Winter
P
w
in
ed
k
dings
WInTEr IS A POPulAr TIME FOr GAy WEDDInGS, BECAuSE CIvIl PArTnErSHIPS
WErE FIrST InTrODuCED In DECEMBEr 2005. Many couples choose to tie
the knot around that tiMe of year to coMMeMorate the historic
significance of that event.
For their winter wedding in 2005, Gino and Gay Wedding Show, which comes to Cardiff The show launched in Brighton in 2004 and
Mike Meriano created a truly original day. One City Hall on Sunday October 4. gradually expanded. Gino and Mike now take it
of the first gay couples to marry, they tied the to Cardiff, Manchester and Belfast. Whichever
knot with the world’s media watching, but this
Gino, a gay rights campaigner, saw the need for
show you attend, you’re guaranteed a vibrant
didn’t detract from the intimacy of the event.
a gay wedding company in 2003, so he created
experience full of original ideas.
Pink Weddings (www.pinkweddings.biz).
“It was all media-led, but when Mike and I were “We wanted to put on a show that was
saying our vows everything disappeared — we
got lost in that moment,” says Gino.
“It’s rare for a wedding
completely different. Opposite sex wedding
shows can often be quiet and dull. What I
wanted to do was bring in a DJ that would
After the ceremony the couple treated their
guests to an unconventional wedding feast.
show to offer anything to
play music throughout the day, a drag queen
to host it, plenty of entertainment, and some
“We didn’t want tradition so there were no
seating plans, and we had breakfast: hash
do with civil partnerships”.
unusual suppliers. Before you know it you’ve
got yourself a very unusual wedding show with
browns, baked beans and so on — it was nine
a really good vibe and feel.”
in the morning after all!”
“At that time there was nothing in the
marketplace for same sex couples,” he says. The shows are a huge success — Cardiff’s
The venue — the Hilton Metropole — was
“Even though there were no legalities at that attendance has nearly doubled since 2005.
decked out with Christmas trees, but Mike and
point, there was nothing if they wanted a This is good news for the charities that benefit
Gino had sent a special request to their guests.
ceremony, so we began with a 30 page website from the £2 donation each guest pays on
“We had a Christmas tree decorated with
and started ceremonies using celebrants.” arrival. It’s also good for Gino and Mike’s long-
everything under the sun except baubles. We
term plan.
asked every one of our guests to bring a bauble
The Pink Weddings website now stands at
that they felt would represent Mike and I. They
8,000 pages, and in 2005 the Gay Wedding “Because we’re a social enterprise, the show
put the baubles on the Christmas tree. It was
Show (www.gayweddingshow.co.uk) was is about supporting the exhibitors but it’s also
our touch, which we pass on to other couples
launched. “It’s very rare for an opposite sex about supporting the couples and fighting
who are having winter weddings,” Gino says.
wedding show to offer anything to do with civil discrimination. That’s why we keep doing this.
partnerships,” he says. “It shows people are not To me one day it would be fantastic if there
Gino and Mike have plenty of opportunity to
taking the market seriously — a market that didn’t have to be a gay wedding show at all —
pass on their tips, because they organise the
has an turnover of £10 million a year.” you’d just go to a wedding show.”
swansealife October 2009 103
Weddings_Oct.indd 103 21/09/2009 17:32:18
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148