T + R | San Francisco City Hall Elopement

Elopements

Jan 25

T and R took their relationship from Tinder to timeless. After deciding to make the leap, they each chose to propose to the other, saying, “genuine mutual love is worth the effort and can be life-changing.”

The chose a small, intimate elopement at the ever stunning San Francisco City Hall. Two of their closest friends were there to witness the ceremony, before having a private, celebratory dinner later that evening. One of the friends crafted the bouquets, and T and R wrote their own heartfelt vows.

I could write a novel of flowery words to represent their celebration, but instead, I’ll leave you with the poem that they chose to include in their ceremony.

“To Love is Not to Possess” by James Kavanaugh

To love is not to possess,
To own or imprison,
Nor to lose one’s self in another.

Love is to join and separate,
To walk alone and together,
To find a laughing freedom
That lonely isolation does not permit.

It is finally to be able
To be who we really are
No longer clinging in childish dependency
Nor docilely living separate lives in silence,
It is to be perfectly one’s self
And perfectly joined in permanent commitment
To another–and to one’s inner self.

Love only endures when it moves like waves,
Receding and returning gently or passionately,
Or moving lovingly like the tide
In the moon’s own predictable harmony,
Because finally, despite a child’s scars
Or an adult’s deepest wounds,
They are openly free to be
Who they really are–and always secretly were,
In the very core of their being
Where true and lasting love can alone abide.