#Nondenominational Wedding Officiant
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Magical December Weddings in the South: Embrace the Season with Tradition, Romance, and the Perfect Officiant
December Weddings in the South: A Season of Magic, Rituals, and Timeless Traditions There’s something genuinely magical about December weddings in the South. The crisp air, the twinkling holiday lights, and the warm embrace of family and friends create an atmosphere of warmth, beauty, and reverence for love. Whether planning a cozy indoor ceremony or an elegant outdoor celebration, a December…
#BrideGoals#CandlelitCeremony#DecemberWeddings#EvergreenWeddings#FemaleOfficiant#FestiveWeddings#HolidayWeddings#KellePressley#LoveInDecember#NewYearWeddings#SouthernCharm#SouthernElegance#SouthernWeddings#WeddingInspiration#WeddingOfficiant#WeddingSymbols#WeddingTraditions#WinterRomance#WinterWeddingColors#WinterWeddings#Jabela The WEdding Officiant#Nondenominational Wedding Officiant
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Georgia Wedding Officiants Same-Day Elopement Short-Notice Gwinnett Courthouse Sign Marriage License Atlanta Ministers Top 5 Ga. Wedding Chapels Gwinnett County Courthouse Wedding, Lawrenceville Ga. Justice of Peace 770-963-7472 by THOMAS JOHNSON Via Flickr: Officiant Near Me Ga. Wedding, Atlanta Gwinnett Ga. Same-Day Short-Notice Elopement Wedding Chapel Celebrity Officiant Justice of Peace to Marry – Sign Courthouse Marriage License
#atlanta#weddings#officiant#bilingual#chapels#churches#courthouse#elope#marry#georgia#ministers#reverend#vows#pastors#priests#vendors#religious#nondenominational#gwinnett#planner#justiceofpeace#judges#rings#dayof coordinator#god#preacher#bridal#reception#rehearsal#license
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Dress and Tux Shopping (Andrew DeLuca x Alex Karev’s Sister Wedding Imagine)
Age Rating: 12+
Chapters: One of One
Fandom: Grey’s Anatomy
Ship: Andrew DeLuca x Amber Karev (Alex Karev’s Sister)
Canon Episode: Season 17 Episode 17
AN: Here’s another chapter for you guys! Like and reblog below and let me know what you think.
Summary: Amber and the girls go wedding dress shopping while the man go tuxedo shopping.
Words: 2762
December 26th, 2020
Andrew puts the single buttoned dinner jacket over his white dress shirt inspecting himself in the full body mirror with Alex and Jackson inside the dressing rooms getting ready as well. The Tuxedo Club is only occupied with the men who all wear masks.
“Is a tux too much?” Andrew asks the guys feeling overdressed for a speedy court wedding, “I mean you two got married in the courthouse was a tux really appreciated when you stood in front of a judge for 10 minutes and recited old vows made by the state?”
Jackson comes out in a navy-blue suit with a black dress shirt and navy-blue tie, “Um I wore a suit with no tie and April wore a white dress I helped her pick out at a clothing store that was open at the dead of night. Of course, we got a minister, so it was a little bit different from a judge.”
“I thought you said you did a courthouse wedding?” Andrew asks picking out a black bow tie.
“No we did a hasty wedding.” Jackson explains buttoning his suit, “We got a nondenominational minister and got married in a garden overlooking Lake Tahoe.”
“Lake Tahoe?” Andrew asks confused wrapping the tie under his collar, “For a hasty wedding you sure went a long way out of town to do the ceremony.”
Jackson chuckles, “Yeah it’s uh it’s a really long story.”
Alex scoffs stepping out in a black suit with a red tie, “It’s really not, Avery stood up at Kepner’s wedding to Matthew, professed his love and they ran away and got hitched. It was like a freaking Julia Roberts movie in real life.”
Jackson tsks at that short explanation, “Okay maybe it wasn’t that long of a story.”
Andrew looks shocked at that story, “Wow and here I thought Jo and Alex had an eventful wedding.”
“Remind me to tell you the story of my first wedding.” Alex says amused before looking at himself in the mirror pleased with the results, “It’s not bad, it’s definitely something I can rent without getting it dirty because this is gonna be the shortest wedding in the world.”
“I am not complaining about that.” Jackson agrees with his friend, “As long as I get to my flight at 9 I will officiate them if need be.”
Andrew struggles to tie his bowtie and takes it off, “Forget it, I’m going tieless.”
Jackson grins at that, “Amber is cool, she’s not expecting you in a top hat or a long coat she just wants you there and say the words back to her and the judge. And you better say them otherwise-”
“Your gonna declare your love and run off with her too?” Alex jokes with Andrew chuckling finding that funny as well.
Jackson mockingly grins at them, “Funny, I missed your insults the most in Boston.”
“Look don’t worry gentlemen I am not running away this time.” Andrew declares to his fiancé’s protectors, “After the year we have had and the amount of work I put into earning Amber’s trust again I am not gonna screw up the best thing that happened to me if I can help it. I’m gonna walk down to that courthouse and say those words a thousand times if I have to as long as I get to marry that gorgeous woman.”
Alex smirks impressed, “Wow you really do love her.”
Andrew smiles facing himself in the mirror, “I love her so much.”
Jackson pats his arm giving him his approval as well, “Put a ring on her.”
Andrew nods with a grin before Alex speaks with a grin, “One last thing.”
“I know the big brother speech your about to give.” Andrew says facing Alex, “If I hurt her you’ll kill me.”
“No, she’ll kill you.” Alex corrects causing Andrew to frown at that hard truth with Jackson chuckling.
“Yeah, she most definitely will.” Jackson addresses the store manager, “We’ll take these suits to rent please. Thank you.”
Andrew shrugs it off exhaling a breath, “Okay let’s get me married.”
“Almost.” Alex explains as they all head back to their dressing rooms, “First we gotta wait for the bride to get ready.”
Meanwhile
Jo and April clink their coffee mugs before sipping the caffeine while sitting in the armchairs in front of the fitting room at I Do bridal boutique waiting for Amber to come out with the first wedding dress. Maya and Carina enter the fitting room each carrying a small pile of wedding dresses in their arms.
Jo smiles at them behind her mask, “Are you guys getting married again?”
“No this is for the bride to be in there.” Maya explains hanging her pile by the cloth curtain that Amber is behind, “We have exactly 47 minutes until the hair and nails appointment, and she needs to try on as many dresses as possible otherwise she is gonna show up in a messy bun and brittle cuticles. And after the hair she has an appointment with Cassandra at 5th avenue for her makeup. Normally she has to schedule at least two months in advance but I saved her life when she was in a car wreck last year so she squeezed us in. Also, I talked to Vic and her folks agreed to cater for the afterparty at their house. I don’t know if they like Polish, but I can tell you the Hughes make a great pierogi trust me.”
Jo and April look at Maya in surprise over her long and detailed plan that causes the blonde firefighter to furrow her eyebrows confused, “What?”
“I forget are you the one marrying Andrew or is it Amber your leaving Carina for?” Jo asks teasingly causing April to chuckle next to her.
“Hey this is a big day for all of us.” Maya explains sharply causing Jo and April to stop smiling as they see the serious glint in her eyes, “After the year we have all had with the virus and the fires and immigration and wars against PD and demotion and the death toll by the millions a wedding is just what we need to end this year better than how it started. Besides if I didn’t take charge, you know Amber and Andrew would have probably settled with takeout pizza and YouTube makeup tutorials.”
Carina grins nodding in agreement, “Bambina you know I love it when you go all Queen of the Clipboard, but I think now you’re overstepping in my brothers and his fiancé’s big day.”
“As usual your wife is right.” Amber calls out before pulling the curtain away revealing herself in a white flapper dress with 4 tier fringe layers and spaghetti straps complete with high heels.
Jo gasps with a wide smile as the dress in her opinion is perfect for Amber’s laid-back style. April looks conflicted as her opinion is different from Jo’s about the risqué dress that to her is not typically what a bride wears. Amber ignores their reactions to explain to Maya, “Look I appreciate all that you have done, and I will gladly take it but I would also appreciate it in the future if you would consult with me and Andrew before making decisions on what should be our wedding day.”
Maya looks at the dress inquisitively, “The dress is nice but it’s a little too Showgirls. I picked out a great dress for you, it’s long and tasteful and it shows off all your features. Vera Wang never disappoints.”
April nods in agreement, “Amber I don’t want to step in like Maya or God forbid my sisters, but that dress makes you look like a toilet brush. A beautiful toilet brush don’t get me wrong.”
Amber views herself in the full body mirror before pursing her lips at the sight, “I thought it would make me feel like Daisy Buchanan and less Ali Rose. Toss it in the no pile.”
“Grazie a dio.” Carina says under her breath before Amber goes back to the fitting room. A few moments later she comes out in a long white crepe dress with long sleeves, a leg slit and a deep v neck giving her an elegant bride vibe. Jo and April grin at the sight.
“Now that is your dress.” Jo states, “It shows off all of your best parts which are a lot.”
“I give this dress a 10.” April agrees, “It’s sleek and it’s elegant, it’s just the kind of dress you wear to a courthouse.”
Maya nods, “Let’s just say this if I wasn’t already married, I would put a ring on you.”
“But the only opinion that matters is yours.” Carina reminds the women before looking at Amber with a grin, “What do you think Amber? Is this your wedding dress?”
Amber groans feeling around her chest, “I feel I’m getting a mammogram this thing is a strait jacket I feared I would get as a child. This is not my wedding dress this is my nightmare come to life.”
“I hate it.” Jo says wanting Amber to feel comfortable and not lash out on her happy day.
“Me too.” April seconds.
“Honestly it does the impossible and makes you look unappealing.” Maya joins in with Carina chuckling at how quickly they shifted gears for the bride.
Amber rolls her eyes before going back to her dressing room and taking a moment to put on a new dress before calling out from behind the curtain, “Okay I know we said the first one was a no, but I think I found a way to make it more modest. What do you think?”
Amber steps out of the dressing room in the first dress she tried on, this time it has a long bridal cape around it. It is hung from Amber’s neck with her arms through the holes allowing her to wave it and show off the dress under it. The women look surprised by the change in the dress that they disliked with Carina looking conflicted over whether or not to support her future in law.
“It’s…pretty.” Carina says unsure of how to proceed.
Amber frowns at Carina’s obvious lie and sighs, “Okay truth time for 10 seconds what do you all really think?”
April answers first immediately, “It’s makes you look like a Showgirl but with a mosquito net on this time.”
“I have to second Kepner here.” Jo confesses, “I love a casual wedding dress as much as the next gal but fringe hasn’t been in since the 70’s.”
“It’s like streamers were glued on you and you put parchment paper over it.”
Carina joins Maya, “I have to support my wife on this bambina sorry.”
Amber purses her lips regretting asking their opinion that sinks in, “Glad I brought all of you with me.”
She goes back inside the dressing room where she changes again. Amber comes out in a white strapless A-line ballgown with a sweetheart neckline and tiered ruffle skirt the leaves a court train in the back.
April gasps overcome by how ethereal and fairytale like it is with Carina awing in joy at how beautiful her brother’s future wife looks.
“I love it.” April declares with a smile behind her mask, “You look just like Cinderella.”
“You look absolutely gorgeous Bella.” Carina joins in with a smile, “Andrea will pass out when he sees you in this.”
Jo chuckles, “I think he’ll pass out in exhaustion on their wedding night after trying to find the zipper in that ruffled mess.”
“Not to mention the safety hazard an overstuffed dress like that carries.” Maya points out with Carina raising an eyebrow at her skepticism, “I’m not being bitter I’m being a firefighter. I have had multiple calls at weddings where the bride’s massive skirt caught fire, or they broke their legs after tripping too many times. It looks nice but carries multiple risks.”
Amber examines herself in her big gown that she immediately dislikes, “I feel like Big Bird dipped in bleach.”
April frowns but complies, “No pile it is.”
Amber pulls the zipper down letting the dress pool around her ankles and leaving her in a white lace corset and panties, “Maybe I’m not wedding dress material or dressable at all. I can’t think of anything worse.”
Jo stands up and approaches her sister-in-law who is starting to stress, “Amber you are stunning, don’t worry about it. You can wear jeans, and a graphic tee and Andrew would still want to marry you.”
“She’s right.” April stands up and looks over the dresses on the hanger, “Sometimes you have to try on like 100 different gowns to find the right one and even then, it’s not gonna match the one you had in your head as a little girl when you daydreamed about getting married.”
Amber sighs walking to the water fountain, “Yeah well that’s nice but I don’t even have a wedding dress I imagined because I never saw dreamed myself getting married.”
April looks at her friend stunned, “Really? Never?”
Amber takes a sip from the cup before answering, “Well you had loving farmer parents, my dad left my mom when I was two and my brothers first wife left him a note before they divorced.”
“Fair enough.” April responds understanding her cynicism now.
Maya steps in with regret, “Look ladies I hate to be the bridezilla here especially since I’m not the bride, but our hair appointment is nonrefundable and traffic is gonna pick up soon. We should move this along and try on as many dresses until Amber feels like a bride instead of a stripper or a bird.”
Carina joins April in her dress search, “Just tell us what you’re looking for Amber, maybe we can find it.”
Amber sips her water, “I don’t know. I want something that’s me, something that’s elegant but not serious, comfy but beautiful, something that says bride but I’m my own person who doesn’t need a man to swoop in and take her away because I have an MD, I worked my ass off to earn.”
Maya raises an eyebrow at that, “Is that all?”
Jo purses her lips at that long description, “Maybe they have that category online.”
“Ahem.” The ladies turn to find the bridal boutique manager standing there with a dress in her hands, “I heard you were having trouble finding a dress and although we don’t carry dresses in that specific description. I have a little number here by Heaton I think will look and feel perfect on you.”
Amber approaches the manager to inspect the dress in her hands. The white dress is a tulle gown that has off the shoulder straps. The bodice is a lace corset with a soft net and a white ribbon waistband. The bottom is an A-Line skirt with a sweep train. The simple elegance calls to Amber as she becomes enticed feeling the soft material in her hands.
“It was on the clearance rack so it’s for a good price.” The lady explains, “And it’s about your size so there’s no room for adjustment and it goes well with the casual but classic style you’re searching for.”
“It is beautiful, and I do love off the shoulder.” Amber takes the dress from the saleslady, “Let’s see if this is as great as you make it out to be.”
Amber puts the dress on in the middle of the store since she is already undressed. The clerk zips up the dress that hugs Amber’s firm waist and chest. The dress feels right on the prickly resident who smiles feeling like a bride for the first time since entering the store. Once she sets the straps around her biceps the bride to be turns to her group who look stunned by its beauty.
Carina whistles in approval, “Wow my brother is a lucky man.”
“Amber that’s it.” Jo declares with finality.
“That is absolutely perfect.” April seconds.
Maya gasps at this sight with a smile, “Wow and I thought I was the most beautiful bride at my wedding. You’re not as beautiful as my wife was but you’re a close second.”
Carina snickers, “Thank you Bambina. Amber you are gorgeous you look like a bride.”
“I know right?” Amber smiles in agreement feeling the skirt around herself as she twirls around inspecting herself in the mirror before stopping, “This is it you guys, I’m taking it.”
Maya claps her hand happy to move things along, “Great, Marian pack this up quickly we got a wedding to prepare for!”
#greys anatomy#grey's anatomy#greysanatomy#greysanatomyedit#greysedit#grey's anatomy edit#andrew deluca#andrew deluca imagine#andrew deluca x oc#andrewdelucaedit#amber karev#giacomo gianniotti#liz gillies#elizabeth gillies#my gifs#dynasty gifs#mine#headcanon#christmas#merry christmas#christmas 2024#happy holidays#wedding#wedding dress
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question that you do not have to answer: are you lgbt? and are there lgbt ppl in your church? i was just wondering how common it is for lgbt ppl to be practicing christians and vice versa
I am bi and genderqueer, yes. Several of my friends are practicing Christian and also queer to some degree (we have like one token straight friend haha) — though we kind of all collected each other through the power of gaydar. The deacon(ess) at our church has been quite open about being queer as well, and the rest of the leadership seems more or less supportive.
It’s hard to say how common or uncommon it is. In my experience, I’d lean on the side of uncommon purely because the church has deeply sinned against its queer members historically, and that’s not a wound which quickly heals — but I grew up baptist. It all very much depends on your location and the denomination of church. I live in a liberal area and the church I go to is ECLA Lutheran, who as a whole are queer affirming and allow queer people to hold leadership. The main pastor at our church isn’t comfortable officiating queer weddings — but has no problem allowing other members of staff to do it. I respect that bc I very much prefer for people to err on the side of following their own conscience. He isn’t hateful or bigoted, but he is definitely more traditional.
As far as how common it is to have practicing queer people in church, I think it’s far more common than people think and much more common than people at church think. We are all just pretty quiet about it unless the church is an affirming one. The climate of each church can vary. We tend to find each other and find allies. People stay at churches for a number of reasons that have nothing to do with how affirming the leadership at that church is.
Quaker and ECLA churches tend to be affirming. The ones I hate the most are the psuedo-nondenominational liberal churches of the likes I attended for years, because they’re bigoted but they aren’t honest about it. It’s very much “love the sinner, hate the sin”, and the general idea is “it’s okay to experience same sex attraction but don’t act on it, and don’t talk about it”. At least the outright conservative churches are upfront.
But I digress. There are many, many queer practicing Christians across the whole spectrum of Christian denominations. I’ve met several at every church I’ve ever attended. The main reason I took so long to find an affirming church is that my top priority when looking is that the church must believe in and uphold the Bible (or else, like, why are we here lol). I know that the Bible itself actually has nothing to say about queer people in consensual relationships, so there is no need to throw out scripture in an attempt to be affirming. Churches that err on one extreme of the spectrum or the other are, in my opinion, intellectually lazy or dishonest.
But the trend is for the better imo. The kids in church these days seem to be much better off, and my hope for them is that they will never be hurt and question God’s love for them like I did for so long.
Oof, digressing more, sorry! I am very passionate about this whole topic. Anyway I hope that answers your question, thank you!
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#newpost #youtube #earthflow #earthflowlife #chasityhappy #wedding #officiating #yourpriestess #priestess #nondenominational #handbinding #ceremony #handfastingcords #handfastingwedding (at Millersville) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCrAzzJnWXu/?igshid=u9i47pmll2q1
#newpost#youtube#earthflow#earthflowlife#chasityhappy#wedding#officiating#yourpriestess#priestess#nondenominational#handbinding#ceremony#handfastingcords#handfastingwedding
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🖊🖊🖊 for teenage Cat 😘
Thank you for asking Jo! 💜
🖊 Cat was an established bisexual when she was 13 and kissed a girl for the first time at a sleepover as a dare. She enjoyed it but felt confused as to why she found boys really cute too. Her solution? Go to a boy and ask him to kiss her to see if she got the same response. She did and started to say she liked both boys and girls. She would learn the official term a year later.
🖊 Cat’s family is Catholic. They are not the best practiced Catholics and growing up they would go to church and worship but it wasn’t a real requirement past the age of 11. Her father and sisters are spiritual and have a belief but are not strict and the second sister actually chose to attend a nondenominational church. Her mom became a little more interested in the church post divorce. Because of this Cat has been baptized and also performed her first communion, she has never had her confirmation though so she cannot marry in the church. This makes it a little awkward in verses wherein she marries Raf. Takes a little convincing to allow for a Wes friend to marry them, because as the law states “In Montana, however, it doesn't take any certification or training to be this person. ... The Cascade County Clerk of District Court Office said, according to Montana Statute, someone can officiate at a wedding as long as the parties getting married believe he or she is qualified to solemnize their marriage.” Yes that is the actual law in Montana.
🖊 Cat had many partners in high school in an attempt to find some kind of love and affection. Most were met online and not all were kind when she looks back on them, hell some should be in jail honestly, but there was a higher ratio of men to women due more to her subconscious want of pleasing her mother after she came out. Her mother hopes that in the end her daughter would pick the side that gives her grandchildren.
🖊 Bonus! Young Teenage Cat gave no fucks! She doesn’t actually start caring about opinions of others until she’s about fifteen and she gets more depressed looking inward developing a self hatred. Very young Cat was more than fine in letting out anger and telling people to fuck off.
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Pretty sure that Tumblr ate the original ask, that was about what your thoughts on a Kliego wedding were.
Yeah, the hell site definitely ate the original ask, because I would never sleep on the Kliego wedding! Oh boyyy you’re coming right for my feels, and there are many *bites fist*. It would be the most beautiful and chaotic affair of all time, tbh. Allison would help them plan it. Initially, Diego would be standoffish about having a hand in things (”I’m good with whatever Klaus wants”), but he’d come to all the tastings and meetings with the florist etc, and end up having way stronger opinions about decorations & details than Klaus, who legitimately wouldn’t care as long as he gets final say on the wedding band’s set list.
Diego would wear a bespoke suit, and Klaus would be torn between a matching suit or a beautiful, sparkly dress, but ultimately, after much hemming and hawing and fittings and opinions, he goes with the dress.
They’d insist on writing their own vows, obviously, and both be stressed as hell over getting it perfect (Klaus has to edit, like, 15 highly sexual lines out of his, but at least one “accidentally” stays in). The actual ceremony would be a lovely, nondenominational, and small-ish affair that someone close to them would officiate (probably Vanya). Klaus would tear up during his vows, and Diego would be so stricken with love that he ends up forgetting his written vows in his suit jacket and just speaks from the heart (without stuttering). They’d exchange matching rings with secret messages engraved on the inside of the bands, to complement their matching bracelets and blood vials.
The party afterwards would be an absolute banger, and they’d forego all traditions except cutting the cake (something Diego felt strongly about) and tossing the bouquet (something Klaus ended up feeling strongly about). Everyone would have an amazing time and dance & eat & drink the night away, but the only thing that the boys would be able to focus on after the ceremony would be each other & the*gravitas* of the fact that they’re finally *officially* bound to one another for eternity, like they always knew they’d be.
tHANKS FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK, I’ll be clutching my chest and listening to Type O Negative while I think about soulmates & destiny for the rest of the night.
#I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION#kliego#klaus/diego#klaus x diego#behold my beautiful ship#i am a soft goth#ask lex
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Did you know though? Well, I have! It’s nerve wrecking, fun, with tears of joy! These special moments are why I keep doing it. . . My first wedding was for my cousin. She calls me and says “marry me.” I’m like “what? Are you drunk?” She was serious. LOL And here we are 4 years later officiating loved ones, family and friends! . . Contact me for more info. I have associates ranging from decorations to catering to DJ! Even a few party halls. You name it, I either know it or I’ll find it . . #weddingofficiant #vestedinme #thepowersthatbe #NYSregistered #statewide #thehonorismine #lovewins #nondenominational #catholic #pentecostal #samesex #franccescapaints #catering #dj #decorations #lowcostofficiant #besttimeever (at Dene Summer House) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjfcM9AuVUu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
#weddingofficiant#vestedinme#thepowersthatbe#nysregistered#statewide#thehonorismine#lovewins#nondenominational#catholic#pentecostal#samesex#franccescapaints#catering#dj#decorations#lowcostofficiant#besttimeever
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@runningwolf62:
Okay so I was thinking. About Zofia marrying Garrus. And Elliot is best man and he starts crying during the speech and threatens to kick both Zofia and Garrus out of the family when they comment on it.
Hhhhhhhhh god you’ve got me thinking about a domestic type AU, like an “after the war everything is fine everyone survives they kicked Reaper ass and saved the galaxy and whatever pain that Bioware is gonna pull on us through the parts of the series we haven’t yet played doesn’t happen because I know they’re gonna drop stuff on us that will hurt and we’ll make plenty of angsty threads about it but here everything is fine everyone lived happily ever after”
except for all of the trauma they’ve got built in already, but you know
They don’t talk much one-on-one anymore - they never really did. They discussed tactics, where to go, what to do, about the weight of the world that no one else could understand, about the weight of being dead for two years while the rest of everything went on, but even those, half the time, their other friends were nearby. And there was EDI, of course, in all of their time on the second Normandy, always there.
It didn’t mean that they weren’t close, that they aren’t close. It just meant that this - the two of them, at a bar, chatting across a tiny table sequestered in a shadowy corner - was a rarity.
They try to pretend that they’re normal people, sometimes. Zofia started to grow her hair longer and when she drapes it down around her face it can hide the worst of her scars. Then she does something like go to a bar and order an entire bottle of wine and drink it straight from it. Even if they weren’t Commanders Shepard, Spectres, galactic heroes - well, normal would still be unattainable.
“You’re good at planning,” Elliot says. “With everything we’ve been through, you shouldn’t be this stressed about -”
“Well, I am stressed,” Zofia snaps, setting her bottle on the table with a thud. She stares at it. “Sorry,” she says. She tucks her hair behind her ear and then frowns and undoes it and smooths it back down over her cheek. “I keep - imagining the voices of my parents in my head. Telling me to love who I love and if I am happy then they will be happy and God will be happy, but you know, you’d better have a Catholic wedding, and your future spouse really should convert, it would be very nice, you know?”
Elliot can sort of see where this is going, but he is not the person that she should be having this conversation with - but she continues. "Outside of Earth and all of the colonies in that local cluster, there really aren't any big churches. All the houses of worship, or most of them, are made nondenominational because when you get out here into space, there's not really enough of any one group to make it usable enough.
"So, uh, failed Step One, I guess," she says. She laughs. "And who knows, I could be excommunicated anyway for going back to Earth, walking into a cathedral, and saying 'hey, will someone perform a wedding for me and my turian boyfriend?'. Do they do that for aliens? Maybe if they convert."
"Did the pope ever answer you on Twitter?" Elliot asks.
Zofia laughs. "He did not."
They are both quiet for a minute and then she says, "I feel like I'm letting them down. I mean I feel that a lot" - Elliot tries to stop her there, maybe work out what the hell she feels guilty for in regards to them, but she barrels on - "but especially in regards to my wedding, since that's something so huge and important and only - hopefully - happens once."
"Isn't divorce a sin?" Elliot asks.
"Mm. So's murder."
"Your odds for this marriage being your only one would probably be higher if you stopped flirting with Wrex on Twitter all the time."
"We're soulmates, Elliot, and no, I am never going to stop referring to him, online, publicly, as my 'secret krogan lover'."
They both collapse on the table, laughing, and the conversation moves somewhere lighter for the rest of the evening.
-
Two days later, Zofia barges into Elliot's kitchen without warning, grabs him by the shoulders, and shouts, "I have an idea!"
"About what?" Elliot asks.
"In old maritime laws, back on Earth, captains of ships could officiate ceremonies like weddings." Zofia's eyes are sparkling with some full grasp of the situation that Elliot is still unenlightened on. This statement is the opposite of an answer to his question. "And I am pretty sure this law got turned into space laws for starships - so you, Commander Shepard," she says, prodding him in the chest, "could marry me and Garrus." She grins at him for a moment as he fully comprehends what she is saying and then suddenly she frowns. "Wait, no. Not you. You'd probably start blubbering a few words in."
"I would not!" Elliot says.
"You would," Zofia says. She pats his shoulder. "Not knocking you - just a fact."
"Wow, I'm so sorry for the fact that I love and care about both of you because you're both my best friends and like family -"
"I am family!"
"- and after everything we've all been through I'm glad that you both can be as happy as I am and -"
"Look, you're getting emotional right now! I'll ask your mom if she'll do the ceremony. I'll let you off the hook on that. I want everybody to be able to understand what's being said and that might be hard when you're -"
Elliot wrestles her into a headlock. "Also," he says, "you're like family because you've been removed -"
"For what? For stealing your coffee in 2184 or whatever, you're still -"
"We were dead in 2184!"
-
He cries during his best man speech. Zofia at least waits to comment on it until he sits down, but she gives him her best shit-eating grin. “Told you.”
“This is why you’re kicked out of the family.”
“Well,” Garrus says to Elliot, “it was fun being cousin-in-laws with you for a whole few hours before you threw us out.”
#brotp: shepard and shepard#i thought about going somewhere more with zofia's whole concept of guilt over what her parents would want#but then i was kinda like............nah let's make this a little more lighthearted again. shenanigans. cousins being shtity at each other#which is why the style and everything makes an abrupt turn and also bc it's midnight#and i can't hold to consistency in my writing at midnight BUT I NEEDED TO WRITE THIS#AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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Excited, honored and grateful to be officiating an intimate little wedding today! Not only is @woodnotecabin a perfect small venue for exchanging words of love but I have been an ordained minister for a few years now! Wanna get hitched in a custom log cabin in the forest by a pretty cool nondenominational hippie chick? Holla at me yo! We even have a honeymoon apart for rent!! #woodnotecabin #eventspace #meditation #reiki #airbnb #meetmeinmilford #puremichigan #holymatrimony #love #sacredspace #wedding #weddingspace #lettherebelove #music (at Woodnote Cabin) https://www.instagram.com/p/By-b8P1FwAW/?igshid=1qkdjnjbspqup
#woodnotecabin#eventspace#meditation#reiki#airbnb#meetmeinmilford#puremichigan#holymatrimony#love#sacredspace#wedding#weddingspace#lettherebelove#music
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In case you didn’t know, I officiate weddings ✨💗 . . . #ordainedminister #weddingofficiant #nondenominational #weddingbythebeach (at La Jolla, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/By4cBJ-Hkfb/?igshid=1tpsqdn8lchxt
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Still have available dates,for these offers.
➡️Elopement or Vow Renewal.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1378341975623960&id=138635779594592
➡️Package: Wedding & Session.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1336609549797203&id=138635779594592
Questions or book,please contact me.
Call/text: 608-797-6570
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: https://facebook.com/ServicesByTJSPhotography
#wedding #beachwedding #vows #ceremony #weddingdestination #officiant #spiritual #nondenominational #weddingservice #family #traditionalwedding #nontraditionalwedding #nondenominationalofficiant #weddingparty #venue #weddingevent #rings #love #faith #weddingofficiant #nature #outdoorwedding #weddingfashion #beauty #tjsphotography #lifestylephotographer #weddinglifestyle #vowrenewal #elopement #smallwedding
#wedding#beachwedding#vows#ceremony#weddingdestination#officiant#spiritual#nondenominational#weddingservice#family#traditionalwedding#nontraditionalwedding#nondenominationalofficiant#weddingparty#venue#weddingevent#rings#love#faith#weddingofficiant#nature#outdoorwedding#weddingfashion#beauty#tjsphotography#lifestylephotographer#weddinglifestyle#vowrenewal#elopement#smallwedding
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I've left Christianity for the final time. Fuck hateful hipster non-denominational churches with their hidden anti-woman/anti-LGBTQ agendas. via /r/atheism
Submitted January 04, 2020 at 09:44PM by Creepy-Party (Via reddit https://ift.tt/2MXe2St) I've left Christianity for the final time. Fuck hateful hipster non-denominational churches with their hidden anti-woman/anti-LGBTQ agendas.
This is going to be a long post that I have rewritten over and over without posting. I feel that this could possibly help someone not make the mistakes I made.
I'm a 37 year old white American male. I was in the Catholic church from when I was born until I was 18. I went to Catholic school for middle and high school. I despised everything about the church: Hiding pedophile priests, judging everyone as being awful, being anti-woman and anti-gay, demonizing pro-choice, etc. Nothing they taught made any sense and I became an atheist when I graduated high school. I came out as bi-sexual several years later. I had always knew I wasn't straight and had to hide it during my teenage years.
My 20's were an awakening both sexually and with the people I associated with. We partied hard, and I had a number of really good things and really bad things happen during this time in my life. Most of us were fucked by the recession and I developed an addiction to Xanax to cope with the constant layoffs and shitty dead-end jobs. When I turned 30, in 2013, I had a nervous breakdown and was in and out of hospitals. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Many of my friends overdosed or moved away. I was alone for the first time in many years.
During this time, I had seen an advertisement online for a new nondenominational Christian church that was launching near me; one that was not held in a standard church setting but in a local reception hall. I went to their launch service and found it was mostly comprised of people my age, had a live band, and was so much different than any service I had ever been to. It was one of the non-denominational hipster churches that have grown exponentially over the past decade. The people seemed to be really caring, and I made a number of friends in the church. I also was referred to AA and NA and got clean in 2014. I've since been working my way through college and am currently in graduate school. I am grateful to these people and organizations for helping me through this rough time. I was also beginning to relate to some of the good things the bible had, though much of the awful shit in there I could never get behind.
In the summer of 2015, I found (after numerous months of digging through various sources) that the church I was a member of was funded by a Baptist group and they had strict guidelines against women and LGBTQ people in terms of how they could and could not serve in the church. I was furious and met with the pastors about this, and they confirmed that their funding was dependent on these Baptist beliefs and that the pastors all agreed with these views.
This really sucked and I left that church. I felt hurt, misled, and angry. I decided that I wanted to branch out and that I did not want to leave Christianity yet - the 12-step groups I was a member of were heavily based on Christian beliefs and I found numerous churches in my area that were LGBTQ affirming.
From 2016-2019 it was one let down after another. I would go to a LGBTQ affirming church for a few months and they would either be small and lack any type of fellowship, or super big and lacking any fellowship. It was difficult to meet anyone my age and they didn't really do much outside of the weekly service. I don't have or want kids, and that runs counter to most Christians. I helped with a church launch for a year only to find it filled with ultra-conservative bigoted Trump supporters when it finally launched. One of my friends in the LGBTQ community was at an Episcopal church, and while I appreciated their pro-LGBTQ stance, it was just Catholic church lite and I could not get behind them for the horrible things the Catholic church has done.
The 12-step groups also just sucked after awhile. There were sex-offenders and other creeps in many of the groups and the people running the groups didn't want to do anything about it. There is a really eye-opening documentary about this called 13th Step - Google search it and there is a free version to watch on a site called tubi.tv . I've never relapsed on Xanax and left 12-step groups over a year ago. The caste system they have based solely on clean-time is disgusting - some guy can lie about having years clean and get sponsees who are brand new to the program and can be manipulated for money, sex, and other things.
Last summer, I found another hipster non-denominational church and decided to stop in. This was it, this was the last chance I was giving Christianity. I was surprised to hear that they were having a topic group/small group on LGBTQ issues that was starting in a few days. I signed up for it and it was about 25 people in one of the member's houses.
We began the group and they explained that they were a "B" view church with LGBTQ issues and were Egalitarian regarding woman's issues. What this means is that they were fully affirming of women and there were no limitations on how women could serve in the church. While that was cool, and resolved one half of what made me leave the original church I was a member of back in 2013, their "B" view meant the following with LGBTQ issues:
Group "A" Christian churches are fully affirming of LGBTQ people. They will do gay weddings, there is no limitations on gay people, etc.
Group "X" Christian churches are fully excluding of LGBTQ people. These are churches who flat-out do not want any LGBTQ people at their church and are vocal about this, they do not hide their disdain for the gay community.
Group "B" Christian churches will allow LGBTQ people in, but will not allow them to serve in all capacities in the church unless they are fully celibate or are in a relationship with someone of the opposite gender. Even if a gay or lesbian couple was married in a Christian church and totally monogamous, their marriage would not be recognized in a "B" church.
I was not surprised, but I was surprised when they showed a terrible Evangelical propaganda video trying to say that LGBTQ people could go back to being straight or should remain celibate. Looking back, I should have just left, but I stuck around and when we discussed the video I didn't hold anything back. I told them how hurtful it was, how mean and shitty it was for straight people to constantly tell LGBTQ people that they should just stop being gay. I was on the verge of tears, but kept it together. I was one of only two gay people there, the other person saying they were trying to remain celibate and I told them that I loved them for who they were and that if these people cared about them, they would love them for who they are as well.
To my surprise, people listened. One of the pastors cried and stated how sorry she was about how hurtful they were being. I began to talk to the leadership team and, to my surprise, found out that they were fully self-supporting and were not funded by any Baptist group. They were the only non-denominational church I could find that had this distinction. This was why they voted to be fully egalitarian and had women pastors and elders.
Over the next few months, we continued this dialogue in the group and I was asked to sing with their church band, something I hadn't done in years. I developed a good number of friends and we would usually hang out weekly outside of service.
The topic group ended in September, and sadly so did discussion on the topic. Once again it was being pushed under the rug and some of the people I was close with in the church had no problem telling me that they did not want the church to be LGBTQ affirming. This topic was brought up at a dinner we had at a person's house in October that was not an official church event, but had a large number of church people there as well as people in the community who were not religious. One of the pastors was there and I asked why they were holding on to these views, why was it so important for them to continue to be anti-LGBTQ? Why could they be egalitarian yet at the same time use the bible to support their anti-LGBTQ rhetoric when the bible is notoriously sexist against women and treats them as property? It was a heated conversation and the pastor sent me a text later accusing me of "trying to undermine" the church. I met with him and his brother (another pastor there) and I tried to get them to understand why their views were so hurtful, but it appeared we were at an impasse.
The final service I went to back in early December, the pastor was talking about lament and prying for things people were suffering with as if he were the person. Things such as being in terrible accidents "Why did I have to be hurt in a car accident", being unable to have children "Why was I born with non working ovaries" (which is really fucked up for this dude to say as it is not a terrible thing for everyone and he could never understand this lament), and finally:
"Why was I born attracted to people of my own gender"?
That was the final straw. I yelled out at him "There is nothing wrong with being gay, and you don't need to pray it away". I left, did a writeup on their Slack Channel about their hidden LGBTQ policies and how they were trying to get people to change back to being straight, and it was awful. A gay guy replied that he "Struggled" with "Same-sex attraction" and I replied that he should not have to struggle with this and that I love him for who he is and so should this church if they care about him.
And that was it. There were people replying numerous views on the issue (and to their credit they didn't delete the thread), but I logged out and was done. I've found a cool group of people in my area who are all atheist and have gone through similar things. I'm accepted for who I am and don't have to try to be something I'm not.
I hope that this can help someone from wasting their time with hoping that Christianity can change. It won't. It will always create out groups for them to hate and is a cancer on our lives. I don't want any "prayers" as I know may Christians browse this subreddit in an attempt to try and "save" people. If you are a Christian on here and care, then try to make a difference; stop cosigning on bigotry so that you can feel better about yourself. Call out the bullshit in your church. Stop letting a hateful 2000 year old book keep having power in the oppression and hated of so many people.
Thanks for reading.
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Nonreligious Officiants And San Francisco Wedding Planner
By Jessica Hamilton
The world has come a long way from traditional matrimony. People are no longer interested in following the old ways and are looking for better more interesting ways. With the San Francisco wedding planner growing, nonreligious wedding officiants have become well sort after. They do not operate under any faith meaning they are able to marry people who also don t follow any faith. If that s too much of a hassle, you can always get a judge to marry you. Some who are raised in conditions that often leave to lead love in their own way or to focus on other practices. When the time comes for them to get married, they often go looking for a judge or someone who doesn t need faith or follow a specific type of religion. Most people have even neglected the idea of getting married in a church and prefer a more special venue where they feel more at ease in. The great thing about nondenominational ceremonies is that you can have it anywhere. There are no limitations or the need to follow tradition and get married in a church, and this makes it easy to choose an outdoor wonderland for your beautiful day. You Can even opt for an overseas venue and have an event coordinator help you with the logistics. For those who think only a judge can marry you, you are mistaken. Even a court clerk or justice of the peace can get you married. Others prefer something more special and wouldn t accept the fact that they are getting married by a stranger. In this case, you can ordain a friend or family member for that day to be the one who will get you married. A person working under this profession has certain responsibilities. They have to put their signature on your marriage license as a show of faith that they approve of the onion and cannot find any reasoning for why you shouldn t get married. It s of the utmost importance be certain of your reason for getting married and ensure that it is all in good faith. There are numerous other duties such as ensuring that you meet the legal age when trying to get wed. Regularly young people elope to get married. Someone in this situation has the duty to inspect their history and age. Moreover, they have the duty to ascertain that you are not attempting to marry someone whilst in an existing marriage. They are saying, by putting their signature on your marriage license, that they are witness to your union and the vows you have exchanged. They have creative freedom and can really make your day a special one, bringing creativity to your nuptials. You will still need witnesses to also sign your license as proof of your said commitment to each other. There is no more a need for a priest to be the one to get you married, you can simply ordain your best friend and have the best marriage you could ever ask for.
About the Author:
Get a summary of the things to keep in mind when picking a San Francisco wedding planner and more information about an experienced planner at http://bit.ly/2Fh2s2k now.
Nonreligious Officiants And San Francisco Wedding Planner from Seduce Your Neighbor http://bit.ly/2Ftwoaz
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Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City
Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City http://www.nature-business.com/nature-a-year-after-las-vegas-shooting-a-survivor-wedding-takes-back-the-city/
Nature
Image
Regina Harris and Billy Bob Mason, survivors of last year’s shooting, were married in Las Vegas on Monday.CreditCreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
LAS VEGAS — Not far from where a gunman opened fire on a packed country music concert last year, Regina Harris was in a hotel bathroom, buttoned into her wedding dress, trying to curl her bangs. “I’m freaking out already,” she said.
A year ago, Ms. Harris and her fiancé were among those who fled that concert in a panic. But early Monday, they were back, preparing for the ultimate attempt at psychic reclamation: Getting married at a memorial garden off the Las Vegas Strip — on Oct. 1, exactly a year after the shooting, surrounded by survivors.
“Britni,” Ms. Harris shouted to her daughter, holding out her lipsticks. “Hot pink, ‘Wine to Five’ or red?”
A year after a high-stakes gambler perched from a high floor in a luxury hotel rained bullets onto a crowd of country music fans, hundreds of them returned to Las Vegas to mark the anniversary. Crowding into country music bars and casinos along the Strip, they were there, like Ms. Harris and her fiancé, Billy Bob Mason, to declare that they had taken this city back.
At a sunrise memorial on Monday, many of them gathered at a local amphitheater to release 58 doves, one for each of the people who died. “We’ve learned that we are not defined by our fears,” Sheriff Joe Lombardo of Clark County told the group, gripping the lectern, “but by our will to overcome them.”
But the last few days have also been a reminder of just how difficult recovery can be.
On Sunday night, at Stoney’s country bar, as the duo Love and Theft took the stage in front of a crowd of celebratory survivors, Alissa Dal Porto, 26, and her friend Rachel Stern, 28, were in a dark corner behind the pool tables, crying.
“Breathe,” said Ms. Dal Porto, squeezing Ms. Stern’s hand. “Breathe.”
“That survivor’s guilt,” Ms. Dal Porto said. “It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
The engaged couple, Ms. Harris, 51, and Mr. Mason, 47, had decided long ago that they would get married in Las Vegas.
Image
Ms. Harris prepared for the wedding in a hotel not far from the scene of the shooting.CreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
The two met about six years ago at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where Ms. Harris was the “chip girl” — doling out chips signifying time spent in sobriety — and Mr. Mason was receiving a new one.
He soon developed a crush.
On their first date, they drove to Laguna Beach, Calif., visited Sherman Gardens, attended several A.A. meetings, sang karaoke and fed the homeless at a local church. (The date lasted a weekend.) Soon they were living together in a small brown home perched amid the hills in Bodfish, Calif., with fruit trees out back, canning supplies in the kitchen, and an enviable view from the front porch.
Mr. Mason was a cancer survivor and certified nursing assistant who enjoyed target shooting but refused to hit anything living — including trees — and Ms. Harris was an addiction treatment coordinator who had spent years working through her own chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.
Both had been sober for years. They were an obvious match. And country music, with its mix of compassion and grit, was an obvious soundtrack for the relationship.
“She’s just a real strong woman in recovery,” Mr. Mason said, “and I find that to be appealing.”
They were already engaged when they went to Las Vegas last year, pulling on their boots to watch the country star Jason Aldean sing into the night.
When the shooting broke out, a bullet struck Mr. Mason in the foot. Ms. Harris ran to their truck; Mr. Mason threw off his boot, tied a sock around the wound, and then both of them tried to shuttle as many people as possible to safety.
Once they returned to Bodfish, the wound healed quickly. The emotional part has been harder.
“Nightmares, panic attacks, it was pretty intense,” Mr. Mason said. “Now when I hear sounds it’s an automatic instinct, I need to run and hide. I don’t like that. I’m a big old dude. I’m not afraid of things. I own guns. And I haven’t been able to get to a point where I can go and fire my guns off — and I don’t know when I’ll get there.”
They had discussed a Las Vegas wedding before, but after the shooting, Mr. Mason had to convince Ms. Harris it was still the right move.
“This really opened a lot of old wounds for me,” she said.
On Thursday, they packed their truck with Ms. Harris’s wedding dress and drove north to see Mr. Aldean perform in Wheatland, Calif., bringing T-shirts that read: “Hey Jason, let’s finish this.”
Image
Ms. Harris and Mr. Mason’s wedding took place before a wall bearing the names of the dead.CreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
Then they drove through the night to Las Vegas, where they had a room at the red-walled D Hotel.
[Read, watch and listen: The Las Vegas shooting, as the news unfolded.]
On Monday, once in her dress, Ms. Harris pulled on a pair of socks that read “bad ass” on the soles, declared the event a “survivor wedding,” and then wound her way past the slot machines of the hotel to a rented S.U.V.
She climbed into the driver’s seat. Her daughter, Britni Cozart, 29; her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Lisa Blundo, 44; and her aunt, Bobbi Hardin, 63, took the passenger seats.
“Heeeeeey!” she said to a crowd, leaning out the window as she arrived at a new garden set up to remember the fallen. An American flag flew at half-staff.
Mr. Mason stood by in a purple vest and a black cowboy hat.
“I’m feeling O.K.,” he said. “Nervous.”
The garden was filled with people who had come to pay their respects to the dead. Many were surprised to find a wedding.
Stacie Power, 39, a survivor who had traveled back to Las Vegas, said it fit with country culture.
“They picked the wrong crowd of people,” she said of the gunman, “if they wanted to kill anybody’s spirit.”
Ms. Harris stood at the back of the garden, a carpet of yellow, orange and purple flowers. She took a deep breath.
At the altar, a space between tall memorial candles and a wall bearing the names of the dead, Ms. Harris and Mr. Mason clasped hands. The officiant was Janine Parrish, 34, a nondenominational minister whose husband is with the North Las Vegas police. He had spent the day after the shooting guarding the bodies.
“I will willingly be your protector,” Mr. Mason told Ms. Harris.
“I will willingly be your protector,” Ms. Harris told Mr. Mason.
Ms. Parrish, her voice strained with emotion, concluded the service. “From this day on,” she told them, “it’s you against the world.”
A version of this article appears in print on
, on Page
A
15
of the New York edition
with the headline:
For Couple Who Survived, Wedding Bells Toll Near The Site of the Carnage
. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/us/las-vegas-shooting-survivors.html |
Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City, in 2018-10-02 04:44:07
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Text
Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City
Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City http://www.nature-business.com/nature-a-year-after-las-vegas-shooting-a-survivor-wedding-takes-back-the-city/
Nature
Image
Regina Harris and Billy Bob Mason, survivors of last year’s shooting, were married in Las Vegas on Monday.CreditCreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
LAS VEGAS — Not far from where a gunman opened fire on a packed country music concert last year, Regina Harris was in a hotel bathroom, buttoned into her wedding dress, trying to curl her bangs. “I’m freaking out already,” she said.
A year ago, Ms. Harris and her fiancé were among those who fled that concert in a panic. But early Monday, they were back, preparing for the ultimate attempt at psychic reclamation: Getting married at a memorial garden off the Las Vegas Strip — on Oct. 1, exactly a year after the shooting, surrounded by survivors.
“Britni,” Ms. Harris shouted to her daughter, holding out her lipsticks. “Hot pink, ‘Wine to Five’ or red?”
A year after a high-stakes gambler perched from a high floor in a luxury hotel rained bullets onto a crowd of country music fans, hundreds of them returned to Las Vegas to mark the anniversary. Crowding into country music bars and casinos along the Strip, they were there, like Ms. Harris and her fiancé, Billy Bob Mason, to declare that they had taken this city back.
At a sunrise memorial on Monday, many of them gathered at a local amphitheater to release 58 doves, one for each of the people who died. “We’ve learned that we are not defined by our fears,” Sheriff Joe Lombardo of Clark County told the group, gripping the lectern, “but by our will to overcome them.”
But the last few days have also been a reminder of just how difficult recovery can be.
On Sunday night, at Stoney’s country bar, as the duo Love and Theft took the stage in front of a crowd of celebratory survivors, Alissa Dal Porto, 26, and her friend Rachel Stern, 28, were in a dark corner behind the pool tables, crying.
“Breathe,” said Ms. Dal Porto, squeezing Ms. Stern’s hand. “Breathe.”
“That survivor’s guilt,” Ms. Dal Porto said. “It hurts. It hurts a lot.”
The engaged couple, Ms. Harris, 51, and Mr. Mason, 47, had decided long ago that they would get married in Las Vegas.
Image
Ms. Harris prepared for the wedding in a hotel not far from the scene of the shooting.CreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
The two met about six years ago at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, where Ms. Harris was the “chip girl” — doling out chips signifying time spent in sobriety — and Mr. Mason was receiving a new one.
He soon developed a crush.
On their first date, they drove to Laguna Beach, Calif., visited Sherman Gardens, attended several A.A. meetings, sang karaoke and fed the homeless at a local church. (The date lasted a weekend.) Soon they were living together in a small brown home perched amid the hills in Bodfish, Calif., with fruit trees out back, canning supplies in the kitchen, and an enviable view from the front porch.
Mr. Mason was a cancer survivor and certified nursing assistant who enjoyed target shooting but refused to hit anything living — including trees — and Ms. Harris was an addiction treatment coordinator who had spent years working through her own chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.
Both had been sober for years. They were an obvious match. And country music, with its mix of compassion and grit, was an obvious soundtrack for the relationship.
“She’s just a real strong woman in recovery,” Mr. Mason said, “and I find that to be appealing.”
They were already engaged when they went to Las Vegas last year, pulling on their boots to watch the country star Jason Aldean sing into the night.
When the shooting broke out, a bullet struck Mr. Mason in the foot. Ms. Harris ran to their truck; Mr. Mason threw off his boot, tied a sock around the wound, and then both of them tried to shuttle as many people as possible to safety.
Once they returned to Bodfish, the wound healed quickly. The emotional part has been harder.
“Nightmares, panic attacks, it was pretty intense,” Mr. Mason said. “Now when I hear sounds it’s an automatic instinct, I need to run and hide. I don’t like that. I’m a big old dude. I’m not afraid of things. I own guns. And I haven’t been able to get to a point where I can go and fire my guns off — and I don’t know when I’ll get there.”
They had discussed a Las Vegas wedding before, but after the shooting, Mr. Mason had to convince Ms. Harris it was still the right move.
“This really opened a lot of old wounds for me,” she said.
On Thursday, they packed their truck with Ms. Harris’s wedding dress and drove north to see Mr. Aldean perform in Wheatland, Calif., bringing T-shirts that read: “Hey Jason, let’s finish this.”
Image
Ms. Harris and Mr. Mason’s wedding took place before a wall bearing the names of the dead.CreditZackary Canepari for The New York Times
Then they drove through the night to Las Vegas, where they had a room at the red-walled D Hotel.
[Read, watch and listen: The Las Vegas shooting, as the news unfolded.]
On Monday, once in her dress, Ms. Harris pulled on a pair of socks that read “bad ass” on the soles, declared the event a “survivor wedding,” and then wound her way past the slot machines of the hotel to a rented S.U.V.
She climbed into the driver’s seat. Her daughter, Britni Cozart, 29; her soon-to-be sister-in-law, Lisa Blundo, 44; and her aunt, Bobbi Hardin, 63, took the passenger seats.
“Heeeeeey!” she said to a crowd, leaning out the window as she arrived at a new garden set up to remember the fallen. An American flag flew at half-staff.
Mr. Mason stood by in a purple vest and a black cowboy hat.
“I’m feeling O.K.,” he said. “Nervous.”
The garden was filled with people who had come to pay their respects to the dead. Many were surprised to find a wedding.
Stacie Power, 39, a survivor who had traveled back to Las Vegas, said it fit with country culture.
“They picked the wrong crowd of people,” she said of the gunman, “if they wanted to kill anybody’s spirit.”
Ms. Harris stood at the back of the garden, a carpet of yellow, orange and purple flowers. She took a deep breath.
At the altar, a space between tall memorial candles and a wall bearing the names of the dead, Ms. Harris and Mr. Mason clasped hands. The officiant was Janine Parrish, 34, a nondenominational minister whose husband is with the North Las Vegas police. He had spent the day after the shooting guarding the bodies.
“I will willingly be your protector,” Mr. Mason told Ms. Harris.
“I will willingly be your protector,” Ms. Harris told Mr. Mason.
Ms. Parrish, her voice strained with emotion, concluded the service. “From this day on,” she told them, “it’s you against the world.”
A version of this article appears in print on
, on Page
A
15
of the New York edition
with the headline:
For Couple Who Survived, Wedding Bells Toll Near The Site of the Carnage
. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
Read More | https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/us/las-vegas-shooting-survivors.html |
Nature A Year After Las Vegas Shooting, a ‘Survivor Wedding’ Takes Back the City, in 2018-10-02 04:44:07
0 notes