Wedding Reflections

Last spring Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the freedom to marry legislation which allows all committed couples to marry in the State of Minnesota beginning August 1, 2013.  During the long debate on the proposed amendment to limit marriage equality many argued that businesses would be forced to conduct business with same sex couples which might go against their personal beliefs.  This is our Woodbury story. 

After being together for 16 years, which has included times of “prosperity and want”, as well as in “sickness and health,” we decided that as a couple we would take our vows in front of our families and friends at the Cherokee Park United Church where we have found unconditional love and acceptance.  Our first stop on our wedding planning journey was to apply for a marriage license at the Washington County Service Center in Woodbury.  Like most couples this was an exciting day but maybe even more exciting as just days before it would not have been legal to do so for a couple like us.  We chose June 14 to do this as it was the date we celebrated annually as our anniversaryase it was the date that we first met.  The clerk that processed our application was very professional but you could tell she was excited about processing our application and with sincerity and a genuine smile on her face congratulated us on our upcoming wedding!

We eventually made a stop at a jewelry store to check out rings.  Again we wondered how we would be treated as we approached the counter and started looking at rings.  To our surprise the salesperson did not skip a beat and joined right in to the ebb and flow of our conversation and questions we had about the different ring styles.  She made the ring purchasing experience fun and enjoyable.  And the bonus was the cashier that checked us out was to be married a few weeks before us and we quickly began comparing notes as to colors being used and venues chosen.   And just how normal was that?  Pretty normal I would imagine when you find others experiencing what you are going through at this special time in your life and it made no difference if you were a same sex couple.

Formal wear was to be a part of our big day so we stopped into another business in Woodbury to check out the styles and see what we could make work for us.  It only took a few questions for the clerk to figure out that there was not going to be a bride at the wedding and that we were the couple that was going to be tying-the-knot.  And then the fun began.  We laughed our way through the complete selection process and felt wonderfully special by the clerk that helped us figure everything out.  By the time we walked out of the store with our tuxes the day before the wedding we felt as though we had made a true connection with the store clerks and they truly wanted us to look our best!

When we told one friend we were getting married she told us to sample as much cake as we could.  Unfortunately we just didn’t have that much time to spare so we settled on making an appointment with one of the well-known Woodbury bakeries.  And do you think any of the staff there was reluctant to make a cake for us?  Not in the least!  We sampled cakes and fillings and icings and debated styles and ended up with the perfect combination for what we wanted.  Our dream cake was ordered and we left another Woodbury business feeling wonderful about the service experience we had encountered.

What wedding is complete without flowers?  We dropped in to the local florist, a short distance from home, and by this time we were not the least bit concerned that anyone would raise an eyebrow at the two guys planning a wedding.  And we were right.  We dove right into picking out flowers and engaging in ideas.  We left another Woodbury business as satisfied customers.

We matdae many other purchases in Woodbury business over the course of the wedding planning and whenever people engaged us in conversation about what we were doing and upon discovering it was for our wedding we received overwhelming support and acceptance.  We are proud to share this with others in Woodbury and to let everyone know how wonderful the businesses were in our journey.  We married this past Saturday and the ceremony and reception turned out beautifully in large part due to the wonderful people we met along the way here in Woodbury.  While we cannot speak for all the businesses in Woodbury we would hope that any couple planning a wedding and doing business in Woodbury would be just as welcome as we were.  Marriage for everyone is definitely good for business!

Frederick and Douglas Dempsey-Hess