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Dear Pay Dirt,

Two of my good friends got married in the summer, or so I thought. They threw a big wedding with hundreds of people and had a gift registry. They had a ceremony, and looking back they did use unconventional language and never actually said “husband” or “wife”, but for all intents and purposes it seemed like a regular wedding. Well, I found out recently that they are not legally married and have no plans to be.

They said the “wedding” was just meant to be a celebration of their love and commitment to each other. Rationally, I know it makes no difference to my life whether they are legally married or not, but I still feel sort of duped. It feels weird

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