“When we were trying to find a judge who would preside at our wedding, we got declined a couple times. It was frustrating, but we kept looking. Finally, when we asked Judge Coffey in Baytown, he said, ‘Of course, I’ll be there. What day?’ I told him it was a same-sex marriage, and he was like, ‘That’s fine. I’ve done a few.’ He did not even question it. On our wedding day, he showed up at the park with his gown on. And his spirit was super classy. He said, ‘So nice to meet you both. Let’s get this show on the road.’

“When we got to the point in the ceremony for the traditional wedding vows, she didn’t know we had to repeat all the phrases.”

“I just thought you had to say, ‘I do, I do, I do.’ That’s what I’d been practicing. I didn’t know you had to say the whole thing. When I realized it, I literally stopped breathing. Everybody thought I was just all emotional and crying, but I was really gasping for air. I was in shock that I had to say all those words.”

“I was like, ‘Are you OK?’ Because she leaned over, and I was wondering if she was going to faint. Then the judge asked, ‘Should we proceed?’ And I said, ‘We’ve got this. Go ahead.’ And it turned out great. After the ceremony we got in the car together, and I said, ‘Can you believe we’re legally married?’ It was just the best moment, the best day, the best feeling ever.”

— Samantha Villegas Espinoza and Eufemia Espinoza

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• Marriage dream comes true for same-sex couple

• Adoption process was emotional roller coaster

• Adopted teenager: ‘I’m one of the lucky ones’

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“We were straight up in love. We wanted to get married. There were no ifs, ands or buts. Since same-sex marriage wasn’t legal in Texas yet, we thought we were going to have to settle for a commitment ceremony. It’s kind of like a wedding. But you’re just committed as friends for life, basically. So you can’t carry each other on your taxes, or have life and health insurance together. A lot of our friends were doing commitment ceremonies. It was like the real thing. Their dad walked them down the aisle and everything. It was as legit as it could be at the time. We thought we were going to do something like that, too.

“Then, when it was announced that same-sex marriage had been legalized here, it was all over the radio, all over social media. We were both so happy. A lot of couples rushed out to get married. But we didn’t jump into it. We didn’t want to do it just because everybody else was doing it. We decided to wait for about a year, and then we began doing the whole planning thing.

“We got married on Feb. 18, 2017. It was six years after we started dating. We went through a lot to get here. Through it all, we showed that it’s important to be yourself. That you should love who you need to love, who you want to love. And don’t settle for anything less.”

— Samantha Villegas Espinoza and Eufemia Espinoza

Related:

• ‘Best moment, best day, best feeling ever’

• Adoption process was emotional roller coaster

• Adopted teenager: ‘I’m one of the lucky ones’

The post Marriage dream comes true for same-sex couple appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My grandmother is the epitome of a nana. She always feeds you. She always listens to you. She’s always there for you. She always wants the best for you. Now, for her and my grandfather to do this garage sale to help with my wedding, it’s just amazing.

“We’ve been really fortunate. The venue we wanted had a sale conveniently going on when we were looking, so we got a low price. The wedding dress I found went on sale the next day, so it was really cheap. I don’t know how, but everything is coming together. And it’s amazing to see how much family, friends and just life in general are kind of saying, here you go.

“I used to think about what it would be like to get married. But after my parents divorced when I was 16, I didn’t know if it would ever happen for me. I always hoped for it. But when you grow up with two great parents, then all of a sudden it kind of crumbles, you wonder if there’s such a thing out there for you. But with my grandparents, I always saw it. I still see it. So I know it’s there. They’ve been married almost 50 years. Now it’s kind of cool to have my own moment, where I know it’s real. We’re going to make it happen.”

— Kaitlyn McDonald

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“I met her on a Friday. We were engaged the following Friday. Married a month later. Two weeks after that, we were living in Tokyo because I already had a job lined up there to teach English to Japanese businessmen.

“When I interviewed for that job in October, they wanted to send me right away. I said, ‘No, I don’t think I should go over there single. I need to be married.’ They asked if I had somebody in mind. I had a girlfriend, but I knew we weren’t going to get married. So I said, ‘No, I don’t.’ Then they asked, ‘Well, when can you be married?’ So I just picked a date out of the clear blue sky. I told them Feb. 1. I was close. I met my wife during Christmas break. We were married on Feb. 6.”

What did she think about all of that?
“She was super cool about the whole thing. When we first met I asked her, ‘What would you think if you met some guy and he said that we’re going to get married and go live in Japan?’ And she said, ‘I think it would be exciting.’ That was the right answer because I had asked other girls, and they all said, ‘Are you crazy?’”

— Keith Dick

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The post Whirlwind romance, move to Japan ‘super cool’ appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“We’re getting married on June 24. My family lives here and she’s from Vancouver, Canada. We met at college. She plays the piano really well. I tried out for a singing group and I made it, and she was the pianist for it.”

“He has one more semester and I just finished in December. Now I’m working on planning our wedding. We had an outdoor venue all set because I tried to be on top of things and booked it way in advance, but now it’s gotten complicated.”

“Yeah, it’s at an orchard in Vancouver, and the city recently passed this thing where you can’t have non-farming activities on a farm.”

“So basically right now, we don’t have a venue. Most venues are booked a year in advance. I looked online for alternatives, but they’re either way out of budget or I didn’t like them.

“We had already signed contracts and stuff at this venue. So we’re just praying and hoping that they’ll still let us have the wedding there.”

— Jason Cripps and Erin Mackay

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“I have nine kids, 17 grands and four greats. I’ve had a lot of happy times, but I’m really looking forward to what’s going to happen on Aug. 9. I will march my granddaughter down the aisle. She’s getting married. I can’t describe how great it felt when she asked me. It was a very pleasant shock.”

Do you have your wedding outfit ready?
“Oh, yeah. I have to get a tux and all that. When she asked me, she also said, ‘And you better wear your teeth, Pawpaw.’ I’m having to get all dressed up, and I have to put in my teeth, too?”

— Earl Guidry

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“We’ve known each other since junior high. Through the years, we would contact each other from time to time. Then my husband passed away last year, and we sort of got reconnected. We started doing more things together again.”

“She was my bride’s maid at my wedding 46 years ago.”

What do you remember most about the wedding day?
“I don’t really remember it. But I have pictures of the wedding, and I was definitely in it. It was all a blur, I guess.”

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• School security manager role was plenty stressful

The post Long-ago friends reconnect after husband’s death appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“My wife and I used to come to Jenkins Park when we were dating, just spending time together and walking the trails. We really like it — so much that we got married out here. We had a really nice wedding under some trees.

“Now with our girls, it’s a great place to take the family. We think it’s the nicest park in Baytown.”

The post So they figured, why not get married here? appeared first on The Baytown Project.