Purple Wedding to the Mountains Video and Photos

Purple Wedding to the Mountain Video and Photos

Our Purple Wedding in Athens, Ohio took place at the Galbreath Chapel on November 6, 2010. Our Eco-Chaplain Sarah Vekesi Phillips, Mountain keeper Larry Gibson and our darling husband Joseph Kramer made this a very special and joyful occasion and we are very grateful to them for officiating and celebrating this event. We are equally as grateful to everyone who performed for the mountains as well as everyone who helped us out financially and in a million other ways. And thank you Collaborators. We could not have done this without each and every one of you.  Below are photos by Elizabeth Dobson.

Articles about the Wedding to the Mountains:
West Virginia Ville
West Virginia Ville (Part 2)

Purple Wedding to the Mountains Vows

Purple Wedding to the Mountains Vows

Justin Credible (Emcee): Before we begin the vows, does anyone here object to this union between Beth, Annie and the Appalachian Mountains?

Damon Cater tells why he objects to the marriage. And others can object.

Justin Credible: OK, we will proceed. We now bring forth Joseph Kramer. (A ceramic bowl made by an Ohio University student, an apple and two ceramic cups of water are brought forward on a table and placed in front of the brides.)

Joe: (Joe facilitates some breathing all together with everyone.) Let us remember the people that first breathed this Appalachian air and first lived here. Lets remember the thousands of generations that lived here before us. I have a tee shirt at home that says ‘I am not a lesbian, but my two wives are.’ Brides, please come forward. Welcome. What brings you to this gathering today?

Beth and Annie: We are here because we love the Appalachian Mountains.

Joe: Everyone, why are you here?

All: We are here because we love the Appalachian Mountains.

Joe: Tell us what you love about the Appalachian Mountains.

Beth: One of the things I love is that I was born in these mountains.

Annie: One of the things I love is the wonderful people and wonderful animals that live here.

Beth: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is her creeks and streams. (Brides drink some Appalachian water.)

Annie: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is that they make me feel beautiful, and spiritual.

Beth: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is her curves when she’s naked.

Annie: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is they offer me so many ecosexual delights.

Beth: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is the foods they produce for us to eat and heal.(Brides bite the mountain apple.)

Annie: One of the things I love about the Appalachian Mountains is that Beth’s family lives here. (Motions for family to please stand.)

Joe: Are you ready to make your vows?

Beth and Annie: YES! We are.

Joe: Do you promise to educate yourselves and others about environmental issues?

Beth and Annie: We do.

Joe: Do you promise to devote yourselves to making art about the Appalachian Mountains?

Beth and Annie: We do.

Joe: Do you promise to help nurture more love for the Earth and entice others to join the environmental movement by making it a little more sexy, fun, multicultural and diverse?

Beth and Annie: We do.

Joe: Do you promise to speak out, act up, and raise hell about mountain top removal?

Beth and Annie: We do!

Joe: Do you promise to support each other on this path with patience and kindness through thick and thin, in good times and bad?

Beth and Annie: We do!

Joe: (to audience) We invite you to take vows with us. If you hear a vow you feel you are ready to take say “I do.”
Do you promise to help defend, maintain and conserve mountain water and mountain air?

All: We do.

Joe: Do you promise to lower your electricity consumption in order to use less coal and help save the Appalachian Mountains?

All: We do.

Joe: Do you vow to love, honor and cherish the Appalachian Mountains until death brings you closer together forever?

All: We do!

RINGS

Joe: To remind you of these vows each day, you will have rings. May we have the rings please? (Chris brings rings and does his thing and offers the rings.)

Joe: We have rings for all of you, too. The ushers will pass out the rings. Take one if you like, as you process out to the reception.

PROCLAMATION and KISS

Joe: I now pronounce you married to the Appalachian mountains!!! You may now kiss the mountains. You may now kiss and hug the brides and the grooms!

Recession

Artists’ Statement

Artists' Statement

WE, ARTIST-BRIDES, ELIZABETH STEPHENS & ANNIE SPRINKLE, WILL CELEBRATE TWO PURPLE WEDDINGS THIS FALL 2010. First, Purple Wedding to the Moon will be held in an outdoor amphitheater at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in Altadena, CA (LA) under the full moon. Then, Purple Wedding to the Appalachian Mountains will be produced with the University of Ohio and will take place in the Gal-breath Chapel in Athens (Ohio), at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. We invite everyone to join us in taking vows to love, honor and cherish the Moon and the Mountains. Or to simply come bear witness.

ON THESE AUSPICIOUS OCCASIONS WE WILL EXPLORE AND ENGAGE THE THEMES OF INTUITION (3rd eye, 6th chakra), water, moon, mountains, ecosexuality and our love of nature. We invite everyone to share our practice of loving the Moon and the Mountains romantically in order to create more intimate relationships with them. We aim to activate a network of global citizens, artists, activists, sexologists, spiritual practitioners, academics, local folk, family and others. We ask for no material gifts but invite people to collaborate on the creation of these weddings. We are thrilled to have the venerable Reverend Billy, his wife/director Savitri D, and the Church of Life After Shopping Choir officiating the Moon Wedding. Mountain Wedding will feature a homily by Larry Gibson, the heroic keeper of the mountains.

IN OCTOBER 2009, NASA BOMBED THE MOON WITH EXPLOSIVES TO PROSPECT FOR WATER. We thought of the over 1500 miles of Appalachian creeks and streams that have been forever destroyed by mountain top removal coal mining corporations which use 3 million pounds of explosives per day and poison the water with toxic waste. Domestic terrorism now seems to have become intergalactic terrorism. We will stand up to protect and enjoy what still remains of our planet's mountains and waters while working towards the creation of effective structures for a healthier environment. We will deploy ecosensual practices, artistic activism and love to help heal the damage that has been done. We intend to make the environmental movement a little more sexy and attractive in order to enlist even more citizens to join us in our ecosexual revolution. Our Purple Weddings aim to create a powerful love beam that will help illuminate the dire straits of the Moon and the Appalachian Mountains while drawing the connections between them. Life cannot exist without clean water and it is quickly running out. Let us gather together to explore ideas and enact changes that will enable future generations of humans, animals, and plants to co-exist and enjoy the sensual pleasures and abundance of our magnificent lover Earth.

EVERYONE IS INVITED TO JOIN US FOR A HONEYMOON ECOSEX SYMPOSIUM the day after the Wedding to the Moon at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica, CA. Together we will explore and learn more about sexecology. At University of Ohio we will have an art exhibit at the Trisolini Gallery, do a Sexecological Walking Tour and have an installation of wedding ephemera at Kennedy Art Museum.

JOIN US IN HOLY AND IRREVERENT MATRIMONY AT OUR CELEBRATION of love for the Moon, the Mountains, and each other. Please wear purple and keep your third eye open.