My sister was married on September 10th, 2011. 
She had decided to have her wedding and reception at our family church. As a family we had gone to this church longer than I have been born. My partner and her parents have also gone to this church for many years, so they knew us well. 8 days before the wedding my sister called the preacher to ask if we could have a bounce house in the parking lot. That is when he told her he could not do the wedding or allow it to be held in the church because my partner, David's best man, was a woman that would be wearing a suit. Let me state this again—8 days before the wedding! What a mess! When my sister told me this I could not believe my ears. I thought something like this might happen but I thought if it was going to happen it would have before this point. He knew very well my partners name and knew she was on the groom's side. (He stated he thought, when given the names of the wedding party, my partner was a man—that is BS. He knows us and knows who she is.) At first he didn't have a problem and now he does? What makes it worse, his wife is related to my partner. This is unbelievable. My partner and I told her to go ahead with the wedding as planned without her but my sister would hear none of it.
Amanda is an amazing person. So strong willed and bull headed. (Wonder where she gets that from) She could have carried on with her wedding without my partner and that would have been the easiest solution. Nope, she would have none of it. She knew what was right, she knew what was important and if it meant sacrificing her wedding to have it the way she wanted it, with the people she loved in it, then so be it!
My sister and I worked all the next day to find a place to have the wedding—with 7 days to spare. By the end of the day we found a gym we could have it at and a priestess to do it. Shew!
My sister surprised me that night when she was in tears telling me how unfair it was and how we would just have it somewhere else. She sacrificed her wedding, her church wedding, for me and for us. She is so passionate about rights for same sex couples; she has done most of her college papers on it. Lots of people SAY they are but not many would have DONE something like this, especially on such an important day. She is an amazingly strong person! We cannot thank her enough for that sacrifice. I wished I could have given her the most elegant most perfect wedding, she deserved it. How did I get so lucky to have a sister like her? When did she get so strong? She may be 7 years younger than me but she is still teaching me things!
I LOVE YOU AMANDA--we Love you so very much! You stood up for us in the face of a preacher, which took some nerve! You're amazing, you're awesome, you're great and I am so proud to have you as my sister and my BESTEST EVER friend!!
