Wedding Album
E. Wallace
April 2012
Convention began and ended with the gold embossed lettering across the burgundy leather that read Wedding Album. The pages inside told a story as extraordinary as the couple in the pictures.
Los Angeles. Paris. Vancouver. Chicago. Havana.
Once the local requirements have been met, anyone, anywhere can obtain a license and have a ceremony performed.
Rome. New Orleans. Kansas City. Halifax. Lisbon.
The album was arranged in chronological order, license on the left side, wedding portrait on the right. From the casual, spur of the moment events in whatever clothes they happened to be wearing to the elegant, well planned occasions, in none of the pictures were they looking at the camera. Each time, they had eyes only for each other.
Philadelphia. Frankfort. Athens. Boston. Dublin.
Locations were as varied as the cities. Beaches at sunset, mountains at sunrise, vineyards, arboretums, orchards, rose gardens, small chapels, city halls, judges' chambers, front parlors in the homes of Justices of the Peace.
Acapulco. Miami. London. Barcelona. Indianapolis.
The ceremonies were simple: bride, groom, witnesses. While the witnesses were usually locals provided by the officiant, Paul Drake's signature did appear on a few of the licenses. In later years, so did Paul Drake Junior's and then Ken Malansky's.
Honolulu. Sao Paulo. Dayton. Memphis. Cairo.
They added at least one new license every year, sometimes two or three... and they added a second album.
Tucson. Copenhagen. Louisville. Geneva. Washington DC.
Then came the eight year gap represented by two newspaper clippings.
PERRY MASON NAMED TO APPELLATE COURT
MASON RESIGNS FROM BENCH TO DEFEND FORMER SECRETARY
He had questioned the necessity of that particular addition. She said it represented their separation and reconciliation and as painful as it was, they shouldn't shy away from it. As always, Perry went along with whatever Della wanted.
But he bought a new album the next day - their third - that they would begin filling with new licenses at the earliest opportunity.
Santa Fe. Brussels. Tokyo. Minneapolis. Charleston.
They had exchanged vows all over the world, but they weren't legally married anywhere on earth.
A marriage isn't considered legal until the witnessed license is filed in the proper government office, and theirs were only filed in albums now numbering four, two at Perry's condo and two at Della's house.
Richmond. Vienna. Melbourne. Gibraltar. Singapore.
Despite devoting their lives to the practice of law, the legality of their union was the least important aspect. The vows they spoke, in every geographical variation, were what mattered and what governed them.
Having, holding, loving, honoring and cherishing were all done on a daily basis, with and without conscious thought.
Baltimore. Calgary. Hong Kong. Buenos Aires. St. Louis.
'For better, for worse'
Everything was better when they were together as the eight year separation had proven.
Dallas. Monte Carlo. Helsinki. Seattle. Glasgow.
'For richer, for poorer'
Money had never been an issue, not since Della established early on that extravagant gifts would be protested - though not refused - but she was responsible for her own living expenses. Perry accepted the edict and promptly bought her a diamond pendant for her next birthday.
Nashville. Istanbul. Casablanca. Toronto. Hartford.
'In sickness and in health'
Quitting smoking seemed easy compared to watching their diets in later years, but Della's stress level dropped considerably when she finally convinced Perry to give up skiing.
Denver. New York. Las Vegas. Papeete. The Hague.
'Till death us do part'
As the final entry, it was Paul Junior who placed Della's death certificate on the right side six years after she placed Perry's on the left.
The End