So You're EnGAYged, a LGBT wedding blog

The time had come. We were dressed, our guests had arrived and had signed the guest book, and now they were being seated awaiting the start of the ceremony. Tom had already made his way to meet the wedding party in the little lookout above the beach (it was so cool to be able to see everyone arrive without them being able to see us). This gave me a quick second by myself in the “bridal suite” (or as I called it – the BRIdal suite) to calm my nerves and take a deep breathe.

Everything had happened so fast it seemed, despite my constant efforts to make every single second last. I grabbed a glass of champagne, took a big swig and looked at myself one last time in the mirror as a single man. I smiled at that thought… excited to become a married man in mere minutes.

“Here we go” I said right before grabbing the rings and heading out the door to meet my wedding party.

When I arrived, I received lots of hugs and kisses before Tom and I made some last minute adjustments to our clothing. We kissed and looked at each other and smiled. Then literally seconds later we were being ushered to our places in the line-up. We had selected “The Best Is Yet To Come” by Frank Sinatra as the song in which the wedding party would strut down the aisle (and work it they did!).

When I was deciding the “colors” for my wedding, I took into account the fact that the ladies in my wedding party were scattered across the country and had different body types. I worried about them finding something the same color that looked good, and more importantly made them feel good. Then it hit me: Have each girl find a dress in a black and white print. This way they find something they actually like that makes them feel comfortable and promotes their individual styles. I have always loved the elegance of black and white. and thought that varying prints could be really cool. Then, after visiting Mexico and seeing so many varying black and white prints in the fashion there my mind was made up. (You will see this theme throughout in my other details as well which are coming soon).

With the varying prints, I figured I still needed something for that pop of color that would also unify them. Rather than one accent color, I gave each lady in the wedding party a color of their own which not only continued the concept of promoting their individuality, it also brought the entire look together unifying them as a team – our team. The colors were achieved with the use of jewelry accessories,  sashes and parasols in fuschia, green, purple and turquoise. I think it came together nicely!

All of the girls made their way down the aisle with the assistance of my groomsman, David.

Following the girls, David made his way down the aisle wearing white linen pants, a white linen vest and a solid black shirt. His accent color was yellow, accented with his bracelet and handkerchief.

The music changed to “All the Way” by Frank Sinatra and we were greeted with our standing guests, camera-ready.

Tom and I made our emotional journey down the stairs to the aisle on the beach in all white.

It was a beautiful, funny (if I do say so myself) ceremony written by us and officiated by our friend Susan. I had always thought I wanted a large wedding, however the intimacy of our small group was so amazing. We all laughed and cried and were filled with love.

I got a little choked up during the vows too. Actually, A LOT choked up – who am I fooling?! (By the way, I love this photo because my sister over there is balling like a baby too. :))

Following the kiss we were pronounced “husbands for life.” Then, the music changed and we danced down the aisle to “Zing Went the Strings of my Heart” by Judy Garland.

As the music played, all of our guests exited the beach to congratulate us and take their places for an impromptu group shot of “outrageous laughter” (meaning = be silly and laugh your butt off for the camera). I LOVE this shot:

All photography by Kristina Hill Photography.

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Previous Wedding Day Recaps:
Destination Recap 1: The Final Countdown Before the Guests Arrive
Destination Recap 2: An Unconventional Guestbook

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• DIY Wedding Ceremony
• Texas Wedding Recap: Our Ceremony, part 2!