Cupcakes and civil rights come together in Carrboro this Saturday, when Mayor Lydia Lavelle will legally wed her long-time partner Alicia Stemper.

“Alicia and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary, but little did we dream two weeks ago that soon we’d be able to make it absolutely legal,” says Lavelle.

The couple was the first in line for a marriage license at the Orange County Register of Deeds office on the morning of October 13, after a court ruling struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage.

However, the two have been together for more than a decade and Lavelle says they’ve considered themselves married for quite some time now.

“We kind of look at it as renewing our vows,” says Lavelle. “We did have what we consider our wedding a little over 10 years ago. But we decided we wanted to share our re-commitment to each other with the Town of Carrboro and do it at Carrboro Town Commons.”

Now they’ll officially tie the knot and celebrate in true Carrboro style.

“All friends and community members who want to support us are welcome,” says Lavelle. “It’s going to be a short but sweet ceremony. We’re going to redo what we did before, then after that we’ll be there to shake hands and give everyone cupcakes for attending.”

The ceremony begins at 5 o’clock on Saturday at Carrboro Town Commons.

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