Shakespeare says, "Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments." The City of San Francisco has certainly taken his advice by removing impediments for thousands of gay and lesbian couples. Good Company of Chicago has taken it a step further by offering an artfully designed Gay and Lesbian Marriage Keepsake Certificate to sanction these unions in a manner similar to the post-Biblical tradition of a wedding contract or ketubah.

The ancient Hebrew ritual of signing a marriage contract between the families of a bride and groom has been adapted by Good Company to celebrate the union of gay and lesbian couples. The language that makes the ketubah uniquely Jewish has been replaced with prose that permits both same sex partners to feel comfortable about signing the wedding document. A full-color, 16”x 20” art piece, it integrates powerful symbolism with egalitarian language that enables couples to formally express their mutual commitment in this modern age.

In addition to Shakespeare, Good Company's certificate quotes the Baal Shem Tov, "From every human being there rises a light that reaches straight to heaven. And when two souls that are destined to be together find each other, their streams of light flow together and a single, brighter light goes forth from their united being." The document represents before all the date, place and signatures of the couple pledging a "loving and binding commitment with one another."