LAKE COUNTY — White lace and peach rose petals, bouquets of flowers and little bottles of bubbles shaped like wedding cakes ? all the things you”d expect to see when two people join together in holy matrimony. The only thing different about the Aug. 3 ceremony held at the Elks Lodge in Clearlake was that there were two beautiful brides and no groom.
The union of Kila Beltran and Staci Bradfield was a beautiful occasion of love witnessed by friends and family spanning four generations. The wedding was the first formal occasion Lake County Publishing learned of with regard to same sex marriages within the county.
The ceremony was traditional in all major aspects. Bradfield arrived at the ceremony in a pristine vintage vehicle. She was escorted from the 1955 Buick Roadster convertible, owned by family friends Winona and Randy Rucker; by her father William Patrick, who led her down the aisle to the alter where Beltran awaited her arrival.
The couple was joined together in a ceremony officiated by Bradfield”s aunt, Jody Mederos. Mederos spoke of love and unification as she validated the love shared between the two women. Following the ceremony, family and friends helped the newlyweds rejoice in their union.
“It”s a beautiful thing. Love should always be validated,” said Krystal Patrick, Bradfield”s sister. “Love should be validated whether they”re the same sex or not.”
Bradfield”s 81-year-old grandmother, Phyllis Chrisp agreed. “No one should be judged by how they are,” she said. “If it makes them happy then that”s all that matters.”
Chrisp said that times have changed. Homosexuality had been present in her generation, she said; however people were less tolerant of the choice. “There was a lot of (homosexuality) then. It was just unspoken,” Chrisp said. “I think in this world people can marry who they want, be who they want to be and love who they want to love and society doesn”t need to say anything. If they love each other, more power to them. We need more love in this world.”
Beltran said that she had been a bit homophobic herself and had kept her choices to herself. “If I never would have met Staci, I never would have came out,” she said.
Beltran doesn”t condone public displays of affection and believes people should have respect for other people, especially those brought up in a different generation. “When people express their love in public they shouldn”t be flamboyant, whether they are gay or not,” she said, adding that she believes so out of respect for the “old school.”
Beltran said that there are benefits to a woman marrying another woman. She said that she and her partner will retain their own last names. “When you marry a woman you get to keep your identity,” she said.
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
