[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-frank-and-michael\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-frank-and-michael\/","headline":"Real Weddings: Frank and Michael","name":"Real Weddings: Frank and Michael","description":"Intimate Affair Frank and Michael legally wed on the Spanish Steps in the nation\u2019s capital By Sarah Gleim \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You might think the only way...","datePublished":"2011-07-01","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":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_frank-and-michael.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_frank-and-michael.jpg","height":382,"width":659},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-frank-and-michael\/","about":["Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":746,"articleBody":"Intimate AffairFrank and Michael legally wed on the Spanish Steps in the nation\u2019s capitalBy Sarah Gleim\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You might think the only way to celebrate a 21-year relationship would be with an elaborate wedding, complete with the glitz and glam and pomp and circumstance two decades of commitment deserves. But that\u2019s exactly what Atlanta residents Frank Bragg and Michael McAllister, 43 and 45, didn\u2019t want when the couple decided to tie the knot.The two men (Frank owns Radial Caf\u00e9 and Michael is a professional counselor) met more than 20 years ago after attending UNC-Chapel Hill. They never actually knew each other while in school, but were introduced through mutual friends one night at a bar, and, well, the sparks flew instantly. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even date,\u201d Frank says. \u201cIt really was love at first sight. I was moving to Kansas City to open a restaurant and asked Michael to come with me and in three weeks, we were in Kansas.\u201dSo after their whirlwind meeting and more than two decades together, they decided it was about time to get \u201cserious\u201d about their relationship. \u201cThis year we celebrated our 21st anniversary,\u201d Frank says. \u201cWe decided at 21, we needed to be \u2018legal\u2019\u201d.They wanted to have a ceremony last year, but their schedules simply made it impossible. \u201cFrank was buying the restaurant and I was starting my own practice, and it didn\u2019t seem practical to add a wedding on top of everything we were trying to do,\u201d Michael says.But as they say, everything happens for a reason, and as if cued by the marriage gods, Frank and Michael\u2019s close friends Dr. Michael Compton and Ken Hogan moved to Washington, D.C. in December. \u201cWe decided that a trip to see them and get married would be a perfect break,\u201d Frank says.{loadposition easysspfrankandmichael}Photos courtesy of Frank Bragg and Michael McAllisterD.C. wasn\u2019t their only choice, however. \u201cWe did bat around the idea of P-Town briefly, but decided that we wanted to be with our friends,\u201d Michael says, \u201cand the excitement of getting married in Washington, D.C. was too much to resist.\u201dSo they held the simplest of ceremonies on the Spanish Steps in D.C. with just their two best friends in attendance. They were dressed casual for the occasion\u2014Frank in a Nautica blue blazer and Banana Republic shirt and khakis, and Johnson & Murphy suede wingtips, and Michael in a DKNY jacket and Banana Republic khakis. They let Washington, D.C. serve as the florist and outdoor backdrop for the service, which was more about exchanging vows than frilly flowers anyway.That\u2019s, of course, not to say the spot they chose wasn\u2019t spectacular on its own. \u201cBeing outside for the ceremony was the best part,\u201d Frank says. \u201cWe faced the Capitol and most of the city.\u201d\u201cI loved the weather,\u201d Michael says. \u201cIt rained just before the ceremony; cleared up for 20 minutes during the ceremony; and then, waited to storm until just after the ceremony! It is supposed to be good luck to have rain on your wedding day and clearly, the gods were looking out for us.\u201dAfterward, the four men shared a rooftop Champagne toast at Michael and Ken\u2019s home. \u201cIt was a beautiful sunset on a chilly evening with Veuve Clicquot,\u201d Frank says. \u201cIt was the perfect way to end the day.\u201dThey spent the rest of their wedding weekend exploring the sites in D.C., and even toured the Capitol and House building with Representative John Lewis\u2019 staff. The highlight of the trip\u2014aside from the wedding, of course\u2014was meeting with openly gay Representative Tammy Baldwin. \u201cShe and her staff made us feel so welcome and very special on the day before the ceremony,\u201d Michael says. \u201cShe even sent us a signed photo we took with her wishing us many more happy years.\u201dAnd even though Michael and Frank\u2019s marriage isn\u2019t legally recognized in their home state of Georgia, they both felt the political significance of the entire weekend was palpable, especially the wedding. \u201cHaving the legal blessing of the capitol of our country seems very empowering,\u201d Michael says.What\u2019s also empowering is how much more devoted the two feel now that they are married. \u201cI didn\u2019t think I could love Michael any more, but this ceremony brought us even closer together and made me even more committed to him than ever,\u201d Frank says. "},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Real Weddings: Frank and Michael","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-frank-and-michael\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]