WEDDING: At Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach, CA

Congratulations, Jeanie and Eric!

This ceremony took place at one of my favourite venues in Orange County: SEVEN DEGREES.
Any time a proposal story is unusual and fun, it can be included in the text and told as part of the ceremony:

"The proposal was an interesting experience. Jeanie and Eric had been together for over three years, when they decided to take a trip to Hong Kong for Jeanie’s birthday. Prior to this, they had discussed the issue of marriage, but never really went into detail about it.

In Hong Kong, they eventually ended up in a jewelry store as part of a city tour. A
sales associate began showing them rings, and dropping hints to Eric about how
he should be looking for one. Eric appeared uninterested. Jeanie, being the beautiful emotional person she is, left the store in tears, feeling hurt and thinking Eric didn't want to ever consider marriage. Meanwhile, Eric chased Jeanie around the streets of Hong Kong, and then they finally returned to the hotel. As Jeanie sobbed about how Eric didn't want to marry her, he pulled out a ring from his suitcase and said, “I was going to wait until your birthday tomorrow to ask you, but now that you're going to be like this, I guess I'll ask you now.” He had already asked Jeanie’s mother for
permission, and so he got down on one knee and proposed!"

The bride wore a beautiful antique lace dress, and there were seven bridesmaids and seven groomsmen. The groom is the guitar player in the local band PLASTIC PILL. Appropriately enough, the groom cake was in the shape of a sunburst Les Paul guitar! The Seven Degrees staff was first-rate, led by wedding director/coordinator Alyssa (Alissa?). Photography by Nicole Caldwell.

WEDDING: Beach Ceremony in Malibu, CA on New Year's Eve!

CONGRATULATIONS: Mandy and Aaron!

This couple, with about a dozen family and friends, drove all the way from Santa Clarita to be married on the beach at the ocean. i liked these two right away when we first met because of the playful way they interacted with each other, and the obvious way Aaron cared for Mandy, through his actions and simply the way he looks at her. And, the love they share just took over effortlessly, as the following excerpt from their ceremony shows:

"Once they became romantically involved, a unique and beautiful aspect of their
relationship was that there wasn’t really any more 'yours' or 'mine'. They knew they had found each other, and so, many things were a given and simply fell into place."

What a great way to welcome the New Year! Please see PHOTOS.

NEWS: Attorney General Jerry Brown Decides to Oppose Prop. 8 in Court

According to the San Francisco Chronicle:

"...It is highly unusual for an attorney general to use the weight of his office to try to invalidate a voter-approved initiative. But Brown's 111-page filing with the California Supreme Court makes a compelling case that the measure's attempt to deprive same-sex couples of the right to marry conflicts with the state Constitution's underlying guarantees of individual liberty , which are ingrained in its very first sentences.

"My job is to see that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced, and that includes Article I of the Constitution," Brown said in a phone interview. As he noted, there is precedent for a state attorney general arguing against a voter-approved initiative that attempts to undercut civil rights: Proposition 14, passed by
voters in 1964, would have wiped out a fair-housing law. It was ultimately overturned in court."

VIDEO: Balloon Marriage Proposal Goes Horribly Wrong

Whether this is really a lighthearted joke on video, or an unfortunate mishap, it's worth watching. Many thanks to Chris Easter at the MAN REGISTRY for this one!

Gamer/Geek Wedding Possiblities?

For the tech-ishly inclined reception, bachelor/ette party, etc. etc...introducing...THE GAME SQUAD.

So, i was driving up the 5 freeway in South County today, and i drove up and passed this monstrous truck pulling a huge winnebago-ish trailer. It was decorated as if it was a giant Best Buy advertisement for video games...and if you know me, you know how much i loathe commercials, especially commercials on wheels. But NO! It turns out Game Squad is a private company, where they bring what looks like this ginormous LAN party to you! Check out their website, and in the meantime, i'm going to try and contact them and bring more details, such as...

• How much does it cost? For what period of time?
• What kind of gear are they running? Is it all battery powered?
• What kind of network? i'd love to take a peek inside the inner workings...
• They look like mostly RPG, but they must have driving and first person shooter games, and stuff like Rockband...?
• Who's behind this awesome idea?

And thus i wish they had more info on their site. And i wish they had photos of, um, adults playing in the trailer...although, i suppose most of us already have a similar setup in our own homes? And my last wish was that they had better SEO...it was kinda hard finding them online.

What a cool idea. Why didn't they have this when WE got married, 15 years ago!!??

WEDDING: Home Ceremony in Irvine, CA

CONGRATULATIONS: Liz and Jeff!!!

This team in life and love (they're both microbiologists!) were wed in front of Liz' children, her African Grey named Pepper and her cockatiel Buster, and Jeff's children, his orchids! (see in background on left)

Oh, yes, Liz' other son, his fiancé and their children were also present! ;-P

Where else do you feel more at home, than at own your home!?? Simple civil ceremonies do NOT have to take place at the courthouse. At home, you can invite your closest loved ones while not leaving your pets or animals behind.

Many thanks again, to Brian and his crew at FPS PRODUCTIONS for another incredible, professional video AND photography job.

SURVIVOR CEREMONY: Sky Terrace Mobile Lodge in Lake View Terrace

i was extremely humbled and honoured to be invited by the SKY TERRACE MOBILE LODGE community to lead a ceremony for the survivors of the MAREK/MEREK FIRES, to help acknowledge the residents' many losses, including their beloved pets, and to grieve over the transient man who lost his life in the fire.

The Los Angeles Times reported on the CEREMONY, in an effort to call attention to the community and to help them receive assistance from the government and federal agencies:

"After hearing from Venus Kitagawa-Stojsic, who described herself as a
Celebrant with a humanist church, the residents spoke about what they had lost
and their experiences since flames raced through Sky Terrace on Oct. 13.

"The ceremony ended with a moment of silence to pray for the homeless man
and pets killed in the fire. None of the Sky Terrace residents knew the man's
name, and officials have yet to identify him.

"Most of us have a bond now that we didn't have before, but this ceremony
is about moving on and restarting our lives," Zuchegna said."

Many, many thanks to the residents of Sky Terrace, to Linda Zuchegna for contacting me, and to her husband, the esteemed animator and CalArts professor Corny Cole.

NEWS: California Supreme Court Grants Review in Prop 8 Legal Challenges

This is an official email i received from Equality California:

Court to Determine Constitutionality of Prop 8

Today the California Supreme Court granted review in the legal challenges to Proposition 8, which passed by a narrow margin of 52 percent on November 4. In an order issued today, the Court agreed to hear the case and set an expedited briefing schedule. The Court also denied an immediate stay. On November 5, 2008, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of Proposition 8 in the California Supreme Court on behalf of six couples and Equality California. The City of San Francisco, joined by the City of Los Angeles, the County of Los Angeles, and Santa Clara County, filed a similar challenge, as did a private attorney in Los Angeles. The lawsuits allege that, on its face, Proposition 8 is an improper revision rather than an amendment of the California Constitution because, in its very title, which was “Eliminates the right to marry for same-sex couples,” the initiative eliminated an existing right only for a targeted minority. If permitted to stand, Proposition 8 would be the first time an initiative has successfully been used to change the California Constitution to take way an existing right only for a particular group. Such a change would defeat the very purpose of a constitution and fundamentally alter the role of the courts in protecting minority rights. According to the California Constitution, such a serious revision of our state Constitution cannot be enacted through a simple majority vote, but must first be approved by two-thirds of the Legislature. Since the three lawsuits submitted on November 5, three other lawsuits challenging Proposition 8 have been filed. In a petition filed on November 14, 2008, leading African American, Latino, and Asian American groups argued that Proposition 8 threatens the equal protection rights of all Californians. On November 17, 2008, the California Council of Churches and other religious leaders and faith organizations representing millions of members statewide, also filed a petition asserting that Proposition 8 poses a severe threat to the guarantee of equal protection for all, and was not enacted through the constitutionally required process for such a dramatic change to the California Constitution. On the same day, prominent California women’s rights organizations filed a petition asking the Court to invalidate Proposition 8 because of its potentially disastrous implications for women and other groups that face discrimination. In May of 2008, the California Supreme Court held that barring same-sex couples from marriage violates the equal protection clause of the California Constitution and violates the fundamental right to marry. Proposition 8 would completely eliminate the right to marry only for same-sex couples. No other initiative has ever successfully changed the California Constitution to take away a right only from a targeted minority group. Over the past 100 years, the California Supreme Court has heard nine cases challenging either legislative enactments or initiatives as invalid revisions of the California Constitution. In three of those cases, the Court invalidated those measures.

You can get complete information regarding the actual case itself from the California courts website.

NEWS: Prop. 8 Protests, Petitions and Update

People protested Prop. 8 all over Orange County and Los Angeles this past weekend...

Here's a bit more disappointing news from the LA Times this weekend: "Even with 2.7 million outstanding ballots statewide -- some mail-in and some provisional -- the odds aren't in favor of beating out the gay-marriage ban's lead of more than half a million votes."

Also, here is a 'Tale of Two Votes', comparing the Prop. 8 and Prop. 22 outcomes.

As of late, i have been made aware of Equality California's petition, and Courage Campaign's petition to repeal Proposition 8.

Prop. 8 effects have already been felt by same-sex marriage based businesses, including my own wedding officiant business, A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CEREMONY. The New York Times is reporting on economic downturns in the same-sex wedding market.

NEWS: Three lawsuits filed challenging Prop. 8

According to the Los Angeles Times today:

"The first action was filed by the ACLU, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal. Santa Clara County and the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles also sued, and Los Angeles lawyer Gloria Allred filed a third suit on behalf of a married lesbian couple....

"All the lawsuits cited the constitutional revision argument, and two of them asked the court to block Proposition 8 from taking effect while the legal cases were pending. "The court must hold that California may not issue licenses to non-gay couples because if it does it would be violating the equal protection clause," Allred said at a news conference.

"A California Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court would act "as quickly as possible" on the challenges.Other lawsuits could follow, but gay rights groups have called on supporters not to file cases in federal court. They fear that a loss at the U.S. Supreme Court could set back the marriage movement decades."

MORE INFORMATION in the news:
"Prop. 8 not retroactive, Attorney General Jerry Brown Says" from an SF Gate article dated 5 August 2008.