Partner A & Partner B
This was a confidentail wedding, not available to public review here in California. It was the first same sex ceremony I performed that was a legal marriage.

DR: As many of you know, Partner B and Partner A come to this marriage with history. They come with the advantage of decades of partnership.

This is the advantage of a love that grows over time, Of love that builds on recognition, and inclusion, on work, and on playfulness.
They have built intimacy on a foundation of knowledge and experience in addition to hope, and expectation.

Partner A and Partner B share affection based on familiarity and passion discovered not in the superficial features we present in the beginning of relationships, but in the deep aspects of character we disclose over years of trust, of caring and of accepting what is found in the other.

And, now they ask you all to witness as their two lives become one.

We are at a unique point in history, when any couple who wish to publicly declare their love may marry in the eyes of the state. This ceremony is not only a celebration of the life long love between these two men, but also a celebration of freedom for everyone, freedom to live their life freely, honestly and openly in a diverse society.
Is there any lawful reason why these two should not be joined in marriage here today?

PK:

Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society. For those who choose to marry, and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial, and social benefits. In return it imposes weighty legal, financial, and social obligations....Without question, marriage enhances the "welfare of the community." It is a "social institution of the highest importance." ... Marriage also bestows enormous private and social advantages on those who choose to marry. Marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family.... Because it fulfils yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self-definition.


DR: Partner B; do you wish to marry Partner A here today?

Partner B : I do.

PK: Partner A; Do you wish to marry Partner B here today?

Peter: I do.

VOWS:

PK: You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days. Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God. But let there be spaces in your togetherness, And let the winds of heavens dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping. For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts. And stand together yet not too near together: For the pillars of the temple stand apart, And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

DR: Will you exchange rings?

The partners hand each other rings.

PK: Partner B Place this ring on Partner As finger and repeat after me, … with this ring I thee wed.

DR: Partner A, Place this ring on Partner B’s finger and repeat after me, … with this ring I thee wed.

PK: With that, I pronounce you to be married for as long as you both shall live.

DR: In a moment I am going to ask you to kiss your partner. You have kissed thousands of times, but this kiss will be different. This kiss is your first married kiss. It is a promise to your partner. A promise to work everyday to preserve the love you have offered and accepted here today. Please kiss your partner.

PK: It is with pleasure we introduce,

DR: Uh, Partner A and Partner B?!
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