Posts Tagged ‘Same Sex Weddings’

Anti-Brides, Two Brides are back with the grand finale of their wedding weekend in two parts. We were holding off on running the story for a few reasons:
1. I had two press trips this summer and things were crazy town, blog posts were more sporadic, “Follow Friday’s” non existent.
2. Two Brides represent a category on the app, and I wanted their wedding to be on “Wedding Wednesday” – the first full week the Anti-Bride iPhone App was out.

Our Two Brides, Stacy Jill and Melissa Calvert of Queerly Wed are back to discuss all things having to do with queer weddings across the country and in our legislature. At Antibride.com we’re all about cool trends, cute dresses and yummy food for W-day; but until everyone gets to celebrate their big day, their way (with the partner of their choosing), we’re going to keep same sex weddings front and center. Now without further ado….drum roll please: Two Brides Tie the Knot!

Melissa and her Mom

The Week Before

Melissa:

The week before the Big Day was crazy! Stacy was working (couldn’t get days off!!) and I was left with a lot to do on my own during the days. Luckily, my mom came on Thursday. She is our superstar! I had been having difficulty with my sewing machine (which was hers from the 60′s) and there were several projects left to be finished. She came in, immediately diagnosed the problem and proceeded to speed sew our DIY photobooth backdrops, two ring bearer pillows and our Chuppah within an hour. She also was generous enough to loan us her car for transporting all of our stuff downtown to the venue and hotel. We keep saying how awesome she is…and how lucky!

Stacy:
We arrived at the Ambassador East hotel on Friday afternoon, and I received a text from my cousin Whitney. “So, did you get them?” I had no idea what she was referring to until later that evening. Our wedding gift from her and that part of the family was a package of Sloppy Joe’s. This may not seem extraordinary, but the Sloppy Joe’s made by Town Hall Deli in South Orange, New Jersey is not your ordinary sandwich and holds a lot of child memories for our family. It was a perfect treat to help start the weekend.

Waba Chicago for Korean fusion food and fun..

That evening we gathered at WaBa my cousins’ restaurant, for our bachelorette party. Ben and Jamie provided us with a feast of Korean/American fusion, and Soju cocktails were flowing throughout the night.  My heart jumped in excitement every time a new group of friends and family walked through the door. What started out as a small gathering of family & friends turned into a party that my Nana Golda would have been proud of.

We finished eating and rolled into the big private karaoke room. Everyone was up for a laugh, and I even persuaded my mother to sing a song. She was adorable while singing Copacabana in front of everyone.

Stacys Mom belts out some show tunes...

Melissa:
It was there that our parents met for the first time. Things appeared to go very smoothly with that and slowly, more of our friends and family arrived to the restaurant. I was so touched at the love that was present in that room! We ate and then most of us stayed for karaoke and a great time was had by all!

Stay Tuned for Part 2: The Big Day!

About the Authors/Queerlywed.com

Melissa Calvert

Melissa is the co-founder of Queerly Wed, a new website dedicated to helping LGBTQ couples plan their big day. She is an activist within the LGBTQ Community and has volunteered her services at many grassroots organizations over the years. Melissa is also an avid cyclist and won two silver medals at Gay Games VII, which was held in Chicago in 2006. She is also a lifelong student and enjoys studying Latin-American culture, photography and languages.

Stacy Jill Calvert

Stacy is the co-founder of Queerly Wed, a new website dedicated to helping LGBTQ couples plan their big day.  Stacy is a writer, marketing nerd, and web geek grrl all wrapped up into one package.  Stacy has worked in the interactive field for many years including roles at eToys (US & UK) and Ticketmaster. Stacy became a professional queer when in 2005, she served as the Ticketing Manager for Gay Games VII. You can catch Stacy on her website at www.stacyjilljacobs.com or on Twitter at @StacyJill

 

Here comes the brides....the delightful divas of Queerlywed.com!

Stacy and I are down to less than two weeks before our big family wedding here in Chicago! We are FREAKING out with all the last minute details. As we say, we are “all wedding, all the time” right now. In other words, we have no other life. All of our time is consumed with getting everything done!

Everyone who has gone through this has said there will be snafus with the planning and the wedding day. And we are finding that is true. For example, we just found out that our stage where we’ll be standing for the ceremony is 7 feet deep. Well…our Chuppah structure is 10’ x 10’! Now we have to figure out what our alternative is. We talked about scrapping the structure and sewing the material to four posts. That poses the problem of how we hold it taut so that the material doesn’t fall on those of us under it. I planned on sewing the Chuppah. So, it’s up to me, really, to figure this out! Okay, I learned basic sewing in Home Ec over 25 years ago. Ugh…I guess I will end up calling my mom and asking her advice. That’s what moms are for, right?

We are making jewelry for members of our bridal party. That’s not going smoothly either! I think that will work itself out, though.  We just printed the programs and I’m hoping no information changes. My head is spinning with all the little details.

Through all this, I’ve only had two “wedding-stress-out” dreams. They both involved being in the car on the way to the venue and realizing I hadn’t written my vows. Considering how busy we are with all these other details, I hope these dreams don’t come true!

Meanwhile, our marriage certificate from Iowa came in and we ran to the Social Security Administration to apply for new social security cards with our new last names. Those cards came in yesterday, so we are trying to change our names as quickly and efficiently as possible. Stacy just went to the bank and she said it went quickly and smoothly. I’m going to go tomorrow!

So much excitement!!
Next blog will surely include photos from our big day!

About the Authors/Queerlywed.com

Melissa Johns

Melissa is the co-founder of Queerly Wed, a new website dedicated to helping LGBTQ couples plan their big day. She is an activist within the LGBTQ Community and has volunteered her services at many grassroots organizations over the years. Melissa is also an avid cyclist and won two silver medals at Gay Games VII, which was held in Chicago in 2006. She is also a lifelong student and enjoys studying Latin-American culture, photography and languages.

Stacy Jill Jacobs

Stacy is the co-founder of Queerly Wed, a new website dedicated to helping LGBTQ couples plan their big day.  Stacy is a writer, marketing nerd, and web geek grrl all wrapped up into one package.  Stacy has worked in the interactive field for many years including roles at eToys (US & UK) and Ticketmaster. Stacy became a professional queer when in 2005, she served as the Ticketing Manager for Gay Games VII. You can catch Stacy on her website at www.stacyjilljacobs.com or on Twitter at @StacyJill