Not long ago, during a particularly depressing news cycle for civil rights in America, Kelly Wilson decided it was time to put a little joy out into the world.
And what’s more joyful than a wedding?
“Calling all LGBTQ+ couples!” she wrote. “We want to throw you a wedding to remember!”
Then she waited to see if any gay, trans or nonbinary couples would accept an invitation to their own wedding. With just weeks to go before wedding(s) day, Wilson has her answer. The only thing better than a wedding is a dozen weddings.
Twelve couples have signed on for the unabashed wedding bash, set for May 31. Dozens of volunteers and donors have mobilized for the wedding planning.
Do’gooders MN, Wilson’s group of volunteers, are taking care of everything: the venue in the Twin Cities, the cake, the decorations, the first dance. The community stepped up to donate wedding bands and honeymoon packages. One man covered the entire cost of security for the event. Officiants — including three county judges — and musicians offered their time and talent, free of charge.
“It’s just a lot of good in the middle of a lot of not-great,” said Wilson, who has watched legislatures in other states toy with the idea of overturning the right to marry for families like hers.
This summer marks the 10th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision that made marriage equality the law of the land. Wilson just wants other couples to experience the same happiness that she and her wife — and their three children, who were 8, 9 and 12 at the time — felt on their wedding day.
