By CHRIS PARKER

cparker@tnonline.comIt's a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and I'm standing in a fire company social hall amid a swirl of exuberant family, friends and friends-I-haven't-yet-met.Within the hour, the crowd will be sitting quietly, the only sounds that of the occasional sniffle as someone wipes away a tear of bittersweet joy.The bride is lovely, a vision of beauty as she walks down the aisle on the arm of her brother. The groom is handsome in her tie that perfectly matches her bride's dress, as does the feather in her late father's fedora that sits atop her head.From her wheelchair at the altar, she gazes up at her bride, her sweetheart of 26 years, the woman who has cherished her and stood with her through every step of life's journey.The ceremony takes place as they climb yet another mountain: The groom is battling glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer."This afternoon we are here to celebrate love. We come together to witness and proclaim the joining together of these two persons in marriage," the pastor says."God does not make a love that is wrong. This is the union of two individuals in heart, body, mind and spirit."The groom wipes tears of joy; her bride tenderly touches her face.It's a marriage of two committed people who have together cared for aging family members; who have worked hard, paid their taxes and given back to their communities.But not until recently could they have enjoyed the right to marry.Marriage confers certain rights. The right of a wife to be at her hospitalized spouse's bedside, to make medical decisions, to inherit property, the right to take Family Leave Act time to care for an ill spouse.They are rights granted to any celebrity in her latest brief union, to felons, to recently introduced couples in the Elvis chapel in Las Vegas.As the pastor introduces the newlyweds to the audience, tears flow. Later, after the speeches and toasts, dinner and wedding cake, everyone dances, the tiny children twirling with joy.They will be fortunate enough to grow up knowing that weddings are a celebration of love and commitment for everyone.