Women from Alaska Get Married in Washington

Shawn Sanders (49) and Jocelyn Guzman (45) have been together for 16 ½ years and they drove down from Anchorage, Alaska to get married in Vancouver, Washington on the first day same-sex marriage became legal. When they left Alaska, the election hadn’t happened yet, so they weren’t sure if they would even be able to get married. But they were determined. If Washington’s same-sex marriage law didn’t pass, they were going to go to New York to get married.


Their trip was long and harrowing. Shawn drove through a blizzard where a huge gust of wind picked her truck up and threw it against a guardrail. They also had a few magical moments on the trip, like when the bald eagle followed alongside their truck and when the lynx ran across the road in front of them. They even saw a family of grizzly bear cross their path.

After days of driving, the two got on a ferry to take them to Bellingham, Washington. “We prayed that marriage would pass, because we got on the boat on November 6th, election day,” Shawn said. They didn’t find out election results until they landed on November 9th.

After the two marry in Vancouver, Washington, they’re flying to Mexico City, where they will have another ceremony on 12/12/12 this time is Jocelyn’s home country. After that, they head to Chichen Itza, and the Mayan ruins, where they plan to have their third ceremony and celebrate the planetary alignment on 12/21/2012.

Shawn and Jocelyn met in 1996 in Costa Rica. They were both in the travel business.

Their week-long business trip quickly turned into something more. “We fell in love the moment we saw each other and have been together ever since. That was 16 ½ years ago,” Shawn says. The couple now lives in Anchorage, AK.

When I asked Jocelyn what it means to get married now that it’s legal, she said, “It’s a celebration of our love because since the moment we saw each other we had a huge energy among us and we communicate very well and we love each other and this is just a celebration of our life together.”

Shawn added, “We’re absolutely soul mates. It’d bigger than love, it is definitely cosmic.” She said the two are very involved in energy healing and excited about the planetary alignment happening in the near future. They plan to be part of a big celebration in the Mayan city of Chichen Itza as the change happens, a day many say is the end of the Mayan calendar. Shawn said, "We’re ending this world with a wedding and we’ll be starting a brand new life together."