If you follow Our Hen House on Facebook or Twitter, then you likely already know that Mariann and I got hitched this past Friday morning! We did it “City Hall style,” a.k.a. the Manhattan City Clerk’s office. Only two people knew ahead of time; conveniently, they were our witnesses (and darling friends), Sally and Jane. The whole thing was surreal, with just a hint of irony and more than a hint of romance.
Following our early morning nuptials, Mariann and I walked around Chinatown. Though we already had the official certificate that said we were tied to one another for better or worse, in sickness and in health, yadda yadda, we still did not have rings. So we popped into a jewelery store on Canal Street and got very simple bands. Then we headed to have an early lunch at Buddha Bodai, where we devoured congee that made us truly forget that any woes in the world exist (ah, the power of thick soup). I was still wearing my “June Cleaver-esque” dress (complete with a petticoat), but that didn’t stop us from walking around the freezing cold city in search of a discount fruit market beneath the Manhattan Bridge, which we’ve been meaning to visit. One pomelo, three pounds of cherries, and several heads of bok choy later, we found ourselves on Mulberry Street — in Little Italy — where we stepped into a quaint cafe to warm up, and wound up staying for the creamiest decaf soy cappuccino one could ever imagine. We headed home, changed into PJ’s, and settled onto our pull-out couch/bed where we gorged ourselves on cherries, and watched two episodes of “Battlestar Gallactica.” That night, some friends took us out to dinner (we made sure to change out of our pajamas first), and finally, we wound up at our favorite piano bar, Marie’s Crisis, where, it should be noted, they played “If Momma Was Married” from Gypsy, just before we left. I sang along, perhaps a tad too exuberantly. It was the perfect day.
For about a thousand reasons, Mariann and I decided not to have a wedding. Each time we even vaguely considered the whole “sha-bang!” thing that most people do, we got stressed out near debilitation and gorged ourselves on chocolate. I do love a good party, it’s true. But the whole obligation aspect of a “wedding ceremony” grated on me; who has time?!
The most important part of our lives is Our Hen House. We pour our heart and soul into it, and work on it unendingly and relentlessly. We don’t want silverware. We want to change the world for animals (oh, speaking of which, the day after our marriage ceremony, we each got “change the world for animals” tattooed on our feet!).
With that in mind, we are hoping that you will celebrate this new step for us by making a donation of any amount to Our Hen House, which is the only registry we care about. As always, we offer some pretty fabulous thank you gifts, which you can consider your party favor. And we didn’t even drag you out to a boring old wedding, where you would have been forced to sing “the bride feeds the bride… the bride feeds the bride…” as Mariann and I stuffed each other’s face with vegan cake (embarrassing, and a waste of good icing!). And let’s not even discuss the whole garter belt phenomenon (pantihose were invented for a reason, folks). In other words: you’re welcome.
Help us celebrate getting hitched. Join us as we work to grow Our Hen House bigger and better, so that we can continue to offer you quality content on a consistent basis. There is so much going on for animals that gives us hope and inspiration. We are eager to continue to share that with you through our weekly podcast episodes (this weekend will mark our 161st consecutive weekly episode), our features, columns, blog entries, breaking news ticker, This Animal on This Day, exclusive videos, and other bells and whistles that help make up Our Hen House.
Before I close, I also want to tell you about the humbling effort of the magnificent powerhouse activist, JL Fields (of JL Goes Vegan fame), who is (lucky for us) a member of the Our Hen House board of directors. JL is currently celebrating her third year anniversary of being vegan, and to help celebrate, she is raising $1,095 — that’s $1 for every day she’s been vegan — all to benefit Our Hen House! She has raised $300 so far, and we’re hoping you will consider making a donation to JL’s fund drive so that we can celebrate this extraordinary woman (her appearance on our podcast remains one of the most inspirational), and support OHH’s efforts to mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals, while we’re at it.
That’s all from me for today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generosity, and for the warm wishes that so many of you have been throwing our way. We appreciate you heaps and tons, oodles and shitloads. It’s an honor to have you celebrate with us.
Below are some random photos from the big (small) day. Click on any of them to see the big version. Also feel free to visit our public Facebook page.
