So You're EnGAYged

Just engayged!

On June 16th, 2009, I introduced myself to you for the first time: a new blogger, recently engaged, and brimming with wacky ideas for our (two) weddings. Since then, you may have heard about what happened when our first wedding venue got sold, how we picked our diamond free wedding rings, seen the gorgeousness of Hawes & Curtis button-ups for women, giggled over our REAL UK Civil Partnership withme, and had the chance to meet my wife.

Bundled up for Christmas -- 4 months to the UK wedding!

You’ve been alongside me while we prepared to get married in England on April 17th, 2010, and I’m back again to plan our second wedding on October 16th, 2010–this time in California, USA!

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Hi there! My name is Brian and I’m engayged!

I was raised in a very small, southern town called Yadkinville, in the tobacco state of North Carolina. Aching to experience a new way of life, I decided to make a big ole’ leap from “The Town of Progress” to “The Big Apple” at eighteen years of age. During college in 2000, I took a job as a waiter at a NYC theme restaurant called Jekyll and Hyde where I met my future husband-to-be. On Cinco De Mayo in 2001, we decided to start going steady. Eight years later in 2009, we became domestic partners in the state of NY on St. Patrick’s Day. To keep with our holiday theme, Tom proposed to me on Pearl Harbor Day that same year. He said, “If you’re gonna bomb, it might as well be on Pearl Harbor Day, right?!” He’s a funny man, my Tom. That’s one of his most charming qualities. Obviously, I said yes.

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Hello internet world! I am a new blogger and would like to take a moment to introduce myself. You can call me Nicole Marie. I work in the real estate biz where I like to say I run the office without the fancy title (or paycheck). I spend my weekends with my fabulous friends, usually over a glass of wine and some type of board game. I live to throw theme parties… probably because I always want an excuse to get dressed up. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I plan for it for months in advance. I am a firm believer that if you want to wear a tiara on your birthday, you absolutely should. I also love to paint, read, and shop for handbags like it’s my job.

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Name/Blogger Name: Jen
Partner’s Name: Sam
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA
Date of Wedding: 12.11.10
Venue/Location of Wedding: Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge, MA
About Me:  I work with victims of violent crime and civil rights violations (hate crimes), including families of victims of homicide.  In 2008, I founded Black Cat Rescue, an all volunteer network of foster homes serving homeless black cats in MA.  I serve as the organization’s Director and Adoption Coordinator, which is essentially the really fun and rewarding job of kitty/human matchmaker.  Sam and I started dating in college.  We are both from Massachusetts but met at school in Upstate New York.  Sam is a marketing professional and uses her considerable skills to raise money for our cat rescue efforts, which never fails to make me swoon.  When we’re not doing something or other for the homeless cats of the world, we enjoy staying home and ordering free On Demand movies and lots of pizza.

Name/Blogger Name: Michelle/ M.G.
Partner’s name: Deborah
Location: Deep in the Heart of Texas
Date of wedding: November 21, 2010
Venue/Location of Wedding: We are planning on being legally wed in another state, but we just don’t know where yet. We are also planning a blessing of the marriage (aka full blown celebration) at a local and lovely historic house, the Astin Mansion.
About me: I’m a full-time high school teacher and part-time theatre fiend. My fiancee and I met at local community theater, and we are both self-proclaimed theatre and book nerds. We are currently navigating the sometimes tumultuous waters of a lesbian wedding, in a not-so-gay-friendly area, with as much humor and optimism as humanly possible.
Loves: champagne, Arrested Development, quirky photography, etsy
Hates: Diets, humidity

Name/Blogger Name: Mandy
Partner’s name: Bek
Location: Toronto
Date of wedding: May 29, 2010
Venue/Location of Wedding: Loft+Rooftop in Midtown Manhattan
About me: I live in Toronto, Canada, and after having spent a long time wandering, I am enjoying putting down some roots. I work in the arts, volunteer within the queer community, and I don’t really remember what I used to do with my free time before I started planning a wedding. I am a Canadian girl who fell in love with an American, and I am fortunate that my American is brave enough to weather the Canadian winters so we can be together! We got legally hitched here in Canada a little over a year ago, just us two crazy kids at city hall… and now we’re planning a ceremony and celebration in New York (where we met and fell in love!) to share with our friends and family. I have an amazing marriage to an amazing partner, so this wedding has a lot to live up to!

About me: I work in the nonprofit sector at an organization that combines environmental work with youth development, and I’m constantly reading, starting knitting/crochet projects I don’t finish, and trying to convince people that being a “cat mom” is good practice for being a parent. Both my partner and I are lifelong Pittsburghers, and consider ourselves to be about the luckiest people in the world. It’s not that we don’t love other cities and all they have to offer… it’s just that they don’t have the Steelers, or the Penguins, or pierogies, or the rivers, or… well, you get the point. We met while we were in high school at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center’s youth group, and the rest is history. We like tasting wine and beer, enjoying local food, being outside, and taking road trips.
I’m so excited to join the SoYou’reEnGAYged community!

More about me after the jump: (more…)