We’re giddy about the dreamy honeymoon giveaway that we have to offer you, dear readers. To celebrate LGBTQ Pride month, Equally Wed has teamed up with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide for one lucky reader (and the love of your life!) to win a four (4)-night stay in an ocean-front room at the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa, where a tropical paradise awaits you alongside the Pacific Ocean.
Privately nestled at historic Black Rock promontory, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa’s 23 ocean-front acres flow from the crest of Pu‘u Keka‘a to the shores of Ka‘anapali Beach. The hotel is part of the Ka‘anapali Beach Resort community, including Ka‘anapali Golf Courses and Whaler’s Village Shops and Restaurants, so activities abound for you and your partner. Or just lounge poolside and order Black Rock Lagers and Mai Tais. With four nights, you have plenty of time to surf, hike, sip, swim, watch the cliff divers and relax at this gorgeous award-winning resort.
On Ka`anapali Beach at the foot of legendary Black Rock, this iconic oceanfront resort welcomes travelers to a world of relaxation and discovery. As the sun sets across the Pacific, plunge into the legend of Ka`anapali as the resort showcases the breathtaking Black Rock Cliff Diving Ceremony accompanied with complimentary entertainment.
WHAT YOU’RE PLAYING FOR:
A 4-night stay in an ocean-front room at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa in Maui, Hawaii. Use it for a honeymoon, a destination wedding (Hawaii is a marriage equality state, and the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa is a proud gay-friendly hotel), a romantic vacation, a restorative trip to restart your life. Maui is a sensual locale bursting with gorgeous imagery, flora and fauna, and you’ll be inspired everywhere you look.
HOW TO WIN:
Leave a comment below this post about you and your partner’s love story. It can be short and sweet. Feel free to go for funny. We love funny! If you’ve got the gift of writing, use up every character Disqus allows. Duplicate entries will be deleted. Spammy posts will be deleted. Then, encourage all your friends and family to come back by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter, and ask them to like your comment by clicking on the ^ symbol to up vote it. The love story with the most votes will win the prize. If necessary, Equally Wed staff will break a tie.
Good luck!
Click here for a full set of the rules.
This is a sponsored post. Learn more about Starwood Hotels and Resorts at starwoodhotels.com.
If your business is interested in supporting Equally Wed’s award-winning editorial mission of showcasing gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual, queer and allied couples’ weddings through advertising via sponsored posts, banner ads, other partnerships or you have any other ideas for us, please reach out to advertising@equallywed.com.
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Well to be honest, I’m not entering for me, I’m entering for a friend and his wife. My friend Merris is a super talented human being, an awesome writer, and a trans-man with a big heart. Merris and I aren’t super close and that is mostly my fault because I’m super shy but I do know that when he transitioned a lot of his family disowned him, and that made me sad. His wife and himself are parents of 3, and it kinda sucks that they never had a honeymoon. I think it would be super awesome to have a honeymoon in a place like Hawaii. Merris is a hero of mine of sorts, he transitioned even though he knew he might lose family and friends in the process. It takes real bravery to be your true self knowing that you risk losing everything.
Dennis and I met on a cruise … a gay group cruise … a year and a half ago. It was less than five months after I came out (at the age of 45), and I certainly wasn’t looking for the love of my life. The group was having a singles mixer and I participated in an icebreaker game with my roommate, then we returned to where we had left our drinks. Our seats were now occupied by a new group of people, including a cute guy who caught my eye. He could see I was looking for a place to sit, but since there weren’t any vacant spots he patted his thigh and said, “You can sit here.” So I did. We’ve been together ever since, despite living on opposite coasts. Despite me still working through finalizing my divorce. And despite him learning — two months into our relationship — that he would be going through his third bout with cancer. It hasn’t been easy, but we’ve endured and grown stronger together through the process. Now, I’m moving to join him in California. We’ve bought a car together, rented a new apartment, and are excited about the new journey that life has in store for us.
5 years ago I met the most beautiful person I have ever encountered. This breauty radiates from the inside out. She is kind , loving, gentle spoken, great cook, good hearted women, this women I talk about is my partner Meleane. She and I have known one another for 5 years but not been in a relationship until 2 years ago. Timing is everything… We met at a mutual friends birthday party. Me a wild child her a shy quiet women. I talked and danced with her definitely a connection and spark… But again timing was off. 3 years later we enter into one another’s life. Stars are aligned timing was right. We had drinks and talked dated enjoyed life. She has been in my life ever since. We will be honored to have this gift of a trip to get married as this is our time. We want to have a getaway wedding in Hawaii due to her family all being in somoa. . . worth a try a s I just lost my job for coming out and being proud of the women and relationship I have. I will stand proud for this women. I will not let closed minded people deter or lessen the love we have. No paycheck will ever come before my fiance.
Belinda and I met at the birthday party of a mutual friend about 4 years ago. We were in relationships with other people, but there was an undeniable spark between us, an attraction neither of us had ever felt before. We became fast friends, bonding over books and coffee in the local bookstore- our own nerdy little slice of heaven. After a few years and the end of our relationships, we realized how crazy we were about each other. We’ve been inseparable since. I get to spend my every day with my best friend and the love of my life. I can’t wait to rush home each day and tell her all about my day. Even if we’re just sitting at home watching tv or reading, it’s magical if I’m with her. We got engaged in January and we’re planning on a destination wedding in Hawaii next year. Our lives aren’t perfect, but I couldn’t be happier with our own little fairytale.
Jeanette and I met back in high school but reconnected 10 years later because of Facebook when she was in Iraq and then Germany serving for the Army. We quickly bonded over Skype, and numerous phone calls and realized we were meant to be together. She came home to Ohio when her active duty was finished and I moved from Arizona back home to be with her.
When I first saw her in person (after nearly 12 years) I couldn’t even speak. I was so enamored and so nervous to be in the presence of this tall, beautiful redheaded Army girl. We helped each other go back to school to get our degrees and jumpstart our careers. Jeanette is currently finishing her Masters and I could not be more proud of my veteran. She has worked so hard, not only in school but fighting for our country and deserves the WORLD.
We now have a 3 year old daughter, Aubrie and plan to have another child when the timing is right. We have many more plans for the future…including hoping for Ohio to legalize marriage so we can be a family legally!
Michelle and I first met 6 years ago through a mutual friend. I was completely caught off guard when I first met her–I was attracted to her and intrigued by everything she had to say, and I felt an energy between us that I hadn’t felt before. However…she completely ignored me and even told me she considered herself “straight” and hadn’t dated women (despite the fact that she ONLY hung out with lesbians). 🙂 Over time, Michelle and I formed a casual friendship, although I always felt this electric connection. One time we were hanging out with a group of friends, and Michelle and I were sitting on a couch together. Our legs we touching, and the energy exchange was indescribable. One night I found myself alone at a bar with Michelle completely by chance. Everything about our interactions was so intense…Our conversations, our eye contact. That night, we shared a couple drinks, and my liquid courage pretty much led me to demand that she let me kiss her. The rest is history! We were married 12-13-14 in Illinois. We run two small businesses together (working less than 4 feet away from each other every single day!). We have been too busy to plan a honeymoon, but we are excited to take time to celebrate our marriage and our love. We want to find an amazing spot that is a nice balance of relaxing and outdoorsy–Maui sounds just perfect!
Maura and I met in 2010 while we both worked at a small natural foods store in Vermont. We quickly became close friends and we soon discovered that there was more than just a great friendship between us. We were, and continue to be undeniably and magnetically attracted to one another. I was absolutely enchanted by her caring, confident, animal-loving soul. She claims to have been hooked by my smile the first time she saw me. Maura proposed at sunset along one of our favorite hiking trails on the shores of Lake Champlain June 26, 2013, (the very same day that the SCOTUS ruled the Defense Of Marriage Act unconstitutional). We enjoyed champagne and fancy bread and cheese on a picnic blanket before the bugs got too bad and the daylight faded. I remember wanting to freeze time that night, being fully aware that I was experiencing what would be one of the best and most memorable nights of my life. I did my best to soak it all in. Blissfully giddy, we headed out of the woods, ready to shout our news from the rooftops. We had a beautiful fall wedding this past October in the Vermont mountains. The scenery was stunning and our homespun ceremony left no one with dry eyes. I am a full time year round graduate student. We haven’t had the time or money for a honeymoon yet, and would absolutely love to take the time to slow down and be present together after all of the fantastic madness that was involved in planning and executing our wedding. Getting back to the reality of our daily lives happened way too fast!
Established in 2001 we’ve co-parented a daughter, a son, and triplet boys. We’ve had our ups and downs! When people say, “how did you do that? 5 kids holy cow!” I always say, one laundry basket at a time. Our blended family includes her Mom so you can only imagine the complexity our household sees day to day. They are all finally out of high school so we decided this was the year. After a year of planning we are 60 some days away from our big day! We are looking forward to a week of camping honeymoon as we can’t afford anything more fancy. Boy weddings don’t come cheap, but it will all be worth it to be “legally wed”!
Sonia and I met in school. I was her scary soprano section leader and for the life of her all she wanted was to NOT catch my attention. I was very surprised to find that some time later Sonia reached out to me in friendship. The friendship became something more over time and this year we celebrated 3 happy years together. She still becomes very scared when she needs to sing in front of me but we’ve managed to play and sing together for a few years now. We have felt safe and secure in our relationship from the start. We tend to make big decisions regarding our lives together without too much worry or discussion because we know we’ve found our person. With that said we have decided that we would love to celebrate our love next year by getting married at our local church.
Jody and I met in college during sorority recruitment week. I thought she was the most obnoxious person I had ever met in my life. I couldn’t believe when the rest of my sisters loved her and asked her to join. For the first six months she called me by my roommate’s name. We were the bain of each other’s existence. Fast forward several months and we had learned to tolerate each other. Somewhere in the middle of spring semester, we became best friends and inseparable. A month later we were each other’s first and last girlfriend. Coming out to 60 sorority sisters, 1 additional sorority and 3 fraternities pretty much prepared us for anything life has to offer. 16 years later we have “tied the knot” five times (one county domestic partnership, one church wedding, one state domestic partnership, one state civil union and finally one legal nationwide marriage), 2 beautiful daughters, 3 states, 2 dogs, 6 cats and a plethora of fish later, we are still happily married. We would love a trip away as we spent our honeymoon in the urgent care after picking up the stomach bug our flower girl gave us and now spend all our extra fun money on family vacations with our beautiful 8 and 5 year olds.
Jacob and I haven’t been together long, but we fell in love rather quickly. I’ve never believed in love at first sight before but when he messaged me on a dating sight, I just stared at his pictures for like 10 minutes and read all about him.
He’d been”out” for a longer time than I have and that made it a lot more comfortable to chat.
He was going to school 350 miles away at the time, and from the second he messaged me that first day we talked for 23 straight hours, texting and calling.
We talked so much that my phone heated up and died twice. . Frantically running around to find my charger, I tripped over my shoe in the living room and almost threw my phone through my living room window. Not my finest moment.
4 days later he was on his way to my house from college and we hit it off in person better than I could have ever imagined. I’d never been real comfy with online dating, but he is my life now. My everything. I’ve met my future husband and we get along famously. Never had a fight or argument and he loves me more than I thought I could have ever imagined.
There was a time though, after we met that he got really sick and spent a week in the hospital and we joked around like he was alergic to me lol but I’ve never spent more than 4 days from him and it’s a success. We’re getting married next spring and I couldn’t be happier.
We met on the worst dating site in the U.S. (ahh a true modern love story lol) She started a conversation with me about our mutual dislike of cigarettes. (such a deep and meaningful conversation! 😉 ) Eventually we decided to go on our first date. When we met, it was the most honest and pure attraction either of us have ever experienced. In those few moments sitting in that restaurant neither of us had ever laughed so deeply or felt so completely free and comfortable. We knew immediately that this was the last first date both of us would ever have! She is my dream woman and I couldn’t be happier or more thankful for that awful dating site and cigarettes! Haha. ♡
When Phillip and I met five years ago at the Austin Pride festival, we couldn’t have imagined that we’d be able to get our marriage license in the very same city – or that the State would eventually recognize our marriage! He swept me off my feet with our first date at Peter Pan Mini-golf and Amy’s Ice Cream (after all, the true way to my heart is with ice cream!), and we’ve been together ever since. We’ve been engaged since November 2013. On Friday, June 26, 2015, we decided to get legally married after the historic Supreme Court ruling (we were the 31st couple in our county, and potentially in all of Texas!), and are looking forward to our formal wedding ceremony this November!
In November 2013, we took a short trip to NYC, where he surprised me with a dream proposal on the Al Hirschfeld Theatre Broadway stage after watching the Tony award-winning musical, Kinky Boots! A friend-of-a-friend was in the musical and sneakily worked with Phillip to setup the extravagant engagement plan. As she pretended to take our picture on the stage, I was so confused as to why Phillip was talking at me instead of smiling for the photo. Little did I know that she was filming his proposal! Once I started to actually listen to what he was saying, I realized what was happening, dropped everything in my hands (we were carrying souvenirs from our trip and jackets), just as he dropped to his knee.
Over the past year-and-a-half, we’ve been planning our wedding (set for November 2015), and our limited budget doesn’t include a honeymoon. This trip would be a dream come true for us!
The sweetest story from the sweetest guy. I have not yet met Phillip Joyner, but I do know that he has wonderful taste in men.
When I met David I was at my lowest point in my life. I had lost my job and didn’t know what to do so I packed everything I owned and moved back to my mothers home in Ky. We kept in touch daily his wonderful outlook on life and postive energy gave me new hope. So after 3 months of being away from each other I moved back to Austin with him and found a great job and we just moved into a new house together and will be moving my mom here to care for her. He is the most amazing sweetest man I have ever met. I asked him to marry me and he accepted. I would love to give him the wedding he deserves he is always helping others without hesitation. This man deserves the best. I thank God everyday for bringing him into my life.
I’d enter the sweepstakes, but my husband would tell me that we can’t afford a free trip. ????
What is a love story? We’ve all seen those movies where love defies all. Like The Notebook, where they die together because they just can’t stand to leave the other or The Lake House when the fact that they are in two different years and times doesn’t keep them apart. I
could say my life with Crystal is just like that but it would be a lie!! Our love simply described is the best kind of love. It’s been messy, painful at times but worth every moment. I wouldn’t, no couldn’t trade her for anything. What would my life be without my Crystal……I don’t ever want to find out. To quote Julia from Designing Women, “love doesn’t even begin to cover it”. I hope we win but more over I hope that more people out there find what we have…..an irrevocable metaphysical plane that can’t be altered by anything.
I MEET MY WIFE ON FACEBOOK IN 2012 WE GOT MARRIED ON MARCH 01 2015 AND WE ONLY GOT TO SPEND 16 DAYS TOGETHER AFTER WE GOT MARRIED BECAUSE I HAD TO COME HOME TO GO TO WORK I LIVE IN THE USA AND SHE LIVES IN THE PHILIPPINES AND IM TRYING TO GET HERE AND WE HAVE SPENT ALOT OF MONEY ON TRYING TO GET HER HERE AND WE HAVENT EVEN GOT TO HAVE OUR HONEYMOON YET AND I MISS HER AND ITS BEEN THREE MONTH SINCE WE HAVE BEEN AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AND A HONEYMOON WOULD BE GREAT WE ARE GOING FOR HER VISITOR VISA NOW BECAUSE USCIS HASNT COME THROUGHT YET I WISH SHE WAS HERE ALREADY
My husband and I met in Feb of 2003, 2 weeks after I moved to Chicago. We were both 23. He was awkward and had braces but he had a really expensive cellphone so that piqued my interest. 🙂 After a wonderful date I told him that I just really needed to be single so I could be depressed, smoke cigarettes and write music. That is why I moved to Chicago! He clung to me for dear life and called me twice a day since I didn’t know anyone else in the city. If there is one thing I LOVE – IT’S ATTENTION! He started to grow on me. About a month after I first moved to Chicago I had friends come visit me from Indiana (where I moved from) and one of them lost their ID on the redline train. My hubby called all over the city trying to find it for her. I started to realize how kind and chivalrous he was. Turns out, she left her id buried in her purse but I was a smitten kitten, and realized that I would be stupid not to date someone so wonderful, kind, and cute! We have been together for 12 years so far! We had a “shotgun wedding” in 2012 as we started the adoption process, and just this weekend got to have a dream wedding reception as part of Art Smith’s 101 Gay Weddings ATL. Our little boy stole the show with his dancing, but we didn’t mind at all. It was all so beautiful!
In three days my wife Nikki and I will be celebrating our 5th year Wedding Anniversary.
Our love story begins with us actually being with other people. She was dating her on again off again high school sweet heart. While I was dating another person who I had nothing in common with. She and Nikki were friends of sorts. So the four of us hung out a bunch of times before that relationship appropriately ended.
October 2008, Nikki came into the Gay Club where I was a Bartender. We talked some and it came up in conversation that she was single having finally called it quits for the last time. She knew I wasn’t with my ex (her friend) any more as they still talked here and there. I remember thinking to myself, when did Nikki get to be so hot! I’m the type that really doesn’t notice other people when I’m in a relationship. All I had remembered about Nikki was that she was super nice. That night however, I finally saw her. We exchanged numbers to hang out some time soon.
We ended up going to clubs together a bunch as friends. On one of those nights it was crowded as usual. As we went to walk through the crowd, Nikki reached behind her and grabbed my hand to help me through. I thought to myself, uh oh. This is more than a physical thing. There was an instant connection. She spent one (innocent) night at my place. After that we were inseparable. If she wasn’t spending the days and nights at my place, I was at hers. We probably only had one night apart that entire time. She even helped to get me a second job at the restaurant she worked at. We were both Hosts there together. Although I knew she was the one, it terrified me. I had just ended a relationship to work on myself, she had just ended hers. I was worried to mess up the good thing we had going. So when she asked me twice to be her girlfriend, I said no. That is until December.
On December 16, 2008 Nikki got out of work before me and was going to come back to pick me up. Little did I know, she had raced across the city to a coffee shop we had been to a few weeks prior. She went there to pick up a ring I had saw and really liked. She then raced back to pick me up. When I got in the jeep there was a note taped to the dashboard in front of me. Inside was the ring. The note explained to me her feelings about me and that she wanted to be my girlfriend. She said that if I wasn’t ready that was ok, she’d wait and either way she wanted me to have to ring. Her words consoled the fears I had and I said yes. Like the good Lesbians we are, we Uhauled it and Nikki moved in to my place shortly after Christmas.
On August 29, 2009 Nikki and I went to camp for the weekend in the Catskills, NY at a campground she had vacationed to the last three years. Instead of leaving in the morning as planned we left very late afternoon due my procrastinating on laundry and packing. So by the time we got there it was dark and also pouring rain. I do not recommend setting up a tent in either condition as we did. We got in to an argument putting it up. When we finally got it and the fly up, the bottom was flooded because the tent we had borrowed had three sides that were all mesh. So I suggested using the spare tarp as a burrito to keep us dry since although we had the fly on the ceiling dripping water on us. Folding the tarp became very difficult so yet another argument. Followed by my melt down where I told her: “How can you not know how to do this, you camp every year?… I’m from the city and I trusted you!… This is not what I
signed up for!” Dramatic much! I’d say so.
Well we made it through the night dry and safe. I expected the next morning to be a bad one after our fiasco from the night before. Not the case at all. We made breakfast on the fire we built and ended up having a great day exploring and buying corn from the local farm stand. We ate a delicious dinner cooked on our fire. Ending the night dancing to station on the radio we brought with us. There I am babbling on and on when all of a sudden Nikki pulls away and drops down to one knee and asks me to marry her!!! After several oh my gods, I of course said YES!!!
A couple weeks earlier she had planned on asking me while sitting on the beach. I was talking on and on about getting married, do I want an engagement ring or don’t I. She felt she had missed her chance. So when we were dancing she felt this was the perfect time and decided to ask me. Of course again I was talking on and on and she felt she missed it. So she decided the next romantic song on the radio she would ask me. Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing came on and she went for it. She said after that she feels the beach proposal would have been better. However, I love our engagement story! It reminds me of what we later heard from a man that ran a farmers market down the street. When asking why we were there and we explained that we were looking for vegetables for our wedding he asked us if we knew what makes a marriage work. I being the feisty person I am said I know it’s 50/50 right. He said wrong! He explained to us that it’s 49/51. Some days it will be your day and some days it will be her day. Understanding that and being ok with that makes it work. Clearly the night before Nikki proposed was not my based day. Nikki allowed it to be my night and moved on. So much so that she wanted to marry me. Pretty amazing!
The engagement brought up the question of last names. We both wanted to change our names but that didn’t work. We did not want to have higinated names. So one day while a slow night at work I began doodling names on a paper. Nikki’s last name was Donaldson and mine was Quiles (pronounced Key-lez and often mistakenly pronounced Kwee-lez). I took the first three of hers and the first the of mine and wrote Donqui – pronouncing it Donkwee. Try saying that a few times in a row and you’ll very quickly realize it sounds just like Donkey. Hahaha that was definitely not going to work. So I tried my three first then hers: Quidon – pronounced Keydon. I said it a few times to be sure. I told Nikki the story and what I had come up with and she liked it too. So it was decided, we would become the Quidon’s.
We decided on July 3, 2010 which left us for 11 months to plan. We wanted a small outdoor wedding. We ended up having a large one in a church. Can you believe it, a Christian Church?! I never would’ve thought that was possible. However our church, Hadwen Park Congregational Church is Open & Affirming – does not believe being LGBTQ is a sin. So the wonderful Pastor Judy Hanlon married us. Ultimately what meant most to us was sharing this special day surrounded by our family, friends, and God. It was a beautiful ceremony.
In just three days we will be celebrating our 5th Wedding Anniversary. Just one week after the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry nationwide… It catches my breath away. I did not the day we were married, and I will not on Friday take our marriage for granted. I am so grateful for the LGBTQ before us who made this day possible. Sure we have had our ups and downs both in life and in our relationship. However at the end of the day, OUR LOVE WINS! It’s been so great writing out our Love Story and sharing it. I want to take a moment and say to Nikki, I love you my beautiful! Always… <3