If you recall, Tom and I decided to have our civil ceremony in New Haven CT on September 7th. Originally our plan was to simply pick a day and the two of us just drive up there and get hitched. Our thinking was – this wasn’t the real ceremony, this was just the paperwork that made our real ceremony legal (As you know, our real ceremony was in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, on October 17 but those blogs will follow). Still, we couldn’t deny that this was in fact a big deal and slowly we started to treat it like a seperate little wedding anyway, despite our original feelings.
After a bit of contemplating (since now we wanted to make it a slightly bigger deal) we started thinking about who to invite to join us. After careful consideration, we decided to invite our wedding party to join us for the civil ceremony. Four of the six were able to join us. We met on the stairs of Town Hall at around 12:15. It was a beautiful day and Kelly Prizel was there to capture every moment.
As we arrived, our friend Anne pinned on our boutineers before we headed to the Office of Vital Statistics.
Apparently we were lucky because there wasn’t a line (It was a Tuesday). The lady at the counter said it was a good day to get married! She stated that Mondays and Wednesdays are the busiest wedding days (for those of you planning now).
After completing the form, we were told that Barbara, our justice of the peace, would be out in just a moment. Barbara was the sweetest woman in the world. She asked us where we “wanted to do this,” and Tom and I decided to take the advice of Kelly and chose the alcove upstairs between two doors, on a gray round rug. A wedding in the round seemed very fitting to us and I just loved the doorways and clock.
Tom and I held hands very tightly. Actually, I think it was just me holding on very tightly… I was very nervous and excited and emotional.
The ceremony was a lot longer than I had imagined. Barbara talked about love and our union and what it means before we made our way to the vows. During the vows, Tom was the first to say “I do.” His voice was clear and certain. I went second in my best broken, choked-up speech. After the ceremony Tom and I thanked Barbara before grabbing all of our friends and smothering them with hugs and kisses. We were so happy! We have been together almost 10 years. If you think about it, gay marriage wasn’t even legal then. It was a very heavy and wonderful moment.
We were finally legally married!
Following the ceremony, Tom and I had a little photoshoot with Kelly before moving to the park where we enjoyed dom perignon and lemon cake. It was a wonderful day!
Brian: Tie and Vest – Men’s Warehouse, Pants – Perry Ellis from Macys, Shirt – H&M, Shoes – Leather Converse from DSW
Tom: Tie , Pants and Vest from Men’s Warehouse, Shirt – Macys, Shoes – Cole Hahn
Cake: Del Friscos
Photography: Kelly Prizel
Brian & Tom–I love it! I’m so glad you invited a few people along to witness the big day (even if the next one was even bigger!) and with Kelly, too! You look radiant, and I don’t think I realized how long you had been together! Congrats you, two!
You guys are so handsome!! I can’t wait to see pics from Mexico!!
Thanks Erica!! Yeah – sometimes I don’t realize how long we’ve been together. Pretty shocking. LOL
Thanks Tami! I hope to post them soon. I have seen a few teaser shots but I’m waiting for the real deal from my photographer. I should be posting them soon. :)