Friendship, Equality, and of course, Ice Cream Trucks

On Saturday, LoLo and I attended the wedding of a friend of mine that I have known since I was 5 years old. Chris was one of my first friends in school. In first grade, our teacher put me and Chris in the corner on bean bag chairs and told us to choose a chapter book and just read because the other kids needed to learn to read and we were giving away all the answers.

In high school, we were lab partners in Biology class, which probably wasn't a good idea because we were both extremely chatty. We loved laughing together and would make fun of ourselves when we didn't understand concepts. One time, we even celebrated because we both got 40's on a quiz. Our teacher tried to act upset with us but she couldn't hold in her laughter.

By senior year, we were named the Class Chatterboxes. Shocker,  I know. Please ignore my hair in the picture below. It was completely unruly in high school.

We're in the principal's office with tape on our mouths that says: "talking" with a \ through it.

Fast forward about 15 years to last summer. One stormy day while it was thundering and lightning, I heard the ice cream truck drive by, music blasting. And you all know about my obsession with the ice cream truck. I wrote on my facebook, "Why does the ice cream truck come when it's a huge storm but not when it's warm and sunny??". A few minutes later, Chris commented and said "That's weird! An ice cream truck just went by my house too!" I bet you know where this is going. Turns out, Chris lives on my tiny street.

Saturday, we had the honor of celebrating the wedding of Chris to his partner of four years, Max. I've only known Max for a year, but I knew right from the start that he was perfect for Chris. He has a calming presence that is the perfect complement to Chris's loud, over-the-top (but always super fun) personality.

Their ceremony was short and sweet. They wrote vows for each other and in typical Chris fashion, he made sure that through the tears of joy, there was also laughter. After Max finished his beautifully written vows, Chris said, "That's what I had written!". And then he proceeded to read his own vows that were just as tear-worthy.

Max reading his vows to Chris

Today, they are off to their honeymoon in Europe. They're even making a stop in the Swiss Alps so Chris can yell "RIIIIIIICOLAAAAAA!!!" (I'm not even joking. Chris told me he was going to do that. See now why he and I are friends??)

Throughout the wedding, all I could think was: Why can't this wedding be legally recognized?! Their true love for each other was obvious. I could see the way they looked at each other. It was the same way me and LoLo looked on our wedding day: like there was no one else around. Their vows were just as sincere as mine and LoLo's. They made the same promises, felt the same emotions, exchanged rings just like me and LoLo. So then, why should LoLo's and my love get to be recognized by society and the government, but not theirs?

I was happy they decided to have this celebration, despite the fact that they couldn't receive a marriage certificate afterwards the same way LoLo and I did. I have no doubt that their partnership is forever and that one day, that commitment will be recognized by the government. But Saturday, their commitment was recognized by the people that matter most: their friends and family.

Old friends

Thank you Chris and Max for letting me and LoLo be a part of your beautiful celebration. It was an honor to share such a special day with you.