Before I could say anything, someone from inside the main church opened the double doors. My groom and I found ourselves looking down this long aisle, at the end of which stood Reverend Susan in her clerical robes, holding her book open in front of her and smiling up the aisle at us. On either side of the aisle were pews that were FULL of well-dressed people. The church was PACKED, and I felt my pulse quicken and drew a very deep breath. I could feel Todd tense up perceptibly, his grip on my arm tightening.
This is our WEDDING! I heard my own voice say in my head, almost as if in a dream.
Abruptly, the organist hit the keys and started playing The Wedding March. Todd and I took our first step, as with the first note everyone in the pews stood up and turned to look at us as my groom and I walked in lockstep, heel-to-toe, heel-to-toe, every so slowly down the aisle.
As real as things had started to feel previously, in the hours and minutes leading up to the wedding, the strains of The Wedding March made the reality rise fully up in me now. I'd always imagined there'd be a wedding in my future, but I'd expected there'd be a bride on my arm wearing a huge white, lacy gown and a veil. Instead, here I was, all buttoned up and formal, with my identically-clad groom on my arm, walking down the aisle.
This is our WEDDING! repeated in my head. I'm a GROOM, this is my WEDDING, and I'm being wed to my GROOM!
Todd had said, right before we'd started down the aisle, that he'd been looking forward to this, and it occurred to me now that so had I. This may have been a "mock wedding" up until a few minutes ago. Now, however, as far as I was concerned, this was my wedding! I was very much a groom, all suited and buttoned-up and bow tied, with my equally-formal groom nervously grasping my arm as we walked down the aisle to be wed!
I'm a GROOM! This is my WEDDING! My groom and I are being WED! continued to run through my head as we continued down the aisle. Never had I felt such a deep sense of romantic feeling running through me.
In my stiff collar, I was trying not to move my head too much, but halfway down the aisle I caught sight of the two girls from the apartment complex. They were wearing very nice dresses, the kind they'd probably wear to church on Sundays, and smiling broadly at me.
I'm a groom . . .
Todd and I approached the three steps leading up to where we'd be standing in front of Reverend Susan. We took the steps one at a time as The Wedding March drew to an end.
. . . this is my wedding . . .
Here we finally stood, arm-in-arm, facing Reverend Susan. Todd and I turned our heads ever so slightly and smiled nervously.
. . . and I'm being wed to my groom!
"Dearly beloved," Reverend Susan began, "we are gathered here today to bear witness as these two grooms, Frank and Todd, are wed one to another in the holy union of marriage. If there is anyone here who has any reason that these two grooms should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Nobody said anything, naturally.
"Marriage is an institution not to be entered into lightly," Reverend Susan went on, "but to be entered into for life. With this in mind, I now ask our two grooms to state their intentions in presenting themselves here today."
Turning to me, Reverend Susan looked at me over her book.
"Frank, for what reason have you come here today?" she asked.
"To be wed to my groom," I responded, trying to speak clearly, although I could feel the slight trembling in my voice and could feel my heart racing.
"And do you come here freely and without reservation?" she continued.
"I do," I replied, following up with a deep breath.
"And Todd," she said, turning to look at my groom, "for what reason do you come here today?"
"To be wed to my groom," he trembled, his voice a little more shaky than mine.
"And do you come here freely and without reservation?"
"I do."
"Inasmuch as these two grooms have stated their mutual intention of being wed one to another in this holy union," Reverend Susan said, "I now ask that they face eachother and join hands for the exchange of their wedding vows."
Todd slipped his right arm out of my left as we turned to eachother. We joined hands, stepping just a little closer to eachother. I couldn't tell if it were his hands trembling or mine, or both.
"Frank," intoned Reverend Susan, "repeat these words to your groom:
"I, Frank . . . "
"I, Frank . . . " I repeated, my eyes locked on my groom's.
" . . . wed thee, Todd . . . "
" . . . wed thee, Todd . . . "
" . . . as my groom . . . "
" . . . as my groom . . . "
" . . . to have and to hold from this day forward," I continued to repeat, "forsaking all others. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad . . . in sickness and in health . . . in richness and in poorness. I promise to love you . . . to honor you . . . and to cherish you . . .
as long as we both shall live."
"Todd," Reverend Susan said to my groom, "repeat these words to your groom: 'I, Todd,' "
"I, Todd," he recited, breathing deeply, his eyes looking moist, "wed thee, Frank . . . as my groom . . . to have and to hold from this day forward . . . forsaking all others. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad . . . in sickness and in health . . . in richness and in poorness. I promise to love you . . . to honor you . . . and to cherish you . . .
as long as we both shall live."
Reverend Susan smiled and gestured very subtly at us . We released hands, although I kept my groom's right hand in mine, slipped his arm back through my left arm, and turned once again to face Reverend Susan. I kept my right hand on his, and could feel him give my arm a tight squeeze."
"The rings," Reverend Susan said. Linda stepped forward and place two rings on the open pages of Reverend Susan's book, then went back to her place in the front row.
"The wedding rings are a symbol of union," Reverend Susan went on, keeping her book level so the rings wouldn't slide off, "and the unbroken union into which you're entering."
Reverend Susan held her book slightly in my direction. Todd released my left arm and I picked up the ring closest to me, and Todd and I faced eachother once again.
"Frank," Reverend Susan instructed as I took Todd's left hand in mine, "place the ring on your groom's finger with the words, 'With this ring . . .' "
"With this ring," I said, sliding the ring onto Todd's left hand ring finger.
" . . . I thee wed."
"I thee wed," I finished as the ring reached its destination. We smiled at eachother and turned back to Reverend Susan.
"Todd," she said, turning to my groom, and he picked up the remaining ring from her book, "place the ring on your groom's finger with the words, 'With this ring . . . "
"With this ring," he said, his voice shaking, as he slipped the ring onto my finger.
" . . . I thee wed."
"I thee wed," he finished, his eyes moist again, and I found my own feeling moist as well as I swallowed hard. My right hand drew his right hand through my left arm once again as we faced Reverend Susan once more. She leaned forward and put her hand on our right hands that were clasped in the crook of my left arm.
"Congratulations!" she whispered to us.
"Inasmuch as these two grooms," she announced, " have stated their intent of being wed one to another, and in furtherance of that intent have exchanged wedding vows and wedding rings, it is by the power vested in me by the Metropolitan Community Church that I now pronounce that they are wed, as groom to groom!"
We are wed!
"You may now kiss your groom!" she concluded.
I turned toward my groom, my breath coming short. Our hands met, and slid up eachother's forearms as we stepped closer. Todd's hands reached up to rest on my lapels. He still looked like a study in nervousness, his face pale and seemingly mounted on his stiff white collar and bow tie. My own collar suddenly seemed tighter as it occurred to me that I'd never kissed a guy before!
You may now kiss your groom!
With Todd's hands on my lapels, I drew him closer, the starched fronts of our white shirts touching. Our eyes closed simultaneously as our lips neared eachother, then touched for a light, soft kiss. Pulling apart slightly, our eyes opened and we both smiled. Our eyes closed again as our lips came back together, this time for a more prolonged kiss. Organ music started playing, seemingly far away, as the organist began the wedding recessional.
We are WED! rang through my head.
Our kiss went from light and soft to a long, deep, romantic kiss.
Our WEDDING kiss! I thought, becoming conscious of how closely pressed together we were. One thing that stood out was that I could feel our bow ties touching, and it was kind of driving me crazy. I wondered if I'd been this aroused through the entire wedding. Pressed against eachother as we were, I could tell that the feeling was mutual.
This is our WEDDING! I heard my own voice say in my head, almost as if in a dream.
Abruptly, the organist hit the keys and started playing The Wedding March. Todd and I took our first step, as with the first note everyone in the pews stood up and turned to look at us as my groom and I walked in lockstep, heel-to-toe, heel-to-toe, every so slowly down the aisle.
As real as things had started to feel previously, in the hours and minutes leading up to the wedding, the strains of The Wedding March made the reality rise fully up in me now. I'd always imagined there'd be a wedding in my future, but I'd expected there'd be a bride on my arm wearing a huge white, lacy gown and a veil. Instead, here I was, all buttoned up and formal, with my identically-clad groom on my arm, walking down the aisle.
This is our WEDDING! repeated in my head. I'm a GROOM, this is my WEDDING, and I'm being wed to my GROOM!
Todd had said, right before we'd started down the aisle, that he'd been looking forward to this, and it occurred to me now that so had I. This may have been a "mock wedding" up until a few minutes ago. Now, however, as far as I was concerned, this was my wedding! I was very much a groom, all suited and buttoned-up and bow tied, with my equally-formal groom nervously grasping my arm as we walked down the aisle to be wed!
I'm a GROOM! This is my WEDDING! My groom and I are being WED! continued to run through my head as we continued down the aisle. Never had I felt such a deep sense of romantic feeling running through me.
In my stiff collar, I was trying not to move my head too much, but halfway down the aisle I caught sight of the two girls from the apartment complex. They were wearing very nice dresses, the kind they'd probably wear to church on Sundays, and smiling broadly at me.
I'm a groom . . .
Todd and I approached the three steps leading up to where we'd be standing in front of Reverend Susan. We took the steps one at a time as The Wedding March drew to an end.
. . . this is my wedding . . .
Here we finally stood, arm-in-arm, facing Reverend Susan. Todd and I turned our heads ever so slightly and smiled nervously.
. . . and I'm being wed to my groom!
"Dearly beloved," Reverend Susan began, "we are gathered here today to bear witness as these two grooms, Frank and Todd, are wed one to another in the holy union of marriage. If there is anyone here who has any reason that these two grooms should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Nobody said anything, naturally.
"Marriage is an institution not to be entered into lightly," Reverend Susan went on, "but to be entered into for life. With this in mind, I now ask our two grooms to state their intentions in presenting themselves here today."
Turning to me, Reverend Susan looked at me over her book.
"Frank, for what reason have you come here today?" she asked.
"To be wed to my groom," I responded, trying to speak clearly, although I could feel the slight trembling in my voice and could feel my heart racing.
"And do you come here freely and without reservation?" she continued.
"I do," I replied, following up with a deep breath.
"And Todd," she said, turning to look at my groom, "for what reason do you come here today?"
"To be wed to my groom," he trembled, his voice a little more shaky than mine.
"And do you come here freely and without reservation?"
"I do."
"Inasmuch as these two grooms have stated their mutual intention of being wed one to another in this holy union," Reverend Susan said, "I now ask that they face eachother and join hands for the exchange of their wedding vows."
Todd slipped his right arm out of my left as we turned to eachother. We joined hands, stepping just a little closer to eachother. I couldn't tell if it were his hands trembling or mine, or both.
"Frank," intoned Reverend Susan, "repeat these words to your groom:
"I, Frank . . . "
"I, Frank . . . " I repeated, my eyes locked on my groom's.
" . . . wed thee, Todd . . . "
" . . . wed thee, Todd . . . "
" . . . as my groom . . . "
" . . . as my groom . . . "
" . . . to have and to hold from this day forward," I continued to repeat, "forsaking all others. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad . . . in sickness and in health . . . in richness and in poorness. I promise to love you . . . to honor you . . . and to cherish you . . .
as long as we both shall live."
"Todd," Reverend Susan said to my groom, "repeat these words to your groom: 'I, Todd,' "
"I, Todd," he recited, breathing deeply, his eyes looking moist, "wed thee, Frank . . . as my groom . . . to have and to hold from this day forward . . . forsaking all others. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad . . . in sickness and in health . . . in richness and in poorness. I promise to love you . . . to honor you . . . and to cherish you . . .
as long as we both shall live."
Reverend Susan smiled and gestured very subtly at us . We released hands, although I kept my groom's right hand in mine, slipped his arm back through my left arm, and turned once again to face Reverend Susan. I kept my right hand on his, and could feel him give my arm a tight squeeze."
"The rings," Reverend Susan said. Linda stepped forward and place two rings on the open pages of Reverend Susan's book, then went back to her place in the front row.
"The wedding rings are a symbol of union," Reverend Susan went on, keeping her book level so the rings wouldn't slide off, "and the unbroken union into which you're entering."
Reverend Susan held her book slightly in my direction. Todd released my left arm and I picked up the ring closest to me, and Todd and I faced eachother once again.
"Frank," Reverend Susan instructed as I took Todd's left hand in mine, "place the ring on your groom's finger with the words, 'With this ring . . .' "
"With this ring," I said, sliding the ring onto Todd's left hand ring finger.
" . . . I thee wed."
"I thee wed," I finished as the ring reached its destination. We smiled at eachother and turned back to Reverend Susan.
"Todd," she said, turning to my groom, and he picked up the remaining ring from her book, "place the ring on your groom's finger with the words, 'With this ring . . . "
"With this ring," he said, his voice shaking, as he slipped the ring onto my finger.
" . . . I thee wed."
"I thee wed," he finished, his eyes moist again, and I found my own feeling moist as well as I swallowed hard. My right hand drew his right hand through my left arm once again as we faced Reverend Susan once more. She leaned forward and put her hand on our right hands that were clasped in the crook of my left arm.
"Congratulations!" she whispered to us.
"Inasmuch as these two grooms," she announced, " have stated their intent of being wed one to another, and in furtherance of that intent have exchanged wedding vows and wedding rings, it is by the power vested in me by the Metropolitan Community Church that I now pronounce that they are wed, as groom to groom!"
We are wed!
"You may now kiss your groom!" she concluded.
I turned toward my groom, my breath coming short. Our hands met, and slid up eachother's forearms as we stepped closer. Todd's hands reached up to rest on my lapels. He still looked like a study in nervousness, his face pale and seemingly mounted on his stiff white collar and bow tie. My own collar suddenly seemed tighter as it occurred to me that I'd never kissed a guy before!
You may now kiss your groom!
With Todd's hands on my lapels, I drew him closer, the starched fronts of our white shirts touching. Our eyes closed simultaneously as our lips neared eachother, then touched for a light, soft kiss. Pulling apart slightly, our eyes opened and we both smiled. Our eyes closed again as our lips came back together, this time for a more prolonged kiss. Organ music started playing, seemingly far away, as the organist began the wedding recessional.
We are WED! rang through my head.
Our kiss went from light and soft to a long, deep, romantic kiss.
Our WEDDING kiss! I thought, becoming conscious of how closely pressed together we were. One thing that stood out was that I could feel our bow ties touching, and it was kind of driving me crazy. I wondered if I'd been this aroused through the entire wedding. Pressed against eachother as we were, I could tell that the feeling was mutual.