Why-celand

DAYS REMAINING: 292

And again, for anyone asking the wholly legitimate "Why do you need to go all the way THERE?" question, which dovetails nicely with the "You don't want to further the cause here?" debate and the "Haven't you ever heard of Massachusetts?" argument. (Incidentally, for those asking, we have indeed heard of Massachusetts.)

And again I will  repeat my contention that people should get married wherever they want, and I fully support a same-sex couple's right to get married in a state where it is legal. But we don't live in one of those states. And with the political volatility surrounding this issue, I don't even believe that a state where it is legal right now will continue to be legal. Why should I? We used to live in California, home of marriage's legal limbo. I don't want that to happen to my marriage. I would rather give our hard-earned Ameribucks to a country that fully supports our right to marriage equality, and not muck around in a state where I can get married on one day and hear state-sponsored hate speech the next. So congratulations, Steve King of Iowa! You just cost the wedding industry in your state thousands of dollars. We're out of here, and we're taking our gay agenda with us. And I'm telling everyone else not to get married there either, which shouldn't be a problem because WE ALL KNOW EACH OTHER. Think about that while you revel in the real-world financial ramifications of the dumb-ass things you say.

See you in a few years at your gay sex scandal, Mr. King! We'll all try to pretend that we're surprised.

Bryndís-Gram

 DAYS REMAINING: 294

FROM: Bryndis

TO: Dan

Good afternoon from a sunny day in Iceland:-)

I am honored to be asked to perform the wedding ceremony next August for Eric and Daniel. I will probably be attending a semenary on the 3rd of December but after 16.00 I am free. Looking forward meeting you!

Best wishes.
Bryndís

Anna-Gram!!!!

 DAYS REMAINING: 295

When I started this blog, I had initially anticipated that I would post something every day. I thought that, with 365 days to go until a wedding on the other side of international waters, there would be no lack of things to talk about. But when you start planning a single day 365 days in advance, there are going to be times when you kick back, rearrange your closets, kill a spider, and otherwise just live your boring life for a minute. And honestly, we had spent the greater part of 2010 in a state of perma-move, so it was kind of nice to have a little break recently where I could leave work, go running, watch “Modern Family,” wonder how they wrote those scripts based on stories ripped directly from my life, and go to bed.

And then, sometimes, in order to sound smart around the Icelandic lady priest who is going to perform your wedding ceremony, you have to convert Fahrenheit to Celsius in a flash so that you don’t come across as culturally insensitive.

Welcome back to the strange mechanics of the gay Icelandic destination wedding from crazy town...

FROM: Anna

TO: Dan

Good afternoon, from a very cozy winter afternoon, here in Iceland.

How are you my grooms to be? Not long now until you will be in Iceland.

It is my honor to introduce you to your priest Bryndís.

Me and Bryndís spoke about your wedding earlier today, and I explained all about your plans and what your needs are regarding the wedding.

She is lovely person, and when you come over in December she has agreed to meet up with us.

All my best.
Anna

-------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM: Anna

TO: Dan

Dear Anna and Bryndis: 

I am so envious of your cozy Reykjavik weather. Here in New York, it was a balmy 24 degrees today. We are still waiting for winter to start!

Thank you so much for the introduction. I really look forward to all of us meeting when I am in Iceland. I arrive early in the morning on Friday 3 December, and I hope we might all meet that day.

Bryndis, thank you again for agreeing to perform our ceremony, and I can't wait to see you both!

Best
Dan

Special Guest Contributor

DAYS REMAINING: 308

I'm going to let Eric handle today's entry. Link is here. Reprinting below. He smart boy.

Your opinion is stupid

One of the most important lessons I have ever learned in my adult life is knowing when my opinion doesn't matter. Everyone is entitled to an opinion about anything in the world, but that doesn't mean it's important or useful to anyone else. A lot of the time, opinions are interesting and useful and entertaining, but sometimes it's a small but crucial decision to keep your mouth shut and remember that you're playing a supporting role in everyone's life except your own.

By the same token, it's also nice to realize when someone is being mean to you that their opinion doesn't really matter. Like the time I was walking down 28th Street and someone rolled down their car window just to scream at me, "GET A BETTER SHIRT!!" That actually happened, and the shirt I was wearing was brand new and didn't even have a design on it. This person must have been disappointed that I wasn't expressing myself enough. You know what? Their problem, not mine.

As it turns out, my feelings are not easily hurt. When we were kids, we used to rip into my dad about his corny jokes, his dorky music, and his weird habits, but he would always shrug and say, "Nobody's perfect!" or "Who cares?" (We were SUCH assholes. And now I make the same jokes, listen to the same music, have the same habits, and think my dad is the coolest guy on earth.) Now I do the same thing when someone has a problem with me for a stupid reason. Who cares? What's your problem?

And the stupidest reason of all for someone to have a problem with me -- the fact that I'm gay, which is such an insignificant fact all by itself that I feel dumb even writing it out -- somehow remains a topic of national debate. This is not something I think about when I leave the apartment I share with my boyfriend, and participate in the world consisting of my work life, my social life, my family life, and everything in between. But there is an edge of anxiety, even in a major city, because we are raised to expect something bad to happen if people know that you are gay.

Nothing like that has ever happened to me, but it does happen every single day and the consequences include five dead teenagers in the last month. Four men beaten and tortured in the Bronx last week. It is not easy to hurt my feelings but it's impossible not to be devastated by the reality that I live in a society where this is the daily news side by side with Carl Paladino stating that gay citizens are not "equally valid" or John McCain supporting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because it's totally cool for soldiers to put their lives on the line to protect American freedom as long as they stay in the fucking closet.

You don't think I should be legally allowed to marry my partner? When we've built a home together and spend holidays with our families and pay our taxes and plan to have children of our own one day? We're a hell of a lot more traditional than millions of households across America, but that's not even the point -- this is not a political issue. These are mean, judgmental opinions that grown adults should know to keep to themselves. The law banning same-sex marriage does not help or protect ANYONE. Some people might sleep better at night because it will help them imagine that they live in a world without homos, but does anyone really think that's going to happen?

Seriously, we're here, we're queer, get used to it. Your opinion on my relationship does not affect its validity. And if you don't agree, guess what? YOUR OPINION IS FUCKING STUPID. You're completely entitled to it, because I can't tell you what to think, but trust and believe, your opinion is so fucking stupid. I'm sure you think my family is terrible, but I know that it is not. Isn't it okay for us to disagree about that without making laws taking away each other's rights?

Message From Mom

DAYS REMAINING: 310

From: Mom
To: Dan and Eric

So listen, thank you Eric! You taught me how to save something on the desktop that I otherwise would have been unable to open and guess what?? I saved all 6 pages and was able to open the whole thing. It really, really looks gorgeous and the stamps are fabulous. Wow, it's really happening! Guess we do have to get passports after all.

Congratulations you 2. You both do great work. Love you both.

And, Just Like That

DAYS REMAINING: 311

THE INVITATIONS ARE DONE.

Single Tear

DAYS REMAINING: 312

Look.

I want to celebrate the miracle of life and the sanctity of marriage. I want to remember the strides we've made -- if not in this country, then at least in other parts of the world -- when it comes to federalized marriage equality. I want to continue to thrill to the fact that our family and friends are going to fly across an ocean to see two boys get married, because that's how fine it is that we're getting married. My my thinks so. My grandmother thinks so. Hell, the PRIEST thinks so.

I want to keep this blog upbeat despite the Rutgers suicide, the Bronx hate crime, the continued dual messes of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and Prop 8, the fact that Tony Perkins was allowed to write an Op-Ed for the real, actual Washington Post in which he wrote, "Since homosexual conduct is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence, it qualifies as a behavior that is harmful to the people who engage in it and to society at large."

Lovely.

So what CAN we celebrate from a gender/sexuality/equal rights perspective in this bigoted, broken world of Perkins and Palladino? You already know the answer, so sing it with me if you love Bjork...Iceland! Today, the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report released its list of greatest gender equality by nation. And guess whop came in at a pretty decent #1?

It's true!

(Since you asked, America is #19. Which is actually UP from last year.)

Okay, Fine, Just the Front

DAYS REMAINING: 313

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

DAYS REMAINING: 314

To: Tracey
From: Daniel

Hi, guys!

We absolutely love the invitations. We are so excited to see them finished! We have a few changes, but you can consider the invitations APPROVED WITH CHANGES. We do not need to see another proof.

Here is what we would like to change:

*Instead of using a block print for our names on the actual invitation on either side of the graphic, we would like to lose our names on either side of the graphic entirely. We like the graphic to stand on its own. IN ADDITION, we would like to lose our names on either side of the graphic on the RSVP CARD and on the ACCOMMODATION CARD as well. That would mean our names would only remain on either side of the graphic on the outside pocket.
*On the ITINERARY CARD, we would like to lose the websites for Icelandiair and Iceland Express. The sentence can remain the same, just lose the websites and the parentheses.
*The first sentence of the ITINERARY CARD (ARRIVE ICELAND VIA ICELANDAIR OR ICELAND EXPRESS) needs a period at the end.
*Typo on "PLEASE NOT," which should read "PLEASE NOTE."
*Since we're going all formal and British-y, can we change the spelling of "CENTER" to "CENTRE"
*Typo on "POOLSIS," which should be "POOLS IS"
*Can we lose the entire sentence, "THE FACILITY IS A FEW MINUTES WALK FROM THE HOTEL AND ALSO FEATURES A GYM, SPA, MASSAGE SALON, RESTAURANT, HAIRDRESSING SALON, AND SPORTS SHOP ON THE PREMISES."

That's it! Thanks again and please let me know when we can expect the final invitations.

Best as always,
Dan and Eric

I'm Not Joking...And Don't Call me Fairy

DAYS REMAINING: 315

And It's Spelled "Tracey," By the Way

[TO COME: PICTURE OF US LOOKING AT INVITATION PROOF AND SCREAMING]

DAYS REMAINING: 316

I'll post them tomorrow, after I've finished staring at them until my eyes bleed.

---------------------------------------------------

Hey Daniel and Eric!

Attached please find a proof of your current invitation order. Please read it over carefully, making sure that all of the information, spelling, punctuation, layout and other key aspects are correct.

If changes are necessary, please send them to us. Indicate whether the copy is “approved with changes” or “need revised proof”. Please note if a new proof is requested, a proof fee will apply.

If the order is “approved as is”, please confirm that the following items have been checked and rechecked, names, date, day of the week, location, time, address, phone number, e-mail address, and quantity. Once these items have been verified, and the proof has been approved, Fairy Tale Affairs is not responsible for any errors upon arrival.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us.

As per our conversation, we recommend using a block print for your names on the actual invitation on either side of the graphic. What do you think??

Tracey

---------------------------------------------------

In Which I Further Harass Local Businesses Like the Bridezilla I Am

 DAYS REMAINING: 317

Hi, guys!

Please find attached our address list for the calligraphy on the invitations. JUST TO CONFIRM, I wanted to make sure you had all of the following:

*Accommodation Card
*Itinerary Card
*Graphic
*Address list

Tracy said once she had all of those we might get an estimate as to when we could expect the proofs.

Thanks and let me know!

Best,
Daniel and Eric

The News is Spreading!

DAYS REMAINING: 318

Tapping into the zeitgeist, F-train style.

 

Why Buying Paper Towels is a Wedding-Related Activity

DAYS REMAINING: 319

And now, the glamorous life of the Iceland wedding.

At 7:30 this morning, I awoke to a large quantity of cat vomit in front of our bedroom door. Ransacking the apartment, I came to realize that our usual twenty or so rolls of paper towels had somehow ticked down to zero. But I had to leave for work. And I had to clean up cat vomit. And so I did, with a spare envelope from Fairytale Affairs.

No, I know. Fabulous gays with their promiscuous lifestyles.

Neologism of the Day

DAYS REMAINING: 320

"He's not your fiance. He's your fian-SIR." -- Chris of the BookHampton Book Store in East Hampton.

Meanwhile, Back in East Hampton

DAYS REMAINING: 321

Today, I finished the East Hamptons Half Marathon in 1:54:14. I give credit to my new best friend, the most gorgeous autumn weather possible. Aunt Carol and Uncle Lloyd were nice enough to do...everything.

Why is this significant in the context of our wedding in Iceland? Because not only is my sub-two-hour finish almost as much of a personal accomplishment as the Los Angeles Marathon, but it also led me to one of the most interesting discoveries regarding our trip to Iceland: this year's Reykjavik Marathon takes place on Saturday, August 20. The day after the wedding. Eric is already trying to get me to do it.

Going Postal

DAYS REMAINING: 322

The stamps are here! With the graphic on them! We are going to put them on the response card envelopes so that, I guess, we can get them back and end up with a 100% return on our investment.

I'm sure this news will make postal rates go up 1000% tomorrow.