Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) and journalist Erin Reed were married over the weekend in the wooden main hall of the Missoula County Fairgrounds in their home state.

The ceremony was officiated by Sarah Kate Ellis, President of the LGBTQ+ rights advocacy nonprofit GLAAD, and attended by family and “friends from childhood, sitting congressmen, dance partners, and transgender icons,” Reed describes in a heartfelt post about the event published Tuesday.

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“We’d spend every night falling asleep with one another on video calls and wake up next to one another and say ‘Good morning.'”

The trans power couple, both 36, were engaged last year in May at a queer prom in Missoula, but they already knew a wedding was in store the day the Respect for Marriage Act was signed by President Biden in a ceremony on the White House lawn in 2022.

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“As we stood together, wrapped in the weight of that moment, Zooey leaned into my ear and whispered that she would marry me someday,” Reed writes. “Between then and now, there was so much more for us to experience, endure, and build together to arrive at this magical morning.”

That time included enduring Zephyr’s censure in the Montana House after she accused Republicans of having “blood on your hands” for supporting a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors. Zephyr was barred from the chamber and forced to stand in the hall outside at a makeshift desk and vote remotely – all while a group of Republican “Karens” occupied the only bench available and openly mocked her.

But on their wedding day, it was only good vibes at the altar.

“When it came time for my vows,” Reed says, “I opened my book and let my heart spill out. I spoke of all the reasons I love Zooey — the way her love deepens in adversity, how her beautiful eyes subtly shift color with her emotions, her playfulness and sincerity, and the way her feet instinctively find the rhythm to every song.”

What a perfect wedding, my love. Every second of that day is etched into my heart forever. And every vow I made—from promising you a gentle love to promising to be a good mom to our son—will be at the center of all I do. As I said at the closing of my vows, I am your I am yours I am yours.

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— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@zoandbehold.bsky.social) December 17, 2024 at 11:47 AM

“I shared how my son has grown to love her too, how she transforms everyday moments into magical adventures for him, and how much that means to me. I promised her a love that feels like home, a love that feels like family. I promised her forever, in every sense of the word.”

After dancing the night away — You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes accompanied the couple’s first dance — the couple is now enjoying every other “first” they experience together, Reed shares.

“First coffee as wives, first morning beside each other as wives, first sneeze as wives. Our son would laugh in feigned annoyance on the drive home as we celebrated our ‘first left turn in the rain as wives.’ We shared in the laughter as a family.”

“We both know this next chapter will bring its share of joy and adversity,” Reed says. “Our wedding is set against the backdrop of an uncertain time and the work we do for the people we care about — a fitting reflection of a relationship that grew from the same environment. But in moments like this, Zooey and I do what we do best: we plant our flag together, for those we care about, and face the future side by side, grounded in an unimaginable love.”

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