[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-jesse-and-fernan\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-jesse-and-fernan\/","headline":"Real Weddings: Jesse and Fernan","name":"Real Weddings: Jesse and Fernan","description":"Global GalaGrooms Fernan and Jesse blend religions and cultures for a festive wedding celebration By Sarah Gleim As clich\u00e9 as it might sound, San Francisco...","datePublished":"2010-10-15","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_jesse-and-fernan.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/real-gay-weddings_jesse-and-fernan.jpg","height":282,"width":637},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-jesse-and-fernan\/","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/99356982-6b55b278b8f9a254869d725889324008b185f3b90cff604602348d2d970c9db4-d_640?region=us","name":"Jesse & Fernan's Complete Wedding Montage","description":"04.10.10\nFirst Unitarian Universalist Church\nSan Francisco, CA \n\nVideography By  Brandon Hopp","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.vimeocdn.com\/video\/99356982-6b55b278b8f9a254869d725889324008b185f3b90cff604602348d2d970c9db4-d_640?region=us","uploadDate":"2010-10-28T02:19:07+00:00","duration":"P0DT0H10M11S"},"about":["Real LGBTQ+ Weddings"],"wordCount":1181,"articleBody":" Global GalaGrooms Fernan and Jesse blend religions and cultures for a festive wedding celebrationBy Sarah GleimAs clich\u00e9 as it might sound, San Francisco residents Jesse Baumgartner and his partner Fernan Kalaw really did fall in love at first sight. The two men met one night in April of 2003 in The Castro and have been together ever since.But sometimes a couple really is meant to be together, and that certainly seems to be the case with Jesse and Fernan. The two are so in tune, in fact, they actually planned to propose to each other on the exact same night just six months after they first met. And instead of surprising each other, they ended up shocking themselves.\u201cJesse told me he didn\u2019t like surprises but I couldn\u2019t help myself,\u201d Fernan says. \u201cI blindfolded him and took him to brunch at the Equinox Revolving Restaurant atop the Hyatt Embarcadero Hotel. You should have seen his face when he took off the blindfold and saw the ring.\u201dJesse says he was absolutely shocked when Fernan suddenly proposed. \u201cI guess you never know what will happen when two outgoing men fall in love,\u201d he says. On September 24, 2004, Jesse and Fernan registered as domestic partners and celebrated their engagement and upcoming \u201cBig, Gay, Fat Wedding,\u201d as they coined it, with a masquerade-themed engagement party in October. They spent the next several years traveling, and celebrated their fifth anniversary in the Philippines, Fernan\u2019s homeland.But despite all of their love and celebrating, their elaborate wedding plans were sidetracked in the fall of 2008 by Proposition 8. The couple decided that in order to make their marriage legal, they would have a civil ceremony in September, in case the amendment passed that November. \u201cIt was a very difficult decision to get married without all our friends and family, but we had the civil ceremony so it would be legal,\u201d Jesse says. \u201cWe were devastated when Prop 8 did pass.\u201dOf course, Jesse and Fernan were legally married, and they certainly weren\u2019t going to let Prop 8 stop their wedding from happening. And what a wedding it was. After looking at several venues and clubs, the couple actually said their \u201cI dos\u201d on April 10, 2010, at the First Unitarian Universalist Church and Center of San Francisco in front of 175 of their closest friends and family members.\u201cUltimately, we chose the space because it\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Fernan says. \u201cBut also because they have been performing same-sex weddings there for more than 40 years, and we felt good that the money was going to a nonprofit that truly accepts and helps people from all walks of life.\u201d{loadposition easysspjesseandfernan}Photography by Michelle Feileacan (http:\/\/michellefphoto.com)The wedding featured Indian-themed d\u00e9cor and clothing in honor of Jesse and Fernan\u2019s travels throughout the world. The wedding party included 14 pairs of attendants, each pair carrying a jewel-toned Thai parasol rather than bouquet and an offering incorporating the men\u2019s Jewish, Filipino, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu and Pagan traditions to be used in the ceremony. Both grooms were dressed in designer Sherwanis, elaborate wedding jackets from India.Fernan was the first to walk down the aisle accompanied by his mother, Helen, while the church choir sang. Jesse also walked down the aisle with his mother, Sandra, but it was Fernan who did the singing this time.\u201cAfter Fernan and all the attendants walked down the aisle and my mom and I stepped through the threshold, I was at first nervous and then overwhelmed by the love of all our guests,\u201d Jesse says, \u201cand by the beauty of Fernan\u2019s voice singing [Elton John\u2019s] \u2018Your Song.\u2019\u201dThe ceremony also included a video memorial for both men\u2019s fathers and other loved ones who\u2019d passed away, a reading by Jesse\u2019s 91-year-old grandparents and, of course, the exchanging of the vows. \u201cMy favorite part was the procession of our loving entourage and singing to my husband,\u201d Fernan says. \u201cMany people told me they were very touched and enjoyed the vows.\u201dAn international-themed cocktail hour immediately followed the wedding, and was decked out with dozens of Thai parasols, large colorful birdcages and garden urns filled with live orchids. Guests imbibed on signature absinthe cocktails dubbed \u201cGreen Fairies,\u201d and an elaborate buffet of French, Asian and Californian hors d\u2019oeuvres, while Jesse\u2019s godson Simon performed the violin.And that\u2019s when things really got wild. Jesse and Fernan wanted their reception to be like nothing their guests had ever seen before. The men absolutely love Paris (it\u2019s one of the cities where they honeymooned), so they opted for a two-act, Moulin Rouge extravaganza reception, complete with a custom tent made from 60 pomegranate-and-cinnamon-hued silk sarees, cabaret seating, elaborate feather centerpieces and gobs of crystals. And the live entertainment included everything from opera singers, burlesque dancers and Filipino dancers.\u201cEven though we knew the lineup for our reception show, all of the entertainers, like Veronica Klaus, The Parangal Dance Company and The Sin Sisters, blew us away with their talent, sass and wonderful performances,\u201d Fernan says.Between acts one and two, which Jesse and Fernan warned would be R-rated, guests dined on an elegant buffet dinner of traditional Filipino foods served on custom platters with banana leaves. Several special dishes were even prepared by family members, and like just about everything else in the big event, the caterers were dear friends of the grooms. Jesse\u2019s mother, Sandra, and brother-in-law, Patrick Glenn Kalaw, also gave emotional toasts during intermission.Instead of a traditional wedding cake, these grooms opted for cupcakes decorated as little nests. Since nothing was ordinary about this wedding, Jesse created a custom 6-foot birdcage to display the cupcakes, which came in flavors like spicy Mayan chocolate stuffed with fresh raspberries. \u201cMy favorite were the almond banana cake with cardamom frosting!\u201d Fernan says.Actually, what both men say was the best part of their wedding was having the chance to exchange vows and celebrate with friends and family, something they were denied in their civil ceremony two years earlier. And they say they would absolutely tell other gay and lesbian couples considering a wedding to take the plunge.\u201cNo matter what you can afford or where you want to go, it is really all about getting away with your spouse and enjoying each other,\u201d Jesse says. \u201cJust follow you heart and have the biggest, baddest, boldest wedding you can muster no matter what law, religion or ignorance tries to stand in your way.\u201dFernan says if he had to choose the absolute best part of their wedding, it is that the wedding taught him it\u2019s to love and appreciate his husband and all the people who support them even more. \u201cSo have the wedding of your dreams and stay true to yourselves,\u201d he says. \u201cBut plan on twice the money, twice the effort, twice the patience and a hundred times the reward!\u201d Jesse Dimond Design – Event Design, Flower Arrangements and Decor Evan Kaminsky – Director & MC of Recption Show Madame Chartruese of “The Sin Sisters” – Burlesque Talent Management and Performers"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Real Weddings: Jesse and Fernan","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/real-weddings-jesse-and-fernan\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]