On March 20 up to 400 same-sex couples will gather in Washington DC to get married as part of the Our Time Has Come event to become the current Guinness World Record.
Washington, United States - GLBT Wedding Services is hosting the event in Washington on March 20 to celebrate legal marriage.
Partners who are tying the knot will take part in a large group ceremony, individual private ceremonies and a gala-style reception at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.
The event, though huge, is being designed so that each couple can feel special.
"The GLBT community has always found strength in numbers when it comes to advocating for equality," said Mike Wilkinson, Director of Wedding
Services for Event Emissary is one of the planners. He added, "Now we can finally stand together to affirm our love and have it recognized legally by the District of Columbia."
One of the couples, Drew Parker and Dalin Holyoak, who plan to be at the event have already wed. They couldn't wait for DC to legalize marriage but are glad that now the city they reside in recognizes their union.
"We signed up to be part of the mass ceremony as soon as we could. We celebrated our personal vows nearly two years ago, but we know the importance of this day to our status as fully equal citizens of the District of Columbia," Parker said. "We are so thankful for the people that sacrificed to make this day a reality, and can only hope that one day the entire nation will follow."
Standing Proud Together will be the centerpiece of the day long event. It will be a non-denominational, contemporary service and will be led in a manner that will solidify the unions of long-term partners as well as commemorate the marriages of those who are more recently engaged.
DC is expected to legalize same-sex marriage next week. Once that happens couples can apply for their marriage licenses.
In Washington D.C. there is a three-day waiting period for marriage licenses but high volume could make that wait longer.
Wilkinson said that the event will only take place if DC does legalize same-sex marriages.
"We're not going to do anything if it's not official. We've waited too long for that."
Source: digitaljournal
