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We're Doing It!
Dec. 23rd, 2013 02:00 pmToday, we submitted our application for marriage!!
We have been telling friends for at least 5 years that when it's legal in NJ, we're going to get married. So: WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!!
1) For one, I never thought I would get married, even though Matt and I have been together for just shy of a decade:
2) I'm gay; never thought it would never be possible, though I used to fantasize about it.
3) I didn't think that I would ever want to settle down with someone - one person - for the rest of my life; this attitude came from my extensive years as a single man.
4) It didn't seem that NJ would provide marriage equality any time soon for us to get married here.
5) Neither one of us wanted to get married in another state (NY, CT, MA, etc.) and crossing into our home state, whose laws and/or constitution would render us divorced, unmarried, or legal strangers. Prior to marriage equality, married same-sex couples from other states were not recognized in NJ as married and had to get a civil union or domestic partnership..
Then, all of a sudden - almost overnight, it seemed - it was legal for us to get married in NJ!! We were on our way out of town when we got the news. Only two friends - a couple - called us to ask if we were going to hold to our promise. And we both said, "YES!! ABSOLUTELY!! It's just that we're on our way out of town!" We promptly went online to Amazon to purchase tentative rings for whenever our legal ceremony would happen. We ordered three rings apiece, which we will wear interchangeably till our marriage celebration. Then we'll have real rings to give each other. These interim rings will become Christmas ornaments or used at times when we don't care if we lose them or they get stolen.
Given the marriage application, licensing, and ceremony stuff here in NJ - that neither of us knew anything about - nothing was going to happen anyway for at least three days from the day we submitted our application. The news of NJ's new marriage equality came through just over 2 months ago, and we finally got our act together and submitted our application in our township this morning. A friend of ours from down the hill was our application witness and we'll have two other friends be our ceremony witnesses. The girl who worked on our application this morning seems to be family. She reminded me of Peppermint Patty, but prettier.
Thursday, I'm picking up the license from around the corner from our place. Next week, we're getting married!! It will be a simple civil ceremony at the courthouse in Hackensack (NJ - yes, the town in that Billy Joel song!) on Dec. 31. A great day for New Beginnings!
We slowed our initial marriage gusto a bit when we heard that our governor withdrew his appeal to oppose the NJ Supreme Court's decision to allow marriages to begin. Our governor has tried everything possible to make marriage equality impossible in NJ; it has honestly been so embarassing to be the last mid-Atlantic state above the Mason Dixon Line to allow marriage equality. He even went on record to say that if his own child was gay, he would tell his child that s/he should not be allowed to marry the person of their choice. So, initially we were afraid that we had to get married by the end of the year, so that if he appealed, we would stand with the throngs of married couples in a lawsuit against the governor. But, thankfully, we didn't have to be put in that position and we considered waiting until the actual celebration simultaneously to make it legal. But, the activist in me really wanted the "2013" date stamp on our license.
Frankly, I don't think anything spiritually or emotionally will change. At a later date, we'll plan a celebration - perhaps in 2014 or 2015. No rush since the legal stuff will be done. It'll certainly be interesting to be able to file our taxes as a married couple. THAT will definitely be a change!! Plus, once all the legal stuff is done, I think I'll put Matthew on my health and auto insurance policies, since they're both less expensive than his.
Above all, we're VERY excited at this new stage in our lives. We've been calling each other "husband" for years, but now it'll be HUSBAND!! OFFICIALLY! WOOHOO!!
1) For one, I never thought I would get married, even though Matt and I have been together for just shy of a decade:
2) I'm gay; never thought it would never be possible, though I used to fantasize about it.
3) I didn't think that I would ever want to settle down with someone - one person - for the rest of my life; this attitude came from my extensive years as a single man.
4) It didn't seem that NJ would provide marriage equality any time soon for us to get married here.
5) Neither one of us wanted to get married in another state (NY, CT, MA, etc.) and crossing into our home state, whose laws and/or constitution would render us divorced, unmarried, or legal strangers. Prior to marriage equality, married same-sex couples from other states were not recognized in NJ as married and had to get a civil union or domestic partnership..
Then, all of a sudden - almost overnight, it seemed - it was legal for us to get married in NJ!! We were on our way out of town when we got the news. Only two friends - a couple - called us to ask if we were going to hold to our promise. And we both said, "YES!! ABSOLUTELY!! It's just that we're on our way out of town!" We promptly went online to Amazon to purchase tentative rings for whenever our legal ceremony would happen. We ordered three rings apiece, which we will wear interchangeably till our marriage celebration. Then we'll have real rings to give each other. These interim rings will become Christmas ornaments or used at times when we don't care if we lose them or they get stolen.
Given the marriage application, licensing, and ceremony stuff here in NJ - that neither of us knew anything about - nothing was going to happen anyway for at least three days from the day we submitted our application. The news of NJ's new marriage equality came through just over 2 months ago, and we finally got our act together and submitted our application in our township this morning. A friend of ours from down the hill was our application witness and we'll have two other friends be our ceremony witnesses. The girl who worked on our application this morning seems to be family. She reminded me of Peppermint Patty, but prettier.
Thursday, I'm picking up the license from around the corner from our place. Next week, we're getting married!! It will be a simple civil ceremony at the courthouse in Hackensack (NJ - yes, the town in that Billy Joel song!) on Dec. 31. A great day for New Beginnings!
We slowed our initial marriage gusto a bit when we heard that our governor withdrew his appeal to oppose the NJ Supreme Court's decision to allow marriages to begin. Our governor has tried everything possible to make marriage equality impossible in NJ; it has honestly been so embarassing to be the last mid-Atlantic state above the Mason Dixon Line to allow marriage equality. He even went on record to say that if his own child was gay, he would tell his child that s/he should not be allowed to marry the person of their choice. So, initially we were afraid that we had to get married by the end of the year, so that if he appealed, we would stand with the throngs of married couples in a lawsuit against the governor. But, thankfully, we didn't have to be put in that position and we considered waiting until the actual celebration simultaneously to make it legal. But, the activist in me really wanted the "2013" date stamp on our license.
Frankly, I don't think anything spiritually or emotionally will change. At a later date, we'll plan a celebration - perhaps in 2014 or 2015. No rush since the legal stuff will be done. It'll certainly be interesting to be able to file our taxes as a married couple. THAT will definitely be a change!! Plus, once all the legal stuff is done, I think I'll put Matthew on my health and auto insurance policies, since they're both less expensive than his.
Above all, we're VERY excited at this new stage in our lives. We've been calling each other "husband" for years, but now it'll be HUSBAND!! OFFICIALLY! WOOHOO!!
