We had super Sunday in the wedding world, as covered superbly by 365gay editor in chief, Jennifer Vanasco in New York! We’re about to have a super Saturday as The Pop Up Chapel is popping this Saturday in Central Park to marry 24 couples from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.!
Meet a few of the adorable couples tying the knot this Saturday. Below are their cute stories and pictures from the Pop Up Chapel website!
Bryn & Leila
When Leila went to a friend’s wedding in Seattle two years ago, she promised herself that she would walk up to the hottest person there and introduce herself. That’s how she met Bryn. They bonded instantly over things like their love of the outdoors (Leila: hiking, Bryn: riding in cabs with the windows down). Leila U-Hauled a few months later, and they promised they’d spend the rest of their lives together and never dress alike. Bryn’s a fashion stylist, and Leila’s a family physician in the Bronx. They live in Harlem with their rescue dog, Dusty Springfield.
Jay & John
We met at a club in NYC almost 37 years ago, Oct. 17, 1974. And it was just like a lyric in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific: “Some enchanted evening, you will see a stranger, you will see a stranger across a crowded room.” Our eyes locked, and we knew at once we were crazy about one another, and four months later John (a pianist) asked me to move in with him to his great West Side apartment, with two grand pianos and three cats. On the night that Gov. Cuomo signed the marriage equality bill, John held my hand and said it was “time to do this.” We had always been a couple; now we can go “legit.”
“Together wherever we go.” That seems to be our motto: through health problems (and we both are doing great), loss of parents, and other rites of passage, we feel that the world has been very kind and generous to us. We are incredibly lucky, and our love is stronger than ever. Jay (an actor), sang in “Cabaret”: “For you wake one day, look around and say, somebody wonderful married me.” And now, thank you New York!, dreams do come true.
Gabrielle & Jacqueline
Jacqueline and I have been together for just about seven years. It’s hard enough being 16 but falling madly in love and staying in love through criticism, separation, prejudices, and just growing pains makes me confident that I am marrying the right person. After our symbolic ceremony, we realized just how insignificant our “marriage” was under the law. At a time where we thought love was enough, it became painfully clear that it was not. That’s when we decided to get involved in the fight for marriage equality! At first, our families were opposed to our relationship and didn’t quite understand why we were “choosing” this lifestyle. When they started to realize our struggle with discrimination and how ugly inequality can be, their hearts slowly began to change. One of the proudest moments of our life was marching with my mom across the Brooklyn Bridge with MENY for Marriage Equality Day. My mom can’t wait to have Jackie as her daughter-in-law! It took a lot of courage and bravery to stick it out against all odds, but we made it, and I am so looking forward to the rest of my life.
Have a wedding question? Ask now or put it in the comments!
Your wedding columnist Shawn Hollenbach is a former make-up artist, friend to LOTS of married folks, comedian and one of the social media guys for @LogoTV, @RuPaulsDragRace and for himself at @ShawnHollenbach.
