“Marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death. It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfilment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in lonliness, excluded from one of civilizations’s oldest institutions.”

– Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, June 26, 2015

I was reminded today of a really incredible video a friend shared several years ago. It was from a wedding she and her (now legally binding everywhere, thankyouverymuch) wife attended, where the bride and groom gave their first dance to all of the same sex couples who had not yet been given the same right to marry. The song?

Wouldn’t It Be Nice.

That wistfully iconic Beach Boys tune is one that my now husband and I used to serenade one another with for years. When we were in college, back living at home and commuting to school. Then, when he traveled for work and was away for weeks at a time. This went on for several years and, as difficult as it was, the song made the wait a little more hopeful – even if it was only for 2 minutes and 23 seconds. When we finally, inevitably did get married, it was a much awaited dream come true. We’d waited a long time for the moment that we could be married…and we were happy…

But wow. Talk about perspective when I saw this video for the first time. And now today, knowing how many couples will get their own first dance, their own wish come true, my heart is somehow overflowing with even more love than my own wedding day.

It’s not just about a wedding day, of course. And it’s not just about today. It’s about all the days that come after. The life that comes after. It’s about children never knowing anything but marriage equality. That love is love.

And for so many, it’s knowing that your love matters. That you matter. Marriage isn’t always easy, and love can be as painful as it is exhilirating. But it matters. And it isn’t just a legal document. It’s giving everyone the right to celebrate their love and for it to be recognized in all the big and small ways. Love needs to be seen and celebrated and shared.

Today, there is one less chance for someone to feel lonely.

Wouldn’t it be nice to live together in the kind of world where we belong?

Yes, Brian Wilson. It is.

For all of us, it’s finally, finally nice.