First of all, thanks to everyone who attended, wished us well, and sent or brought something. Wow! We were really overwhelmed with the joy and generosity you showed us.
Second, a bunch of people asked about our vows. It was surprisingly difficult to find non-religious but meaningful vows. We looked at a bunch online; weirdly defensive atheist ones that said “without God or any other spiritual entity” several times, co-dependent phobic declarations and ones that were too cool to say anything very meaningful. We ended up writing our own, which I’m posting here for posterity. (Steve is our officiant’s name, in case you managed to miss that at the ceremony. He did a great job!)
***The questions to which we answered “I do” ***
Steve: Do you Deborah, take Ernie to be your lawfully wedded husband,
in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or
poorer, so long as you both shall live?
Deborah: I do!
Steve: Do you Ernie, take Deborah to be your lawfully wedded wife, in
good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer or
poorer, so long as you both shall live?
Ernie: I do!
Steve: Do you lovely people who are assembled here today, promise to
support Deborah and Ernie in their union, to offer support and comfort
when they need it and to accept support and comfort when you need it?
Lovely people: We will!
***Vows***
I take you, Ernie to be my husband.
I will continue to work with you to build a relationship founded on
honesty, respect, and trust.
I vow to honor and respect you for all that you are.
I will always support and encourage you.
I promise to challenge you, and to accept challenges from you.
I will join with you and our community to create a better world, where love and freedom are possible for all.
(Then Ernie said the same thing to me.)
Lastly, there are pictures available for perusing and/or purchasing prints of from our lovely photographer, Lindsay Metivier, please email us for the link to our gallery.
