Last Saturday, June 28th, Jan and I were married at the town hall here in Deurne. It was really wonderful! The ceremony was rather short, only 15 minutes, and was officiated by the burgermeister (mayor) of Deurne. We were joined in the celebration by a close group of friends. We were really luck that our friend Dermot made the journey from the United Kingdom in order to act as best man/witness. Especially given his dislike of all things Belgian. It was an interesting event as the entire thing was in Flemish. When it got to the "Do you..." part of the ceremony, we were required to say 'ja' and not yes. After the ceremony we went to a great restaurant in Antwerp. The restaurant, Zuiderterras, was in a great location right by the river. We had a wonderful meal in celebration.
Belgium was the second country in the world, after Holland, to recognize same-sex marriage. It is actually called marriage, and not 'civil unions'. Now that we're married, every country in the European Union will recognize the nuptials.
There's so much more to say, but I just can't seem to get the words out of my head. So you'll just have to look at the pictures, and then check back later for more writings. Enjoy!
