In 2000, I was wanted to rebrand the gay rights movement. At that time, no one was talking about the most important, game changing issue facing the gay community, the freedom to marry. A few friends and I founded a nonprofit organization called The Wedding Party. Our mission was to put faces to the issue and bring those faces into people’s living rooms. We were part activists, part experiential marketers and we produced four successful wedding ceremonies which kicked off the Gay Pride Parade in NYC. Our main event drew hundreds of people and was covered by almost every major news channel in the U.S., plus press from around the world. In those four years we also produced a few other events outside of The Wedding Party Ceremony, including the Same-Sex Marriage Expo. After just s few short years, The Wedding Party accomplished its goals and the organization is still going. There are only a handful of states that have legalized gay marriage, and same-sex couples are still struggling to be treated as equals under the law. There is still much more work to be done.
