What Mike has joined, let no man sunder

I performed my fifth wedding this afternoon, but there were several firsts. This was the first time I married a couple that I didn't (previously) know. The happy couple are coworkers of jsadler. She was kind enough to think of me, and they were desperate enough to think of me. It was also the first time that I said something like this:

Love is a wondrous thing that binds people together, and nothing, neither race nor sexual orientation, should be allowed to hinder a couple’s freedom to love.  I know R. and A. join me in hoping that California will soon help to again lead the way in protecting marriage equality for all.

My first draft was a bit more elliptical in its support for gay marriage, but R & A were very serious about how important this issue was for them, and this is what they wanted. I was only too happy to comply.

Oh, and I think another first was that the holy text in which I concealed my cheat sheets was HP Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature.

The groom was nervous, the bride was stunning. Not everything went perfectly, but everything went beautifully. In other words, a great wedding.

But most importantly, I turned a mail-order ordination into hard currency.