[dropcap letter=”B”]arbie and Alexa had been together for eight years, and on their anniversary, they decided to become legally married. Hailing from Alabama, they headed to D.C. because they couldn’t get a marriage certificate in their home state. The day was intimate and perfect in every sense of the word.
From Barbie and Alexa:
We met playing softball, where wee had both joined the same lesbian team. We were just teammates during the spring and summer season, and when it ended, we didn’t see each other. However, we had a mutual friend and we both asked her about the other one. So on Oct. 3, 2005, we had our first date. We spent every day together. We both knew this was “the one.” We moved in together that January, just three months after our first date. We had our initials tattooed on each other’s wrists by that point!
In 2007, we went to Gay Pride in Atlanta and participated in a mass wedding ceremony. Alexa came home and even though same-sex marriage was not legally recognized in Alabama, she went to the courthouse and legally changed her name. That was enough for us for a while. This past year, with all the states passing marriage equality, we were inspired. Even though we felt married in our hearts, we had no benefits of normal married couples. So, on October 3, 2013, we were legally married in Washington D.C., on our eight-year anniversary. It was a very small ceremony (just us and Alexa’s mother). We spent a week in D.C. and paid for her mom to go with us. We had a reception back in Birmingham, Ala., with our friends and family. There were no caterers, because Alexa made all the food! A friend made the wedding cake and another friend hosted the reception in her backyard. It was beautiful and simple.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published April 2014, and was updated on April 2015. Sadly, marriage equality in Alabama is still not a reality, though for a brief moment it was.
Vendors:
Venue: Constitution Gardens
Photographer: Cherie Cullen
Officiant: Ed Egebretsen-Doud
Caterer: DIY (Alexa)
Cake: DIY (friend)
Flowers: DIY (Alexa)
Find more equality-minded wedding vendors and venues for your LGBTQ wedding in our directory.
