I know that there are some religious extremists out there that will be tempted to deny this loving couple the equal opportunity to register their marriage, receive all sorts of benefits and compel wedding photographers and cakemakers to participate in this ceremony.
Others may be skeptical about the great age difference.
But we are entering a new frontier of marriage equality. No longer is marriage defined as being between a man or a woman. We now know that gender is wholly imaginary. A man who puts on a dress now identifies as a woman and is entitled to be treated as such. Or a leopard or a chicken.
Marriage is just love that does not take into account any mere trivia like the history of mankind or human biology. It’s now a ceremony conducted between two beings who love each other. Or three beings. Or forty.
Or a woman and a 600-year-old bridge.
Jodi Rose took her love for the structures to another level as she wedded the Le Pont du Diable Bridge in Céret, southern France.
The new Mrs Le Pont du Diable has spent the last decade travelling across the globe recording the vibrations in bridge cables to incorporate in her Singing Bridges music project.
Rose knew it was love at first sight when she set eyes on the ‘sensual’ 14th century bridge, as she apparently felt the earth move as she drew closer.
Naturally, it was only a matter of time before they became bridge and wife.
The happy couple got hitched on June 17 and while they might not have had the most conventional marriage, they enjoyed elements of a traditional wedding.
The ceremony was an intimate affair with 14 guests including close personal friends and members of the local community. Even the mayor of neighbouring town Saint-Jean-de-Fos gave his blessing.
Choosing the venue was simple enough and the pair made their vows at the groom’s entrance. Rose wore a custom bridal gown and veil, and commissioned rings for both her and the bridge.
The groom, otherwise known as The Devil’s Bridge, was quiet on their big day, but it was clear there are no trust issues between the newlyweds as the bridge is very supportive of his wife’s music project.
‘He understands that I love other bridges – and men – ours is a love that embraces the vagaries of life, as materialised in the swirling currents of the river that flows beneath his magnificent body,’ Rose wrote on her website.
‘The Devil’s Bridge is everything I could desire in a husband – sturdy, trustworthy, sensual, kind and handsome,’ she added.
Their union is not legally recognised in France, but Rose claims their marriage is as strong as any other.
Hopefully that will change soon as France accepts marriage equality. We should embrace and celebrate this brave new world where marriage encompasses everything… and accordingly nothing.
So go out there and find a bridge you love and marry it. But stay away from the 59th Street Bridge. That one is taken.