Before he pronounced them married, Judge Howard read a passage familiar to wedding watchers: “I promise to love and cherish you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, for better for worse, and forsaking all others, keep myself only unto you, for so long as we both shall live.” Ms. Stone had thoughts about that, too. “I thought, no one in the history of promises has ever said yes to one word of this with an untroubled conscience,” she said.
Still, when they left the Columbia County Courthouse married, she described her mood as happy. Several weeks in, that hadn’t changed. “I’m amazed I’m not unhappy,” she said. “I think marriage worked a charm on us.”
ON THIS DAY
When Dec. 18, 2024
Where The Columbia County Courthouse, Hudson, N.Y.
Online Salutes The reaction to Ms. Stone’s Dec. 22 Substack post, “Hitched,” about her sudden decision to marry, was as unexpected as the wedding. “Normally, people talk about themselves in the comments,” she said. “But 700 people liked the picture, and a lot just straightforwardly said ‘Congratulations.’ It made me happy to be promoting happiness in other people.”
Conflict Resolution In addition to working a charm on them, Mr. Toon and Ms. Stone said marriage may be making them nicer to each other. “The other day we backed away from a fight, like two dogs deciding not to drink the poison water,” Ms. Stone said.
Happiest Hour After the wedding, the couple was joined by a friend, Kam Belamy, for happy hour drinks at Savona Trattoria and Bar, a favorite local restaurant.
