Spoke & Word Books, Milwaukie, Ore., was the setting last Wednesday for an unusual reaction to Tuesday's election results. As owner Cierra Cook recounted, "Amidst the darkness of yesterday's election news, our neighbors Hailey and Ash made the beautiful decision to embrace love over fear, and get hitched in the bookshop! They reached out to us in the morning, and by 3 p.m. they were married."
Cook, an ordained minister, officiated and added: "Thank you so much, Ash and Hailey, for letting us be a part of your story. The joy and love radiating from you yesterday was palpable, and we all benefited from seeing your love flourish. Thank you to friend of the shop Stori Long for dropping everything and writing the most beautiful wedding ceremony in a few hours."
Part of the ceremony included these lines: "What is clear is that now, more than ever, it is the time for love. For a gritty love--a beautiful love--a love with teeth and claws that looks at the person standing across from them and says, 'I'm here. No matter what else may be true; know that I am here. I see you. I celebrate you. I know you. Wherever we go; we go together.'
"In a world that will tell us over and over that we aren't enough; that we aren't worthy; love becomes our most precious and most renewable resource. Now is not the time to be stingy with that love."