Look at the above picture. Religious zealots call this an abomination. Some people consider this against their definition of marriage which states marriage consists strictly of union between a man and a woman. I call this love. I call this humanity. I call this happiness. I call this evolution (sorry Creationists).

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending my first same-sex wedding. I wasn’t nervous. I didn’t care who walked whom down the aisle. I didn’t care what the brides wore. I didn’t care if they called themselves “brides”. And why should I? We live in New York, one of the states that legally allows same-sex marriage, something that should, in my opinion, be legal throughout the nation.

But why can’t “they” just have civil unions? Isn’t that enough?

No. No, it isn’t because this is a free country and marriage should, in my opinion again, be about the love between two people and their willingness, their desire to spend the rest of their lives together just as my wife and I did 8 years ago. Anything else is exclusionary. It demeans people. It paints homosexuals as subhuman.

The wedding I attended was nothing short of beautiful and touching. The wedding theme was “Our Favorite Things” and the bridesmaids and held paper flower bouquets, each one personalized specifically for them. For example, one held an ingenious bouquet crafted out of Tom Petty lyrics. Placed around the room were wonderful black & white photos of the couple. Each attendee wore a button boasting their name and a short and personal humorous blurb – mine read, “I’ll be blogging about this tomorrow.” They sure know me.

The gorgeous program told of N & L’s story as well as how the wedding would proceed. It also included painstakingly punched out paper hearts made from NYC maps (NYC being one of the couple’s most favorite things) which we would throw instead of rice. We read that many of the items on the menu were provided or inspired by their favorite eateries and our mouths watered looking at the choices.

But first came the ceremony. First came two young women walking down the aisle, their arms wrapped within those of their parents’, and taking their places before a loving audience filled with family, friends, coworkers. They stood nervously before a judge and with humor and clear undying affection pledged themselves to each other. Tears flowed as family members read some of the couple’s favorite pieces. Laughs rang out when the judge, an old family friend of one of the women, pronounced them wife and wife but then had to take it back because he’d jumped the gun and forgot to let them read their own vows. Then he pronounced them wife and wife again and we in the audience clapped and cheered as N & L kissed.

What followed was like any other wedding. A cocktail hour. The wedding party entrance. The couple’s first dance. Speeches during which voices broke. Dancing to great 80s music. A brilliantly crafted wedding cake with NYC as its theme. A photo booth where you could take silly pictures. A sign-in book keepsake for well-wishers to express their joy to N & L. Booze galore. And then there were the special things. A real famed NYC Nuts 4 Nuts cart handing out roasted peanuts, cashews and almonds (if you’ve ever been to NYC, you probably know the sweet smell of these confections). Pizzas delivered by a favorite restaurant after dessert, after we’d all been stuffed to the gills by food provided by Dinosaur BBQ.

The specialty wedding cake baked by N’s coworker

So now that I’ve been to my first same-sex wedding, let me tell you the 3 differences between it and all of the heterosexual weddings I’ve attended including my own:

1) Two people of the same sex walked down the aisle.

2) Two people of the same sex said their vows.

3) Two people of the same sex were joined as partners for life in sickness and health.

That’s it. Why does that matter to anyone? Why does that matter more than love, joy, happiness, life? And why is it any of your business? Who gave anyone the right to define marriage between 2 people? If Sienna discovers she’s attracted to women I’ll be as proud to say I’m her father as I would be if she were attracted to men.

N & L are deeply in love. They’re happier than they’ve ever been. They’re off on their honeymoon.

Just like any heterosexuals who decide to take the marriage plunge.