Sitting high above the West Village, the penthouse is awash in white plaster with a large terrace flanked by patinated copper panels and standing tables lined with sunflowers, the view overlooking the Hudson to Jersey. Along the walls, white trellises display a barrage of personal photos, displaying past happy memories.
The Time of Day: Dusk
Really, an almost too perfect pre-sunset hour. Everything is golden, and the sky is pristinely clear. The humidity is a bit much, but hey, you can't have it all.
The Guests: A Huge Group of Celebrants.
Young, old, gay, straight, black, white, yellow, brown. All there with joy, love, and anticipation.
The Participants: Christopher Totten and Jeremy Ritz.
Two dapper young men in charcoal grey suits. Slick, sophisticated, idiosyncratic, and oh so debonaire.
The Occasion: The Wedding of the Year!
Yes, my friends, I got lucky. I attended the wedding of the year. With the two grooms of the year. Surrounded by friends, family, love, and lot's of humor. In a state where they can legally show the world their care and affection. Excuse me if I gush, but that is something worth rejoicing.
The ceremony started with a simple processional of groomsmen and maids, followed by the two grooms, each on the arm of his mother. After the processional up the stairs to the loft, the officiant began the ceremony. Now my recollection is a bit hazy at this point, but tears will do that to your memory. What I do remember includes anecdotes from the wedding officiant about not knowing Jeremy without Christopher and Christopher without Jeremy, a reading of "The Places You'll Go" by Topher's sisters, the lighting of the Unity Candle, and the individual vows, by which point my memory completely short circuits (damn you, tears!). I suppose that's as it should be.
However, what I will always remember, is the rightness of the occasion. Of any couple I know, Jeremy and Toph deserve to be together. They have always felt right with each other. The care of their regard for each other, the encouragement they provide to each other, and the humor they always exhibit is astounding. Look no further than the waiting area for the restroom, which played "The Wizard of Oz" on loop in front of a phalanx of couches. Special memories right there. I learn something every single time I see them together, and to share with them the moment when they made public the decision to commit themselves to each other is a moment I will take with me everywhere. They have taught me the very example of what love looks and feels like, how to savor it when it comes, how to show it to others, and that it comes from many places in many forms. That is it's own unique magic. Somewhere over the rainbow, indeed.
