Erin Trame And Carrie Turner, Married In Washtenaw County
Carrie Turner and Erin Trame, married in Washtenaw County on March 22, 2014.
"My wife and I were one of the lucky couples to get married in Washtenaw County during the 4 hours it was legal.
We got married last year for a variety of reasons: 1) we love each other; 2) we've been together for over 20 years and wanted our relationship to have the same recognition and rights as our married heterosexual counterparts; and, 3) we wanted to make a political statement that, despite the Republicans' best efforts, we will not be denied our equal rights!
"Since Erin and I have been together so long, I didn't really expect to feel different after we got married but in fact, I did. Marriage has such cultural significance in terms of commitment and celebration. I didn't really appreciate what I had been missing until I became part of the club. When I was standing there, exchanging vows with Erin in front of friends and family and then filing our license with the clerk, it was such an incredibly profound and fulfilling event in our lives together that I never would have predicted the effect it had on us."
Tom Hitchman & Keith Hewitt
"We're one of the 300 couples married March 22, 2014 (Oakland County)."
Chelsie and Dana Plotner
"My name is Chelsie Plotner and my wife Dana and I had our wedding in Ann Arbor (not legally) on July 6, 2013. We actually went to city hall in October and anxiously awaited the decision which was not immediate; however, we received our number! We were lucky enough to be able to also come back for the small gap in March to legally get married!
"My wife has currently changed her name to Dana Plotner. Marriage equality is very important to us because we feel that all couples deserve the right to have their love legally recognized. With legal recognition couples could more easily share benefits like insurance, child guardianship and pensions. Recently we have brought a beautiful baby girl into the world and we would love nothing more than to be legally recognized as a family."
Jill Calvin-Pimlott and Lori Pimlott-Calvin. Married in Oakland County.
"Marriage equality is important to us because it validates that our love is just as important and equal as our heterosexual counterparts. When we were able to marry on March 22, 2014, it was bittersweet. It was a great moment for us but also sad because not everyone, especially Jayne and April, was able to marry that day. We want to be able to celebrate love when every same-sex couple has the opportunity to marry."
Emma Goodwin (left) and Nichole Swiben (right)
"We firmly believe that marriage is a basic human right. No one should be denied love, happiness and commitment. We stand proudly by one another and await the day that it is no longer 'gay marriage' but simply 'marriage.'"
