Family members from Party A and Party B's family attended the solemn occasion.  It was great to have Craig's mom, Sally, drive all the way from Salem to be with her son.  Of course, Rob's family was amply represented.  It was intended to be an intimate affair - civil service at the county clerk's office followed by a restaurant dinner at Pasta Pelican in Alameda. 

When the Supreme Court of California announced it's decision to allow same sex marriages in May, Craig emailed the question, "Will you marry me?"   Rob replied that he would be honored to marry the man of his dreams.  Craig then wondered if he would be invited to the wedding.  Silly man.

Rob and Craig quickly began to make plans for their special day.  Immediately, they knew they wanted to have their wedding before November's election.   Why?  It makes a statement to say, "Please don't vote to take our marriage away!   Our love is not less meaningful than yours."

"I have always dreamed of having that fairy tale wedding," Rob asserts.  "It never seemed like something I would experience.  If you look at the majority of same sex couples rushing to get married, these are couples that have been together for 10, 15, 30 and even 50+ years.   Our community has always been represented as unable to committ to long term relationships or monogamy."

The couple made plans to take a week long vacation in Chicago way back in March, so the timing couldn't have been any better.  "We decided to time the wedding to our trip to Chicago in June and use it as our honeymoon," describes Craig.

Preparations leading up to the special event seemed endless.   They included picking the right suit and accessories to wear, selecting flowers and corsages for the wedding party, and the creation of individualized favors for each attendee.   Only five weeks separated the time from when the decision was made to go ahead with the wedding to the event itself.  The DML now appreciates the desire of many couples to elope and skip the hassle.

As always, many friends and relatives provided moral and logistical support to the couple.  Rob's sister Alice, helped contact the restaurant to reserve the upper floor.  Sister Melanie became the day's main coordinator as she picked up flowers from the florist and a cake from the bakery.  Melanie also suprised the couple by providing personalized favors, a wedding bouquet and fabulous table decorations.  Helping arrange the table decorations were nieces Danielle, Lindsey, Haley and Ashley.  Nephew Ryan served as videographer and did well by just staying out of the way.

With all the work that was required to pull it off, it still was a very simple event.   Two human beings love one another.   They want to committ their lives to each other for life.  They yearn for equal recognition of their relationship afforded to their straight brothers and sisters.

So on their very special day, Rob and Craig publicly declared their love to each other.  They vowed to support each other in good time and in bad.  And they experienced the power that comes from such a moving ritual surrounded by loving family and friends.

The Dirty Martini Lounge has one question:  How does their love endanger the sanctity of marriage as claimed by some equality foes?   A girl wants to know.  Seriously.