“A big part of my reservation was the traditional model of like bride and groom like they’re on a pedestal: ‘Look at them, they’re perfect.’ And it’s just like, I don’t want to be that person. I’m not that person. We’re not that couple.” “Now I’m going to ask you to grab a blessing cord. Find a partner, and tie it three times around their left wrist.” “And so I think having the strings, having people standing in sort of that semi-circle shape, having people tie strings with strangers if they didn’t know who they were immediately next to, it just sort of brought everyone into and present for the ceremony.” “Do you, the family and friends of Adam and Mitchell, promise to support this ceremony and this union for the good of Adam and Mitchell?” “We do.” “So we were like, O.K., what is a gay wedding? Well, it’s two men. And then, O.K., well, if it’s two men, then who gets to wear a wedding dress? Someone should wear a wedding dress. What if the DJ is a drag queen who wears a wedding dress? We tried to create a party that could be like a wild dance party, but also very easy to dip out early without anyone noticing.” “Being queer, not having a template for how a wedding is supposed to be ended up being the best thing for this situation because it really allowed us to create our own structure for how it should go. And the greatest compliment that I got from a couple of people was like, ‘I never thought I wanted to get married until this wedding.’”