When my wife, Maria, and I got engaged in a whirlwind of a romantic weekend in New York after four years of courtship and domesticated bliss, I was over the top with happiness. Visions of a full white strapless gown, delicate peonies and fluffy roses, and celebratory grins and toasts danced in my head. But I was also excited about our future as a married couple. Now we could enter into the social ranks of married society—those brave enough to take the leap to commit to one person for the rest of your life. Did it cross my mind that gay marriage isn’t legally recognized in Georgia, where we live? Of course. It's something we're fighting for every day. But did it stop me from dreaming about, planning and having our wedding? Not for one second.

But what did make my heart stop when Maria and I set out on this adventure of setting the date, choosing our venue and hiring our team of vendors was that there wasn’t a wedding magazine where we could see ourselves in the articles and the photos, as well as search for gay- and lesbian-friendly wedding vendors. In short, we saw a gaping hole in our media-rich nation, and the motivational seed for Equally Wed was born.

It is our great pleasure to bring you Equally Wed, the nation’s premier online same-sex wedding magazine. In these pages, we provide a new issue every season bursting with inspiration and ideas to incorporate into your wedding (gay or straight). In every issue, we introduce you to our Real Weddings couples who’ve tied the knot. We travel to every honeymoon destination to vet it for its gay friendliness and fabulousness—so you can rely on us not just for honeymoon planning, but also for all your romance travel needs. For every person’s body type and gender identification, you’ll find the latest fashions straight from our favorite runways, designers, bridal salons and suit shops in Equally Wed’s Fashion department. To get you looking and feeling your best for your wedding—and all the events leading up to it, we provide our Beauty and Grooming department, rife with tips from the experts, trends and products; as well as the latest in news, methods and suggestions for keeping you well in Health and Fitness. And of course we cover topics such as minding your budget, talking to your family, navigating social etiquette. And because gay marriage will likely be intertwined with politics for quite some time, we’ve included a News section to keep you updated on all the latest from the frontlines of the fight for marriage equality. Read our Headlines blog for the most recent intel. For local, gay-friendly wedding vendors in your area, check out our Local Resources department, where we are continuously adding new vendors in all the important categories.

Our main motivation is to be here for you and your partner, from shopping for the engagement ring to planning the wedding of your dreams to saying “I do” to your romance-filled honeymoon to settling into your new life together as a married couple. Please enjoy!