Nontraditional Marriage (love is love)

I know that many people reading this are not necessarily on the same side of the political spectrum that I am and that this post may bother some of you. However, I am not too inhibited about many of my views, particularly on social issues (so read on as you feel comfortable).

The poster above, which was running around facebook several months ago, captures quite well how I feel about the bans on same-sex marriages.  While they are still not truly "legal" in California after Proposition 8 passed (unfortunately) as an amendment in 2008, they are still widely supported, and I was proud to attend the ceremony and reception of my first cousin, Pallavi (my mom's brother's only daughter, and the oldest of my two total first cousins) and her partner, Amanda, as they celebrated their already-committed relationship and in front of their family and closest friends.

They had a beautiful ceremony at Orfila Vineyards, a winery in Escondido, CA, outside San Diego. The weather was lovely and the ceremony very personal.

The "Mala" Exchange replaced the traditional ring exchange

We took some lovely family photos in front of the vines.

Marco traveled from Albania to visit Southern CA for the first time.

The girls

The guys

Us with the happy couple

My uncle, Arun (left) traveled from Chennai, India, for the wedding. He and my other cousin, Parthan, couldn't make Kelvin's and my wedding last year as Parthan got appendicitis. We realized that it had been 25 years (since 1986!) that we had seen one another! What a great family reunion :)

The reception was lovely and very relaxed; there was plenty of time for dancing!

First dance...

... which was very well choreographed!

     We enjoyed a post-wedding brunch at Pacifica del Mar.
     (K, me, Marco, V, Pallavi, Amanda, Parthan)


                       Cousins, reunited!


In short: all of us there wholeheartedly supported Pallavi and Amanda's union; so I will leave you with one more picture (also stolen from Facebook) which puts things into perspective and which, I hope, reminds us all to be more open-minded, to love and accept all people, and to give all people, no matter their race, gender, or sexual orientation, equal civil rights.

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