It's weird...but kinda cool.

by Brittany Geragotelis

When we were at the beach last week, I got into the habit of waking up pretty early (like around 8ish; Hey, for a vacation, that's early). One of the mornings, I woke up (early), made some coffee (decaf) and went out to sit on the back deck (I liked to sit and listen to the waves in the morning) as I proceeded to try and wake up.

Only this time, I went out there, to find Matt's 8-year-old cousin, Maya, out on the deck, even more excited and energetic as usual. She was bouncing around and didn't even wait for me to ask her what was up before she spilled. "There's a wedding on the beach!" Sure enough, I looked out and saw an altar set up down by the water and about a dozen or so chairs lined up in front of it.

We were all so excited at the prospect of bearing witness to a couple's union--without having to get all dressed up to do it. It was exciting and sweet and for the next 30 minutes, I was glued to my patio chair as I sipped my coffee and watched guests start to arrive. By this time, Maya had lost interest and disappeared upstairs to find something else to hold her attention, so I was left there on my own to witness the blessed event.

As I waited, I tried to guess what the gown would look like. Would it be a big poofy affair, like a princess sort of look...or would the bride go the sundress route and wear something that could get sandy and wet? Maybe something modern...or a more traditional gown?


Finally, a crowd began to form as people headed down to the beach, including a few girls that were wearing the same sundresses, which led me to believe they were the bridesmaids. Everyone hugged hello and I watched as the officiant, dressed in a long, white, regal-looking robe made his way to the altar. I blinked as everyone turned to face where the bride would walk down the isle.

There was no dress. There were shorts. White shorts, actually, and a matching white button-up shirt.

And two brides.

The two women walked down the sandy isle together, arm in arm and their friends and family surrounded them as they approached the man who was going to marry them. As they reached the altar, the man threw off his robe to reveal white shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

In four words? It was (freaking) awesome!

I wish I hadn't been so far away that way I could have heard them, but man was everyone in that group happy when the vows were made and those two people were able to make those promises to each other. It was beautiful.

A little bit after the ceremony ended and the guests fled the beach, Maya appeared on the porch and I told her that it was two women who'd been married that morning. She looked confused for a minute and then said, "Two women?" I said, "Yep." Then, totally deadpan, she said to me, "That's weird...but also kinda cool." I asked her why it was weird and all she said was, "I don't know. But it's kinda cool, too." Then she skipped off to tell everyone about the wedding she'd seen on the beach.

5x5,
B.