The Big Fat Gay Chinese Italian American Canadian wedding

Yesterday was the day of the actual wedding. Everyone else went to Filene's basement, and I just sat around and read and wrote and such. Then we all piled into rented cars, because we needed to drive from Boston to Topsfield for the wedding. After a bit of a frenzied drive, we arrived early. The wedding party was having photos done. When I saw the wedding party, I said, "Hey, there's the bridal party, er, I mean, the groomal party."

The event was held in some sort of Greek revival building which was decorated in a colonial style. It started with a tea ceremony during which Albert and Rich's relatives sat in chairs and were served tea by Albert and Rich. The relatives then whispered bits of advice to the couple. This was interesting, but took a really long time. After the tea ceremony, we went outside for the actual wedding. Gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, and anyone can receive the power to marry others, and the government rubberstamps it. (You have to apply). Albert and Rich were married by their friend, an actor named Alecia Batson. They had a string quartet, and two aisles. There was no wedding party, just the relatives, who walked the aisles first. After this, Albert and Rich were walked down the aisles by both of their parents. They met at the front, and there were a couple of readings. After this, they said their vows, which were incredibly moving. They'd written them themselves and they were full of love, and promises. Both of them were crying, and I even started crying as well because they both looked so intense and passionate. AT the end of his speech, Rich said, "It's going to be a lot of fun," as he was bawling. This was both funny, and incredibly sweet.

At the end of the ceremony, Alecia pronounced them "legally wed" and they kissed. We then went into the building for cocktails, sour apple and chocolate martinis and an oyster bar. Then we had dinner, and champagne toasts. They hired a live band, and everyone danced- gay, straight, and people of all ethnicities. It was awesome! During some parts of the evening, Albert and Rich's relatives (male and female) took turns dancing with each of them. It was a blast. In lieu of favours, a donation had been made to MASS EQUALITY, an organization that promotes gay marriage in the state of Massachusetts. I really liked this idea.

After that, we had some drinks at a pub as the after party, then stumbled off to bed.

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We're now in New York. After dim sum, which we sort of missed, we took the bus to New York City. We actually took the Fung Wah Bus , which travels from Boston's Chinatown to New York's for only 15$! You can buy tickets on the platform in Boston and it's just a regular Greyhound. We checked into the Cosmo, pausing to view City Hall on the way. Then it was off to Manhattan, where we dropped off B*'s friend Alex and went for dinner with his sister, her husband and their baby. We then jumped back on the Subway and toured Times Square, which I found to be a bit of an assault on the senses. So far I find New York smelly and dirty, but ultimately intriguing and fascinating. We only have two days, so tomorrow we are meeting up with friends and are going to hit some of the major tourist attractions.

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Somewhere in all this activity, I have caught a bit of a cold and my throat is very sore.