Twenty-four gay and lesbian couples were wed Saturday under two “pop-up” chapels designed to celebrate the first full weekend of same-sex marriage in New York.
With every “I do,” jubilant whoops and cheers burst from the crowd, a mix of friends, family and passers-by.
The weddings, although held adjacent to the commotion of New York City’s Columbus Circle, felt comfortably ensconced in Central Park. The event’s organizers reported no protests or disturbances throughout the day.
The two chapels, named KISS and ICRAVE, were chosen from more than 50 entries after a 10-day design competition. KISS, designed by architect Guy Zucker, consisted of two interlocking, helix-shaped wood frames.
Carley Roney, co-founder of the marriage service The Knot, which co-sponsored the event, said KISS was constructed this way because, as with a marriage, “the two pieces can’t stand on their own. They need each other to stand up.”
Meanwhile, ICRAVE, designed by architect Lionel Ohayon, covered the betrothed with an array of rainbow-colored ribbon bands dangling from a makeshift roof. The rainbow colors were chosen to reflect gay pride, Roney said.
While the pop-up chapels will be demolished after the event, the newlyweds said there was nothing ephemeral about the vows taken beneath them.
“I promise to always help you find your keys; I promise to give you all the credit when people compliment me in your clothes... I promise to always have your back,” Katrina Olson said to her new wife, Tiffany Hopkins. “The only thing I can’t promise you is my heart, ’cause you stole it so many years ago.”
Afterwards, a friend of the couple’s played The Beatles’ “When I’m Sixty-Four,” inviting a sing-along from the street crowd and many of the event’s volunteers.
Like the ceremony for Hopkins and Olson, the services throughout the day focused far more on the relationships than the novelty, or historical significance, of a same-sex marriage.
Shari Berkowitz, one of the wedding’s officiants, said this marked a change from some of the same-sex commitment ceremonies she oversaw 15 years ago, which were often marked with tension. On Saturday, Berkowitz officiated the wedding of Gabrielle Harmon and Jacqueline Cabrera.
“Now, you will feel no rain, for each of you will be shelter to the other,” she said at the ceremony.
The weather Saturday - sunny without a cloud in the sky - seemed to make this assurance unnecessary.
Additionally, the day’s attendees said their thoughts were not clouded by the lawsuit, filed this Monday by the conservative group New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedom, challenging the legality of the same-sex marriage law.
“I think it’s going to die,” Jen Frankel said of the lawsuit before she married Jessica Schoen.
Bex Schwartz, one of the event’s organizers, added, “I’m an eternal optimist; I hope the right way will win out... people realize that we can’t say some people are better than others.”
Although the Rev. Jason McGuire, NYCEF’s executive director, has questioned the impact of same-sex marriage on religious institutions, the wedding ceremonies Saturday seemed to embrace the convergence of religious rites and homosexuality.
For instance, during the wedding of Tom Carujo and Scott Baumann, a gay couple of nearly 30 years, Pastor Mark Cutolo discussed the significance of the rainbow in the Bible.
After the flood, “the eternal God gave Noah the rainbow as a promise he would never destroy the earth again,” Cutolo said.
Now, rainbows also serve as a powerful symbol of gay rights and diversity, he said, and the two are complementary, not contradictory.
“So, the rainbow is a sign of hopefulness, of life,” Cutolo said, looking up at the effervescent ICRAVE. “A sign that we feel blessed by God.”
Quarterback Peyton Manning has agreed to a five-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts for $90 million, according to NFL Network.
Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay confirmed the terms of the deal on his Twitter account.
The deal allows the four-time MVP to report to training camp at Anderson University in central Indiana, the club said on its website.
However, due to surgery he had in May, Manning will start the year on the training camp's "Physically Unable to Perform" list, the Colts said. Manning currently is undergoing daily rehabilitation sessions with the Colt’s medical staff.
“Signing Peyton was a top priority for this organization and we are thrilled that the deal is complete,” Irsay said. “We feel that it is a salary cap friendly deal and it allows us more flexibility.”
Manning led the Colts to a Super Bowl victory in 2006 over the Chicago Bears. In 13 seasons, he has earned 11 Pro Bowl selections and started all 208 career games, the most games to start a career at any position in NFL history, according to the Colts' website. He has completed 4,682 of 7,210 passes for 54,828 yards and 399 touchdowns. On his next touchdown pass, Manning will join Brett Favre and Dan Marino as the only players with 400 or more touchdown passes.
A preliminary 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck Sunday morning off the east coast of Honshu, Japan's main island, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
FULL STORYA museum dedicated to Arnold Schwarzenegger opened this week in the former California governor's childhood home, Austrian media report.
Schwarzenegger, whose 64th birthday is Saturday, didn't attend the quiet opening, but organizers have invited him to be back for a grand opening at a date to be determined, the Austrian Times reported.
The museum in Thal will include Schwarzenegger's first set of weights, props from some of his movies and a replica of the desk he used as governor, the Austrian site The Mark reported.
It also may include a picture of Schwarzenegger's estranged wife, Maria Shriver, according to the Austrian Times.
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