Today we e-filed our marriage license application. Next month we will take our vows, and in September we will eat pie at the reception--not wedding cake.
The venue, the rings, the flowers, the church, the music, the food, and the guests have all been carefully chosen. So many details to attend to, and so many years of waiting for this to all be recognized in the eyes of the law.
Then on June 26, 2015, it happened. A miracle by many measures and an enormous step in progress-- the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the constitutional and civil rights we had been denied all this time. Justice Anthony Kennedy's words are eloquent and powerful, speaking to the root of what a sacrosanct bond of marriage endeavors to be.
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed." --Justice Anthony Kennedy
So now, constitutional rights in place, we enter into the selecting, tasting, and buying of wedding goods and services. An overwhelming task by any standard, even when you're trying to keep it sweet, small, and simple. In keeping with the idea of our wedding being a reflection of "us"--the first decision was deciding what would substitute for cake since neither of us are fans of the traditional wedding cake which tends to be all pop and no fizz--sugary, waxy, fondant-laden confections that often taste more like cardboard than the moist and deeply flavored homemade cake we're used to, the kind we bake, the kind of mothers and grandmothers before us baked. Favorites that come to mind are our mothers' specialties from Rum Cake to Apple Cake and at least a dozen in between.
Sampling cupcakes and pies whilst trying to shed pounds in time for the wedding and the dress isn't easy. But somebody has to do it. Yesterday we picked up our friend Roz and headed to her cousin's bakery in Princeton. If you haven't been to LilliPies you're in for a massive treat. The eponymous LiLLiPies come in flavors like NJ apple, lemon meringue, chocolate chess, bourbon pecan, and coconut cream. I recommend-- every. single. one! Seriously. If I were forced to only choose one, I'd go with the chocolate-- deep, dark and perfectly rich with a hint of sea salt on top and delectable pie crust. There's no need to stop at pies. Dozens of other options are available to indulge in and I plan to continue visiting until I've tried them all.
But it's the pies we've landed on for the wedding. It's a decision that suits us. Pie is the essence of sweet simplicity, which is what we want this wedding to be all about.