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They Boldly Went
by Dani
It is thanks to Chris, my lovely nerdy fiancé, that I understood the full significance of the fact that George Takei wed Brad Altman, his boyfriend of 21 years, on September 14.
Takei played Mr. Sulu on the original Star Trek, and has since racked up an impressive list of stage and screen credits. (I will also mention that even if you can’t stand science fiction, it’s worth checking out the one where they go into a parallel universe where everyone is evil. Because in that one the normally sedate Mr. Sulu turns into a great big pile of shirtless swordfighting hotness. I’m just saying.)
Takei, 71, and Altman, 54, got married in California, where gay weddings are (currently) legal. I asked Chris how he as a Trek fan would have felt knowing that the man who created Sulu was gay. “My twelve-year-old self who watched the show might have been a little freaked out,” he admitted, “But now I’m just glad that he’s happy. He seems like a cool guy.”
While I have definitely caught Chris watching the show at an age considerably older than twelve, his point is well taken. George Takei does seem to be a pretty cool guy, and I hope other Trek fans are just as happy for the newlyweds.
But in a way, I think the wedding is less interesting for its star power or its 100% increase in grooms than for its unique style and terrific blending of cultures. It’s a great example of how to customize a wedding to make it your own.
The wedding was held at the Japanese-American National Museum in honor of Takei’s heritage and extensive work to promote cultural awareness. The grooms entered together wearing tuxedo shirts and white dinner jackets to the song “One Singular Sensation” from A Chorus Line. After a traditional Japanese tea ceremony, the wedding was performed by a Buddhist priest, and then the couple exited to the sound of a bagpiper.
(Chris points out that another culture is possibly represented as well. In the wedding photographs, Takei, Altman, and former Star Trek costars Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Walter Koenig (Chekov) are all making the Vulcan hand signal. I thought he meant that interplanetary culture was represented, but Chris claims that Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock) based the gesture on an ancient Jewish hand symbol. Yes, I know what I’m marrying. And yes, this is the closest I’ve come to having second thoughts.)
As someone who’s in the thick of wedding planning, the whole thing was kind of inspiring – the couple looked great, and the ceremony looks like it was beautiful, personal, and very fun. It’s doable. It really is.
May they (and all of us) live long and prosper.
