Nick & Chad: Ya you betcha!

I guess I’ll start this entry with the letter I wrote to the Star Tribune.

Gay marriage debate: Hope for the future
The other day my 6-year-old son overheard a conversation I was having with my husband. We are wedding photographers and were discussing the details of the “Nick and Chad” event. My son stopped playing and asked, “Can a boy marry a boy?”

I said yes, there are many different kinds of families — some like ours with a mom and a dad — and some families with two moms or two dads.

He responded, “OK. But usually a girl marries a boy — right?”

“Usually,” I said.

My son continued playing, and I couldn’t help but think and hope that someday he will look back at the Federal Marriage Amendment and won’t be able to grasp such discrimination. Much like I can’t believe that in my parents’ day African-Americans weren’t allowed to ride in the front of the bus.

AMY SPARKS, SOUTH HAVEN_

 

I really didn’t expect to be published, and was very surprised when I received an early morning phone call from a woman thanking me for my letter.

Nick is a great friend and I’ve known him since he worked for me back in my coffee house owner days at In Hot Water. He was by far, my most stellar employee. I originally met Chad over a year ago when they came to our house to meet and adopt, Lucy, the stray kitten that had found her way to our house. They took that country kitty home, and she became a city kitty that they fell in love with. Unbeknownst to me, Nick and Chad were falling head over heals for not only Lucy, but each other. Time flew by and soon Nick was calling me and informing me of his plan to start law school and move to Fargo, North Dakota.

Cue in record screetch….

Fargo? Are you sure? He was sure, and even more positive that he wanted to be with Chad forever.

As a protective friend, I had my doubts, but seeing them together made me realize how truly happy they are and how they support and build each other up.

Chad’s parents graciously hosted the event at their beautiful lake home outside Pelican Rapids. I was excited to be traveling to this part of Minnesota for purely selfish reasons…I had won a competitive long distance horse ride at the nearby Maplewood State Forest. Well, that was in another lifetime.

People came from near and far, New York, Portland, Annandale…to celebrate with the couple. Nick’s dad used ingenuity to create a banquet table that made an elegant S-curve up the driveway. He said matter of factly, “The driveway was the only flat place for people to sit down and eat.” The cake was inspired by Nick & Chad’s invititation and reflects their taste for the retro modern.

No nice lake breezes that day, and I can only explain the sensation as melting. However, everyone was having such a nice time, we almost didn’t notice.

Kate & Todd – How to speak Minnesotan

You know you’re working with great people when the collective consciousness kicks in. At precisely the same moment, Rachel, Adam and I looked across the road from the Garten Marketplatz, Kate & Todd’s amazing outdoor ceremony site and said “Ahah!” We said it silently, of course, because we were in the midst of capturing a lovely ceremony.

A gentle sloping gravel road, surrounded by cornfields…what more says rural Minnesota?

This couple came together whilst working at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester. They built a beautiful love with friendship as their foundation, as it took Todd “a long time to finally ask me out,” says Kate. Together with their daughters, they became a beautifully blended family. Including Todd’s daughter’s half brother, Kate & Todd’s “reverse step-son,” was an example of the unique kindness and understanding this couple values and exemplifies to others.

Todd & Kate are great people that went out of their way to make Rachel, Adam, and me feel like guests. From the pink gift basket full of pink goodies waiting for us in our hotel room, I really appreciated the sunscreen…to making sure we had a nice veg dinner at the Rochester Event Center. This couple truly defines Minnesota nice!