Brighten Up
Those
Winter Blues

bridal

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children to carry on the family name and there are no other
members of the Kanar family to continue the name, they
decided to share Leslee’s last name. “It sort of solidified our
relationship that much more,” Annette says. “It made us feel
more like a family.”
It also cost a lot more money — Annette had to be fin-
gerprinted and stand in front of a judge at court. “It made
us feel like second-class citizens,” Annette says. “Had we
just gotten married, it would have been much easier to
change my name.
“Our kids tell us we’re role models,” Annette says. “That’s
the most awesome feeling. I honestly don’t care what people
think about me, but it’s an amazing feeling knowing that
the community you live in respects you. People come up to
us in restaurants a lot. I don’t know if they have a gay child
or not, but it’s just nice to be supported.”
With the help of friends and family, the couple became
an official family on Aug. 21, as planned. Their children —
Randi and Emily Rubinstein and Leah and Jamie Blatnikoff
— walked them down the aisle, and Annette’s cousin,
Renee Unger, became ordained online as a justice of the
peace so that she could officiate the nuptials. A friend of
Annette’s daughter sat for eight hours addressing the invita-
tions as a wedding present to the couple.
“It was the most beautiful wedding,” Leslee says.
“Everything about it was perfect. The weather, the love.”
“Our family championed for us from the beginning, they
were so happy and supportive of us,” Annette adds. “It was
completely a marriage — and wedding — about love.”

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