My Mothers’ Fairytale of a Wedding

By Mikayla Denault

Once upon a time, there was a courageous princess searching the kingdom for adventure and friendship. She wanted to distract herself from her mother’s annual Prince Trial where the loveliest men in the land go through a series of contests to win the affection of one unwedded princess of the kingdom. This year it was her time to be forced into choosing a prince just as her mother wanted her to. The only problem is that she never had the guts to follow in Rapunzel footsteps and come out of the tower, let down her hair, and tell her mother she actually likes women. When she joined the Royal Softball League with her best friends, she was introduced to the most amazing, kind, and loving princess she had ever met. The two princesses fell in love that moment even knowing the dark, malicious rules of Marylandia.

The next day they confronted their kings and queens for their approval, but they refused to listen and continued to schedule the Prince Trial. Still having hope, they brought their families together, wanting them to witness their undying love for each other. Once they saw the two princesses, they knew they were meant to be. The only problem was the citizens of this nation would definitely revolt against this event. To protect the two, the royals schemed a plan. The plan consisted of one of the princesses to disguise herself as a prince. The queen and king forced the judges to let the disguised princess win the Prince Trial. The princess then had to be disguised until it was safe. Through the kingdom’s drastic measures to make the nation more accepting and equal, the disguised princess was able to show her true self after 22 years and marry the love of her life. And they lived happily ever after…

This story isn’t just made up; this is my family’s real life fairytale that was finally able to take place when same-sex marriage laws finally passed in Maryland. This was the BIG day that was the beginning of more opportunities. Here is the story of my Moms’ wedding and all of the memories I will cherish forever.

May 23, 2014

My boisterous alarm made me burst into a standing position, and I sprinted around my house awakening and calling all of my relatives that traveled down to share the amazing day with Missy and Meg. It was the day before the wedding, and that meant my moms and my reservations for the cottage downtown were finally being fulfilled. I packed my bridesmaid dress, makeup, and helped the family pack everything needed for the pre-party that was scheduled for that night. Before the 20 of us left to set up the party, I sneaked a peek at the rings I picked out for them in St. Thomas. When I quickly shut the boxes, I then drove with my cousins to the cottage. As we were driving, my door flew open and my cousin grabbed onto me so I wouldn’t fall out. This showed me the support our family gave to each other. At that moment, I knew the weekend was going to be perfect. (Even though I will never drive in that car again)

That night, after the backyard of the cottage was set up with food, lights, and everyone was arriving, I look around me and saw nothing but celebration and hope. Hope for the future, celebration of the present, and reflection on the good and bad times of the past. At the pre-party, I had a fantastic time with my cousins and closest friends playing games and dancing to the music. Missy and Meg shared memorable stories from their relationship and looked back on lessons they learned that they can bring with them in their marriage.  The only trouble we had that night were the cranky neighbors who called the cops because of the loudness of the music. The police came and actually apologized for the neighbors. I was frightened to death then, but now it is a memory we all laugh at. When it was time for everyone to leave, my moms and I settled at the cottage and didn’t fall asleep until our anxious minds ran out of moments to worry and be excited about.

May 24^th, 2014 – Wedding Day

Without thinking, I trudged off the bed a little dizzy and rushed to get on my royal blue bridesmaid dress. Soon after I realized it was 5 AM, I got into casual clothes and shook the bed to get my moms up. After checking on Larnet, my best friend’s mom and her décor in my moms’ favorite restaurant, the Globe, our makeup artists, my aunt and best friend, visited and helped us get ready. Everything was starting to become surreal for all of us. I started to tear up when the photographers began taking beautiful pictures for our scrapbook.

As soon as we snuck into the reception, I was able to see everything come together before my eyes. For a month, I created a band called the Caramel Jams (Thank You Ms. Kathy) with my friends Caroline and Jaiden, and we practiced on 3 songs that we would play. These songs were “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, “Counting Stars” by One Republic, and “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers. To my surprise, right in center stage was a drum set saying Caramel Jams and my piano teacher practicing the ceremony music. He called me over so I could go over my piano piece I would play at the end of the wedding.

After saying hello to about the 100 guests that showed, I sprinted upstairs to get set up for the descent from the staircase. Missy and Meg looked absolutely stunning as we all held our colorful bouquets and walked down. Of course while walking, my clumsy self tripped on the stairs by my heel getting caught on my dress. I absorbed every moment looking at the way my parents looked at each other and the crowd of all my excited loved ones. While we went into our places on the stage, I saw the front aisle of all the elders sitting upfront because they are extremely deaf. I loved to see that their generation was finally supporting the LGBT community and my two moms.

When it was time for my parents to proclaim their vows and put on their rings, something extraordinary occurred. I was standing on the side grinning ear to ear when my moms called me over. Meg latched onto my arm and pulled me over next to her. Confused at first, the Lutheran priest made me confess my own vows. Slowly he pulled out something from behind his back. He displayed an illuminated ring for me and my moms proceeded to put it on my finger. All the emotions I held in for such a long time was released then which made the audience start to cry also. With me continuing to cry, I blindly played my piano piece. (I always joke to my moms about what great timing that was) After the ceremony was over, we then partied for hours. We also cut the beautiful beach-themed cake and it ended it up in my face.

I couldn’t ask for a better day. Later, we hosted an after party with a frivolous dinner, children playing outside games, and the adults letting loose also. That day I was truly able to see the amazing love and people my parents surrounded me with. My moms were the happiest people I’ve ever seen that day, and I was so grateful I was able to share it with them. I learned how amazing it is when people work together and support everyone, incredible events and love happens. Negativity diminished and we were able to celebrate the love of Meg and Missy. This day was a perfect representation of the LGBT community and how awareness created hope and fulfillment. Even though this fairy tale story was never told before ever in books to little girls and they’ve been given this image of a prince and a princess growing up, I believe now the story of Missy and Meg will be shared to little girls also so that the next generation can be filled with every different types of love and acceptance.

Mikayla is a ninth grader from Maryland who lives with her two mothers whom she loves to the moon and back. She is passionate about writing and swimming and hopes to one day be a news reporter by day and a swim coach by night. Mikayla is known for her crazy, positive attitude and laughing all the time, as well as excelling in school, winning writing and swimming contests, and playing piano and singing in choir.