We are excited to share today's touching love story and beautiful black and white portraits of recent newlyweds Marc Galbraith and Nick Burton by photographer Rebekah Westover. The handsome duo wed in Provincetown, Mass., on the Fourth of July ("So that there are fireworks every year on our anniversary and neither of us could ever forget," says Marc). They were en route to get hitched when the Supreme Court ruled striking down DoMa. "So now, at least, though Utah doesn't recognize our marriage, our country does," says Marc. "It's funny when people here in Utah ask me if I am married and are confused by my answer: 'Sometimes--depends on where I am.'"

When Marc and Nick returned from Provincetown as husband and husband, they donned tuxes (Marc wore Armani, Nick wore John Varvatos) and enlisted Rebekah Westover to snap some formal portraits of themselves with their adorable pup--a Scottie/Yorkie mix appropriately named Tux--to mark the celebratory occasion. Below, see the couple's black and white images, snapped at the Salt Flats, and read the details of their love story.

    

Below, Marc shares the couple's touching love story and details about their decision to wed:

Nick and I are both from California, though both of us have parents that are from Utah, so we have frequented the state all of our lives. We recently relocated here from Orange County (though I had lived here before for a number of years).

Nick recently separated from the Air Force. He had gone to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and was still fulfilling his service commitment when we met. After returning from nearly a year long deployment in Iraq, he was based in Seal Beach, Calif., and I was working nearby for Ritz-Carlton. We were introduced by mutual friends and began dating, but we had to be very discreet because at the time Nick could still be dishonorably discharged from the military for being gay. 

After dating for about a year, Nick received new deployment orders to Afghanistan and was to be there for 9 months. Almost simultaneously, my job asked me to take an assignment in the Virgin Islands (which we jokingly refer to as my deployment). Because of his position as a contracting officer, he had a phone with a US number and we were able to speak and write daily--which we did for the entire 9 months. Our relationship really blossomed as we were able to get to know each other at a very deep level during that time. Midway thru the deployment he received a 15 day R & R trip (rest and recuperation) and he came to stay with me in the islands. We had the most amazing couple of weeks ever. It was during that deployment that "Don't ask Don't Tell" was repealed so we no longer had to keep everything a secret. It was nice to be able to date and love without that incredible fear/pressure.

We both finished our "deployments" at about the same time, and Nick had about 6 months left before he could separate from the Air Force. He returned from Afghanistan and was still stationed in Seal Beach, so we got a house on the coast in neighboring Sunset Beach, Calif., for his remaining time in the military. It was there we decided to marry but it still wasn't legal in California, so we made plans to wed in one of our favorite spots: Provincetown, Mass., at the tip of Cape Cod. It is a beautiful, small seaside village that attracts people who revel in diversity.

After Nick fulfilled his service commitment in December, we both received unsolicited job offers here in Utah, so we took it as a sign and moved here and we are loving it. We are both extremely active and it's an awesome place to indulge in many of our passions.

Congratulations Marc and Nick! Thank you for sharing your love story with us.

And thank you Rebekah Westover for sharing these photos with us today!