Couples

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

Greg Cantori plans to downsize when he retires. Really, really downsize. His retirement home is 238 square feet — one-tenth the size of the average new American house — and sits in his Anne Arundel County yard. He and wife Renee can hitch it to a truck and take it with them wherever they go. "It's so cheap — that's what's so cool about this," said Cantori, 52, who envisions a surf-and-turf future, alternating between the house and a sailboat. "We bought the house for $19,000.

In his op-ed, "Same-sex marriage is contrary to the public interest" (Feb. 2), Peter Sprigg states that the purpose of marriage is to generate children. For that reason, he would limit marriage to opposite-sex couples. Would this then mean that opposite-sex couples who do not produce children or who do not wed for the purpose of having children would be in violation of the state-approved marriage license? Would this make them vulnerable to prosecution? Would their transgression be considered a misdemeanor or a felony, and would we allow a sentence of probation before judgment to grant them sufficient time to crawl back between the sheets and get the job done?

Wedding date: March 23, 2013 Her story: Nessa Klein, 33, grew up in Arbutus. She is a human resources consultant for St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore. Her mother, Linda, works for Baltimore County public schools and her father, Charles, is retired. His story: John Mimm, 35, grew up in Columbia. He works in sales and estimating at Eastern Waterproofing and Restoration in Jessup. His mother, Helga, is a stay-at-home mom, and his father, John, works in sales for Durrett Sheppard Steel.

Weddings are changing and wedding photography education needs to change, too. This is the principle behind “Capturing Love: The Art of Lesbian and Gay Wedding Photography” by Kathryn Hamm, president of GayWeddings.com, and Thea Dodds, a veteran wedding photographer. Together, the two are on a mission to enlighten photographers on how to pose and capture same-sex weddings through their visual guide. On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the authors appeared together in Baltimore at an editorial meeting for Two Bright Lights, an online publicity platform, to discuss and promote their book.

Even before pressing the elevator button to the sixth floor of the courthouse, Jessie Weber and Nancy Eddy were grinning so broadly that fellow passengers guessed their destination: the marriage license office. “I'll marry you today,” a Baltimore circuit judge happily told the two women, who were among the first same-sex couples to get a marriage license on Thursday, the first day they became available under a new Maryland law upheld by voters in November. Actually, same-sex couples have to wait until Jan. 1 to wed, when the law expanding marriage rights to gays and lesbians takes effect.

Peter Sprigg claims that the only public purpose of marriage is the birth and nurture of children ( "Same-sex marriage is contrary to the public interest," Feb. 2). He says that heterosexual couples can choose not to have children, but that is a private purpose which is not the legislature's business. Why, then, should childless heterosexual couples enjoy all of the benefits which accompany marriage? Should childless married folks not be able to make medical decisions for an incapacitated spouse?

I was a little confused by Marie-Alberte Boursiquot's recent letter ("Catholic doctors for traditional marriage," Oct. 20). The headline over it says traditional marriage, but in her letter she uses the term "authentic marriage. " I had never heard that expression and neither Google or Wikipedia was of any help. Seems they have never heard it either. Ms. Boursiquot says that the best published scientific evidence indicates that marriage between one man and one woman in a stable relationship is the optimal situation for the healthy development of children.

In their op-ed, Lanae Erickson and Jon Cowan ("Don't make it about 'rights,'" March 21) are about halfway there. Like most involved in the debate about same-sex marriage, they conflate the rich cultural and religious aspects of marriage with the very pedestrian issue of the qualifications to obtain a civil marriage license and ceremony. Lifetime commitment, love, fidelity, vows … none of these shows up in the civil code. The code requires only that the couple be of opposite sex, not be closely related, not be currently married, and be beyond a certain age. Two people who have never met can get a marriage license, although they do have to appear together for the ceremony which, by the way, does not require any vows or expressions of love or commitment.

Amid the cheers of President Barack Obama's victory rally in Chicago, Keesha Patterson reached into her bag for a tiny box, dropped to one knee, turned to her girlfriend of 11 years and told her, in front of everyone, how much she loved her and wanted to marry her. Word that Maryland's Question 6 had passed had just flashed on the screen, and Patterson, who grew up in Baltimore's McCulloh Homes and now lives in Prince George's County, knew the moment...

To wrap up our pre-marital counseling, Sam and I were guided in setting goals for our future. Individually we each set three personal, couple and family goals, then shared them with each other and compared notes. Luckily, our goals were pretty much the same! Our counselor recommended that we keep these goals and every five years go back to reference them and evaluate if we met each or how things changed and adjusted since they were written. From there, she said we could write new goals for the next five years to come, and so on. This idea has lead me on an endless thought over the past few days about what the future holds and how getting married is such a major milestone in life.

Wedding date: March 23, 2013 Her story: Ashley Cook, 30, grew up in Woodbridge, Va. She is a literary academic content liaison for Baltimore City Public Schools. Her mother, Sherry, is a facilities manager for a government contracting agency in Virginia. Her father, Patrick, passed away last year. His story: Phillip Plymouth, 29, grew up in Randallstown. He is an accountant for the American Postal Workers Union Health Plan. His mother, Bernice Brooks-Plymouth, is a psychiatric nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The story of Monte and Patrice Sanders just might be the classic fitness fairy tale. Girl hires trainer. Sparks fly over sit-ups. Trainer turns boyfriend, then fiance, then husband. Healthy, happily ever after. As Baltimore's newest power couple approach their first anniversary, they're closer than ever, indulging in candid displays of public affection, embarking on projects together, thinking about expanding their family and, after a fairly hushed courtship, talking about how a news anchor fell for a celebrity trainer.

Jamila Ward and Lionel Jennings had been house hunting on and off for two years when their agent pointed the couple in a new direction: a formerly condemned property in a revitalized area of Baltimore. Some city neighborhoods, just years ago marked by abandoned or deteriorating single-family homes, are becoming places of renewal, with nonprofit agencies buying up properties and renovating them for sale to first-time homebuyers. Ward and Jennings, her fiance, qualified for one of these properties in the Johnston Square neighborhood on the city's east side.

When Gunther and Linda Than moved into their one-bedroom unit in Canton's Anchorage Tower condominiums, they really downsized. The Thans moved from their larger unit in the Anchorage to one of the smallest at less than 1,000 square feet of living space, which includes the outdoor balcony. The entire front of the condo (living room, dining area, master bedroom and balcony), like every unit in the Anchorage Tower, has a water view, as well as a view of the city skyline and beyond. "Every unit here has a great view [so]

An endangered lemur species native only to the island of Madagascar has grown its global population by one with the birth last month of Maximilian - the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore 's newest Coquerel's sifaka. The species (pronounced CAHK-ker-rells she-FAHK) produce babies that resemble "tiny gremlins" before their white hair begins to grow in, the zoo said. Images of "Max," as he's known, show his hair has come in - he was born March 30, though his birth was announced Wednesday - and he can now be seen on some days with his parents inside the zoo's sifaka exhibit at the Chimpanzee Forest, zoo officials said.

Michael and Tressa Schuler of Towson had their wedding all planned: an elaborate but intimate affair at historic Gramercy Mansion with about 75 guests. But then family members extended more invitations, and soon the guest list swelled to 170. "It just started to get too stressful, and we felt that it was a time that we should be happy planning this," Michael Schuler said. With their wedding costs approaching $20,000, the couple opted instead for an "elopement" package at Gramercy that was limited to 20 guests.

Regarding Dan Rodricks ' recent column on Catholics' view of same-sex marriage, what I don't get is equating subordination of discipleship to the teachings of the Catholic Church ("A priest speaks up for same-sex marriage," Nov. 4). The people of God responding to the Rev. Richard T. Lawrence's preaching the word of God confirm the "radicality" of God's love in the flesh and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. As disciples, our lives are not based on personal views. Rather, we are all slowly shaped and recreated out of God's unconditional love for us, including those joined in same-sex unions.

Wedding date: Feb. 23, 2013 Her story: Kimberly Carlins, 32, grew up in Ocean Pines. She is a government contractor for URS Corp. in Germantown. Her father, Leo, is a repairman for Sears, and her mother, Renee, is a secretary for a nonprofit organization. His story: Sigmund Young, 32, grew up in Bethesda. He is an engineer at Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington Yard in the District of Columbia. His father, Charles, is a physician, and his mother, Sue, is her husband's office manager.