[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/a-labor-of-love\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/a-labor-of-love\/","headline":"A Labor of Love","name":"A Labor of Love","description":"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...","datePublished":"2010-03-20","dateModified":"2021-06-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/a-labor-of-love\/","about":["In Bloom"],"wordCount":532,"articleBody":"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\u2014those 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\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019s  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\u2019ve tied the knot. We travel to  every honeymoon destination to  vet it for its gay friendliness and  fabulousness\u2014so you can rely on us not just for honeymoon planning,   but also for all your romance travel needs. For every person\u2019s body   type and gender identification, you\u2019ll find the latest fashions straight    from our favorite runways, designers, bridal salons and suit shops in   Equally Wed\u2019s Fashion department. To get you looking and feeling your   best for your wedding\u2014and 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\u2019ve 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 \u201cI do\u201d to your romance-filled  honeymoon to settling into  your new life together as a married couple.  Please enjoy!Cheers!Kirsten"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"A Labor of Love","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/a-labor-of-love\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]