subject thereto, it would not have been possible for people to marry themselves prior to the establishment of government. Of course, this is simply a long way of saying that government cannot redefine marriage to include a person of one sex "marrying" another person of the same sex because such is not and was not the nature of marriage prior to government.

The nature of marriage is something more than "a piece of paper." There is an inherent nature to marriage -- marriage is not an invention, it is a state of being.

As such, it cannot be made into something that it is not and was not, and that inherent, per se nature is the union of one man and one woman. If it could be so reinvented and made into something different (of course, if it was something different it logically cannot be the same thing as before), then persons of the same sex could simply "marry" themselves at common law, without the intervention of government, as was the prior practice. But that was not and is not possible because, whatever such a union might be, it is not and cannot be "marriage."

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

If two people marry in the woods and there is no one there to.. ;)

congratulations again..

sorry for jumping the gun b4.

Chip Ahoy said...

Aw, bless.

Bruce Hayden said...

Congratulations. Great use of the law. Best wishes.

For everyone else - the county seat is in Eagle, but Bachelor Gulch is by Avon, which is right by the Beaver Creek ski area, maybe 10 minutes down the road (I-70) from Vail. While I have never been there, it looks like Bellyache Ridge is near Wolcott, another 10 miles down I-70 - except that apparently they had to go into the county seat in Eagle first, another 10 miles down the road.

When thinking about the Avon area, keep in mind that (former) President Ford had his second home there, right next to Beaver Creek. There are a lot of very expensive houses along the valley there.

I have known two people whose families had ranches fairly close to where I think Ann and Meade got married. Beautiful country. Good choice.

Once written, twice... said...

Flexo, nice thread hijack. Now be a good little hillbilly bigot and STFU.

Nichevo said...

"Jack Mormon"

C4, what is a Jack Mormon? I ask to know.

Roger von Oech said...

Congratulations to the bride and groom!

[does your marriage mean that you'll be changing the name of the blog too?]

American Liberal Elite said...

Congratulations to both of you!

Corky Boyd said...

The minute you blogged about your trip to Ohio and spoke of your love, you changed.

Your blog photo changed from an out of focus picture to a sharp and crisp one. Ditto for the all your pictures on the blog itself. Your beauty comes through and it's not just movie star beauty, it's deeper than that. It comes from the soul.

Love is wonderful. Never lose it. Congratulations!

Michelle said...

Marriage is an act of boldness. Boldly go on about your lives!

And, congratulations!

dick said...

I seem to remember that in the olden days when a couple married themselves without a judge or clergy they had to jump over a broom.

kalmia said...

How wonderful. Congratulations. Live long and prosper.

OhioAnne said...

Nichevo said...
"Jack Mormon"

C4, what is a Jack Mormon? I ask to know.

8/3/09 7:31 PM


A Mormon who is not actively practicing his/her faith.

Ann and Meade,

Congratulations on not only your wedding, but for having the courage to take the leap of faith.

RLB_IV said...

Congratulations Althouse and Meade on your wedding day.

A toast is in order.

May you be blessed with a long and happy life together.

May you live in the bliss of two independent souls living as couple.

May the children grow to love their stepparents as their own.

May the vortex continue and the uniqueness of it.

Clink Clink...

Cheers

nina said...

Again, lots of happiness and joy to both of you.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Congratulations!

I live in CO and can tell you to enjoy our liberty while you can. The leftist democrats are taking over the state.

Richard said...

Congratulations to the both of you!

traditionalguy said...

Corky Boyd...Ditto, very well spoken.

The Bearded Professor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Donna B. said...

yep... clink:clink

I toast your future happiness together!

(And there ain't nuttin' hillbilly 'about a Vegas wedding unless you go on the California and get on The Price is Right for your honeymoon.)

The Bearded Professor said...

"It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory . . ." --Louis D Brandeis

Happy incident, indeed.

Congratulations.

Deborah M. said...

Awww! Mazel Tov!

john said...

OhioAnne said - .... A Mormon who is not actively practicing his/her faith.

Wouldn't the latter be a Jill Mormon?

john said...

I would hope that Maureen Dowd (and Robin Givens) would be flying into Denver about now.

joated said...

Congratualtions! And the best to both of you.

Anonymous said...

You two are beyond adorable.

Congrats.

Elliott A said...

Congrats and much happiness. I must admit I have a special soft spot for Althouses; their health and happiness.

Elliott Althouse

JSF said...

Mazel Tov to both You and Meade!

I hope you spend years in Bliss and in the Vortex.

Cheers to two classy people and the happiness they make.

And I quote:

The religion of Love is like no other.
For lovers, the only religion and belief is God.
Rumi

kimsch said...

Congratulations Althouse and Meade!

And they lived happily ever after!

Nagarajan Sivakumar said...

Congratulations to Althouse and Meade !

Zach, if they made a movie about the couple, I hope its titled "You've got Meade" :-)

XWL said...

Yeah Federalism!

And congratulations to you both.

Enjoy your un-rocky relationship solemnized on the Rockies.

Cupcake Princess said...

Congratulations and best wishes to you both! I am both envious of and impressed by how you went about getting hitched; it just seems so perfect. To many years of happiness!

TNbourbon said...

Best always, to both of you.

knox said...

It's official!! What a cool way to do it.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

Best wishes to you both and many happy years together.

hombre said...

May God bless both of you and your marriage.

DADvocate said...

I figured you were marrying when I read that line. Congratulations!!

It's pretty cool that you can solemnize your own vows in Colorado. More places should do that.

Doug Santo said...

Can't say I always agree with you, but I wish you and your husband health and happiness.

Doug santo
Pasadena, CA

Nichevo said...

Thank you, OhioAnne.

Is it really going to to go 84 comments without any snark? I suppose AA and Meade had to marry each other because no one else would do it? Or, more likely, "as a lawprof," Ann couldn't make do with any ordinary vows or any ordinary vowgiver. I guess she could marry herself better than any judge could marry her for her.

Now is this an active F-U to the judiciary? I suppose it's a good thing you don't practice.

Seriously, I have no notion of this marry-selves thing but if it felt good, I'm glad you did it. Mazel tov and many happy returns, and may all your troubles be little ones!

Patm said...

Congratulations Ann and Meade. One question, do you think it's the internet that has made us so impatient that a 6 day waiting period seems like a tremendous burden?

Hey, you found each other, you love each other, you will never yell to the other, "you spend all your damn time on that computer." It sounds like a match made in heaven. May you have 50 years together.

kjbe said...

Colorado rocks! What a great idea - I did not know you could do that. And you're right - I hope it spreads.

Swan-Island Studios said...

Wishing you many happy years together, Althouse and Meade. What a wonderful way to begin a new life together. And many thanks for the beautiful lesson in Federalism.

Best wishes! Congratulations!

Slainte!
Aine

s1c said...

May your Joys be many and may you both wifi yourselves to the next plane of existence.

s1c said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Beldar said...

Best wishes to you both.

Brad V said...

Profuse congratulations!

Chris said...

Congrats to you!

SGT Ted said...

Congratulations and Best Wishes, Ann and Meade!

Fred4Pres said...

Congratulations. And thank you for not live blogging it.

amba said...

At the risk of being (mis)taken to be sounding like Maxine (not at all my intention), I wonder where the kids are, since Meade had originally said "August 1, if all the kids can be there." It's certainly appropriate to marry each other alone; hope they will all celebrate with you soon.

Fred4Pres said...

Although Titus might want you to live blog the honeymoon, resist that too!

Mr. Bingley said...

Congratulations, and may you have a long and wonderful life together!

jamescbennett said...

Congratulations! My True Love and I snuck off to Yosemite to make it official a few years back. In CA we needed the help of a preacher and some random hikers to serve as witnesses, though. Being married rocks!

Freeman Hunt said...

Again, congratulations and all happiness to you.

JAL said...

Congratulations and best wishes for a blessed and lovely marriage.

You are special people.

(And what a way to avoid anyone drunk blogging your wedding ;-)!)

OhioAnne said...

I am still pondering the leap of faith aspect. A year ago, this day was probably far from your expectations. It took courage to suggest a meeting and courage to accept. It took even greater courage to dare to change the comfortable status quo.

Is there a "teachable moment" here for Althouse blog followers?

What would be possible for each of us a year from now if we had the courage to take a similar leap of faith?

Bob said...

Congratulations to you both. May your marriage be blessed and happy, and may the two of you have long years of joy together.

Golden West said...

Wonderful news - all best wishes to you both for much happiness together.

amba said...

Flexo: Couldn't the lecture have waited for another day?

And don't say Ann started it -- it's her day and Meade's.

Rich Beckman said...

Congratulations!

May today be the low point of your marriage.

Kirby Olson said...

I hope your love affair and now marriage stays as wild and far out as the west! Did you shoot apples off each other's head, or just kiss?

Best, Kirby

BJM said...

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind..."

Congratulations!

Kev said...

(the original Kev)

This afternoon, we drove from our hotel in Bachelor Gulch

That cracked me up. What a fitting place to spend your last unmarried night!

And since I neglected to say this part in the earlier thread, Best Wishes!

chickelit said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kev said...

One more thing:

Corky Boyd: Beautifully spoken. I haven't seen your name here before, so if this is your inaugural comment, let this baseball fan say that you hit it out of the park on your first trip to the plate.

chickelit said...

Congratulations (again) and best wishes!

Simon Hawkin said...

Congratulations, best wishes, and a happy life!

Unknown said...

You'll have to travel somewhere other than Colorado if that's the freedom you want.

Yup - And that means you have to leave the United States of America, because even a Massachusetts gay marriage is not recognized federally.

So until gay people have freedom, I choose not to recognize straight "marriages" and unfortunately, that means I can't recognize yours.

J. Pazzesco said...

Congratulation and best wishes to both of you.

Unknown said...

Late to the party, but congrats and a long marriage.

David R. Graham said...

In canon law of at least the Anglican Communion solemnization of marriage is the de facto reality, no matter how the liturgical forms make it seem otherwise. The marriage is performed by the marrying couple, period. The priest merely recognizes the act of marriage on behalf of the church and the state. The priest does not make it. The couple makes it.

The liturgical forms surrounding the actual marriage act, which is a solemnization, just as you did, invite the illusion that the church or the priest, as an instrument of the church and the state, makes the marriage happen, brings it into being.

But that is illusion, and a careful reading of the liturgical forms demonstrates, albeit not clearly to the uninitiated in canon law, that it is an illusion.

The couple marrying brings the marriage into being, they and they only, and the liturgical form actually expresses that fact, as can be seen from a careful reading of it.

I am unfamiliar with the canon law regarding marriage in Protestant, Reformed, Orthodox, Coptic, Syriac and Roman Catholic, etc. Christian denominations as well as in the numerous Christian lay monastic orders, such as Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite, etc.

But truth is, apart from financial considerations, which cannot have weighed upon you considering the expense you incurred for travel, food and lodging to create this condition of life, to achieve a solemnization of marriage -- marriage done by the marrying couple and no one else -- you could have done that before an Anglican (Episcopalian, etc.) Priest in an Anglican Sanctuary anywhere in the world, so long as you are a Communicant or the Priest is willing even though you are not.

newton said...

¡Felicidades!

Should you decide not to post or comment anything for the next three or four days, we all understand... ahem...

Again, ¡Felicidades!

Prosecutorial Indiscretion said...

Congratulations! May you both enjoy a long and happy life together.

Penny said...

This road trip you two are on is off to an EXCELLENT start!

Hopefully you don't mind that we put a "Just Married" sign on your roadster? Lem tied on the tin cans. Twice even!

Please imagine the rest of us throwing rice, confetti, and flower petals. Oh look! Someone let balloons fly in your honor.

We may not be there with you, but you know our hearts and minds surely are.

It's a beautiful day...

dhagood said...

congrats to you both, and may you have many happy years together.

by happenstance, i delivered fuel to eagle today, so your ability to purchase gasoline at the loaf and jug (a branded conoco station) is my wedding present to you both.

wish i could have gotten up there before they ran out of gas at about 3 pm :(

Kurt said...

Congratulations! Now that's a reason I never would have guessed! Best wishes for a happy life together!

jayemarr said...

I am torn between making the inevitable "Bellyache Ridge" joke and saying... congratulations! :-)

Beth said...

Happily ever after!

josil said...

Unfortunately, there is still no state where a polygamous marriage can take place. If one is open to SSM (for the usual reasons stated), polygamy should be equally accessible.

XWL said...

Out of curiousity, checking to see where Althouse was blogwise last August 3rd:

Gender issues
Dowd on Obama
Pics from the SM Pier (and discussion of men in shorts)
A heartfelt plee to judiciously apply some strict originalism to the constitution of sandwiches
Melrose Ave pics (which reminds me, I guess I should take some snaps there myself)
Fred Segals, Fish-Eyed, and not Fish-Eyed

Althouse managed six posts this August 3rd as well as in 2008, even while getting hitched, impressive consistency, that.

Interesting set of posts, though, the Dowd thing is a reminder of how ridiculous the press was with regards to Obama before the election, and the sandwich manifesto is probably something that deserves revisiting.

Again, congratulations to you both, it's a wonderful and daring thing both of you have done.

A.W. said...

congrats...

Unknown said...

Getting married is daring?

XWL said...

"Getting married is daring?"

Yes, considering the circumstances of their meeting, and the point in their respective personal narratives that they've already reached.

This sort of commitment takes a tremendous leap of faith, and leaps take daring.

Marrying is not the expected thing to do for couples like Meade and Althouse (older, both divorced), so they are both going against the grain, culturally speaking.

Chase said...

Congratulations to both of you.

Unknown said...

Mazel Tov!

Dody Jane said...

Isn't life grand? Congratulations!

Chris Farley said...

We all wish you a very happy, healthy and long life together.

Congratulations!

Debbie said...

Now that is just excellent! Congratulations and Blessings.

Anonymous said...

So until gay people have freedom, I choose not to recognize straight "marriages" and unfortunately, that means I can't recognize yours.

Thank God there will be no children to live with the stigma of DTL-bastardy.

section9 said...

Congratulations to Ann and Meade! May you have a Thousand Years of Happiness Together!

Perhaps you'll get another blurb in the Times.

Anyway, where is Sir Archy? He's a bit late to the party.

Ann Althouse said...

"At the risk of being (mis)taken to be sounding like Maxine (not at all my intention), I wonder where the kids are, since Meade had originally said "August 1, if all the kids can be there." It's certainly appropriate to marry each other alone; hope they will all celebrate with you soon."

August 1 was the date we originally pinpointed, because we wanted a Saturday on the theory that our kids would be able to travel then. When we decided to do the self-solemnization with just the 2 of us, we moved to Monday, because that's when the county office would be open.

Don't worry. We see our kids a lot. I don't think putting on a wedding show for them was key, and I really did not want a wedding.

reader_iam said...

Yesterday, I was thinking that was partly what the gathering in NC was about--a pre-celebration kind of thing.

froggyprager said...

Congratulations! May you have many years of romance and blog comments.

Kev said...

Anyway, where is Sir Archy? He's a bit late to the party.

Sir Archy made his appearance, with his usual eloquence, one thread up.

goesh said...

- very special, a bit moving even, thanks for sharing that, what a great start for your mutual happiness and growth and love - congrats Ms. Ann and hubby !

goesh said...

- very special, a bit moving even, thanks for sharing that, what a great start for your mutual happiness and growth and love - congrats Ms. Ann and hubby !

Jason said...

Where are the Elvises?

Duncan said...

Congratulations!

I should note, however that marriage is always performed by the couple (in the West). The officiant just observes and reports.

Even Christians who believe it's a sacrament (Catholics, Anglicans, Orthodox) believe that the sacramental act is committed by the couple. In fact, it's the only sacrament that is always performed by "civilians".

Ann Althouse said...

"Yesterday, I was thinking that was partly what the gathering in NC was about--a pre-celebration kind of thing."

That was the first chance for my sons to meet Meade, and the importance of that meeting is why we waited until August.

Ann Althouse said...

"One question, do you think it's the internet that has made us so impatient that a 6 day waiting period seems like a tremendous burden?"

It doesn't matter whether I am impatient or not. It is none of the state's business. I resent and oppose the state's patronizing attention to whether we know what we are doing.

Maxine Weiss said...

"Couples themselves may solemnize their own marriage (perform one's own marriage ceremony)."

There's a reason why hairdressers don't do their own hair. It's the same reason heart surgeons don't perform bypasses on themselves.

I realize how important it is to be original and creative. But, there's nothing original, or particularly creative about the institution of marriage.

The custom of having a third party officiant is because the two spouses cannot "seal" their own vows. A letter doesn't "seal" itself.

Love,

reader_iam said...

No, Maxine, no.

It is true that the institution of marriage is not particularly original, but the ways in which people knit their relationships within it, create space for themselves for each other, can take infinite forms. That's why it can be work, both joyful and hard.

As for your letter analogy ... it's the words that seal the meaning (intended and received) of a letter, not the strip that anybody, including a perfect stranger, can lick.

Charlie Eklund said...

Congratulations to both of you! May you have many years of joyful togetherness.

SukieTawdry said...

Congratulations, Mr. Althouse, and best wishes, Mrs. Meade. Live long and prosper.

jeremy said...

congrats!

i'm a may UW law grad and clued two Fort Collins friends into the same part of the law. the next day, they asked me to "officiate" the ceremony - at an organic farm, of course - where they solemnized their own wedding. it went off a hitch labor day weekend, everyone loved the "sermon" i concocted!

if i caught my cane last fall, does that mean their marriage will be especially...fruitful?

Earnest Prole said...

this makes me smile