Thursday, December 31, 2009

NH gay couples to start New Year with wedding vows

NH gay couples to start New Year with wedding vows - Yahoo! News
FRANCONIA, N.H. – Jeffry Burr and Neil Blair are just hours from their wedding, but there are no typical prenuptial jitters. After all, this is the third time they've exchanged vows.

They first committed to each other before scores of relatives and friends on June 24, 2006, in an emotional ceremony that didn't even count under New Hampshire law. Then, at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2008, the first moment they were legally able to do so, they became civilly committed in a more subdued ceremony.

This time, the two will finally be legally married Friday, when New Hampshire becomes the fifth state to allow gay couples to wed.

Instead of a $5,000 weekend celebration like they had in 2006, they'll have a brief rereading of their earlier vows, pop the cork on some champagne and have dinner together.

"It's the third time," Blair said. "How excited are you supposed to be?"

The ceremony is more about pronouncing their civil equality than restating their commitment to each other, they say.....


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