Terry & Doug's Wedding

Celebrating the Birth of a New Union

Our wedding celebration occurred on June 30, 2007 in Ross, California. For us it was a day of presence, of joyous celebration, and of love and community. We were blessed to have had the day we envisioned and prepared for.

We have created this site as a kind of 21st century wedding album. Here we share with our family and friends highlights of the celebration including pictures, some of the readings and blessings from the ceremony, our vows, and some looks behind the scenes of our special day. There are writings, pictures and videos.

We invite you to post your comments. If you were there, please share with us and our community the high points of your experience. How were you effected by being there? What do you/will you remember about the event? If you were not there, what is your experience as you review these pages?

We also include here reflections on what led us to choose to marry, as well as on how it has been for us in the weeks since we wed. The journey continues to unfold.

There are also songs interspersed throughout, often at the top of a posting, and also within posts. You will need to press the play button on the plug ins. After you go to each page, give the site a few moments to load the song before pressing the play button. Alas, our experience is that songs do not always play, that the plug in may not be there, or it may be faded into the background. We regret that you may not get to enjoy the music. It is best to view the site during daytime hours, as bloggers around the world crowd the site at night.

Thank you for visiting this site and for your ongoing love and support. Take your time. Relax and enjoy!

121 Winding Way, Ross, California

When we began planning our wedding, we visited the usual locations for an outdoor wedding in Marin county and were disappointed at what was available. Then we remembered the home of a friend where we had gone to celebrate and photograph Abby, her date and several of her friends in all of their prom splendor. The location would be ideal, with three escalating levels, or terraces, natural landscaping with wild, beautiful bushes and flowers, and breath-taking vistas of the hills of Marin.

We presented our vision to friend Bill, the proprietor of this wondrous site, and he shared our enthusiasm, with one condition. The house was for sale, and he would not be able to commit until it was certain that a sale would not intervene. Fortunately for us, no buyer appeared, and we were able to have our wedding here.

Upon a close look at the premises, Terry immediately identified this location by the pool as the site for the ceremony, with guests seated around the pool and up above on the third terrace. The guy who came to consult with us about our sound system saw our vision and remarked, "It won't feel like people are coming to a wedding. It will feel like people just happened upon a wedding." As you can see the view is spectacular.

Astrology, Anyone?

A few years ago, Doug learned a way to find an astrological "Partner Chart" on the Internet. What he found in his and Terry's "Composite Chart" was astounding, though uncannily accurate. When Doug shared the information with Terry, she couldn't believe it. She figured she would find the same information no matter what birth information she entered for two partners. So she entered birth information for herself and a few others (including her son) and not only found completely different information for each pairing, but found the information accurate for each pairing as well.

Though we are not astrological "true believers," we wanted to share some of this information with our community, because it is so inspiring to us, especially the descriptions of the transformational impact that our relationship has on us. (We didn't make this stuff up -- really!) Here are some quotes from our Composite Chart:

You were probably strongly attracted to each other when you first met and as you learn more and more about each other, you remain strongly attracted. The emotions are quiet in their expression, friendly rather than wildly passionate. This kind of affection will sustain a relationship for a long time.

This is a relationship based on love and affection. You are very compatible emotionally and your relationship will have a positive effect on both of you.

You will enjoy each other's company immensely.

The experience of this relationship will have a strong effect on your views of the world and your ways of thinking about it. For the most part, these effects should be positive, involving greater understanding of yourselves as individuals and as partners in a relationship.

Be prepared for the fact that your normal patterns of doing things will be altered by this relationship. New insights about yourselves will be revealed to you, but do not be afraid to deal with them. The results can only be good for both of you.

This relationship will cause you both to analyze yourselves in depth and to analyze the nature of your relationship. But the analysis that you undergo will not be a superficial intellectual exercise. It will go on in your hearts as well as your minds. And the changes that take place in both of you will affect all levels of your being.

Elements of your personalities will pass away, but the transformation will be experienced as good and necessary, following naturally in the course of events. It will be very deep, very powerful, and very useful to both of you. Your hopes for life will probably be altered.

This relationship is quite likely to change your accustomed ways of looking at the world. It will be a quiet, subtle change such that one day the two of you will find that you don't understand what is going on at all. You both will certainly be confused and may be fearful of what you don't understand.

There will be a breakdown of the ways in which you structure your perception of reality. If you can bring yourselves to relax and flow with its energies, this relationship can present you with a whole new way of structuring your world, which will greatly enhance your ability to deal with life. It will also break down your old understandings of yourselves in a relationship, but in the long run it can also bring about a new and truer understanding.

When a situation arises that requires the two of you to sit down and discuss your problems, you can do so easily and with the proper blend of objectivity and involvement.

You have a highly developed sensitivity toward each other and the ability to communicate nonverbally and intuitively. You know what the other feels even if you are apart.

The two of you are extremely complementary in many respects and as a couple you are a whole that is stronger than the two parts.

There is a powerful force for regeneration and growth in this relationship. It gives you staying power.

It may be that others will be somewhat afraid of the level of intensity between you, but don't pay any particular attention to their fears. They will come to see that there is nothing to be afraid of.

What you both want is a complete union of two souls in a cosmic oneness. The difficulty is that you may think you have achieved this state when you haven't. You must be very careful to find out what the truth is.

There is a very positive emotional rapport between the two of you. You understand each other's feelings, and expressing them makes you both feel good. At a very deep emotional level, you are able to feel as one, which makes the bond between you even deeper. Through emotional self-expression and through experiencing each other at such a deep emotional level, you both will grow in understanding and tolerance.

Unconscious actions are less of a problem than in most relationships. You are not destroying your relationship in the manner that so many are destroyed.

This relationship should outlast many others that may seem more energetic and vigorous. You will be able to stay together for a long time, no matter what kind of relationship you have.

The most important point about this relationship is that it will have considerable integrity. You will be true to yourselves, and that will certainly help to win you the admiration of others.

Here We Go

After looking at flowers in a typical florist's shop, Terry was dissatsfied and wanted something different.... that would fit with the surroundings. She found these proteace flowers at the Farmer's Market and knew these were what she'd been searching for.