Anne and Andy met at a philosophy conference in Bellingham,Washington in August 2007. One evening we went with a few mutualfriends to an ice cream parlor, and we all played a game of Taboo. Anne noticed Andy's remarkable ability to read her mind; luckily we were on the same team.At the time, Anne was a grad student in New York City and Andy was a professor in Michigan, so a relationship seemed unlikely. But the next month, Andy came to New York for a wedding, and Anne and Andy met upin a café for a game of Battleship. It was a rout; Anne won in record time, after she correctly predicted Andy's strategy (clump the battleships in the center of the board, because your opponent will expect them to be evenly spaced throughout the board). That pretty much sealed the deal. When Andy had a sabbatical in the spring, he moved to New York. We’ve had jobs in different states during most of our 3-year relationship (currently Andy works in New Jersey and Anne works in Washington and Baltimore), but we’ve managed to spend almost every weekend together.We wanted to get married in a Unitarian Church, because Unitarian Universalism supports marriage equality. As a straight couple, we have the privilege of getting married anywhere we want, and having our marriage recognized anywhere we go. We’re taking advantage of that privilege, but with the hope that marriage becomes a fully equal institution during our lifetime. We want to get married in a church that shares that hope, and fights for it. We chose Hollin House and the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in particular because it is a peaceful and interesting place. The garden is quiet, and very green; we think it’ll be a simple, beautiful place to get married. The grounds are full of delightful surprises, for our guests to wander off and explore. And the meeting house seats 175 for dinner, so we don’t have to cut anyone from the guest list!

Anne and Andy will be married at Hollin Hall (www.HollinHallWeddings.com) in October 2010.