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- Eurovision – Against Russia’s Drag Ban - 3 May, 2014
- Size Probably Doesn’t Matter - 10 April, 2014
- Today History Changes – Same-Sex Marriage in England & Wales - 29 March, 2014
So, it’s happened, the unthinkable, yet unstoppable, third reading of the Equal Marriage bill in the UK sliding through the House of Lords with no amendments on Monday, yesterday, history was made, the Queen gave the bill Royal Assent and as from 3.07pm on July 17 2013, equal marriage is now law of the land for England and Wales.
Whether at Warwick Castle with jousters, Thorpe Park on Saw, or on a river cruise down the Thames, there’s many a genius and unique place to celebrate your big day in Britain. OK, so on Saw at Thorpe Park may be a little annoying with guests gripping onto their hats and tears of fear rolling down their faces amidst the out of control vol-au-vents, instead of joy, but outside the UK where else would be an amazing place to have your big fat gay parade of a wedding day?
Here are my top 5 gay wedding destinations:
#5 – France. Think back to a few weeks ago and the first gay marriage ceremony taking place in Montpelier. The poor couple didn’t need to send invites out as there was more interest in the event than the French Open, (that’s Tennis dear). So why is France in my top 5? Well if you don’t have many friends, France has so much internal opposition to same sex marriage, you’ll have more protesters than at the BBC’s television Centre after the launch of operation Yew Tree. Instantly fill a room with attendees, happy for you or not, you may even get some free photography from the local press, winner.
#4 Amsterdam. The Netherlands was the first country to legalise gay marriage back in 2001 and Amsterdam in particular oozes that carnivalesque, celebratory atmosphere, it could be the perfect destination to take your fellow husband or wife up the aisle. When you think of Amsterdam, thoughts initially jump to the famous red light district and working women are conjured up, but even in the city’s sex museum, gay has a very strong presence. The city also offers fantastic boat trips on its extensive and beautiful canal network with a whole host of cultural points of call and pretty backdrops. Now who doesn’t like the idea of cruising while on their wedding day?
#3 Madrid. Warm, sexy and stylish, Madrid is a hive of cultural activity. It’s certainly a city draped in history and so what better place to make a little of your own. After much debate, like most countries have had around this topic, same-sex marriage was made legal by the Cortes Generales, Spain’s bicameral parliament on 30 June 2005. No one would even bat an eyelid if you arrived on the big day hot and sweaty on a bull charging through the streets wearing a white vest.
#2 New York. Concrete jungles that gay dreams are made of. Where better to hold your celebration than where many say the gay rights movement started, outside the Stonewall Pub in Greenwich New York City? After the ceremony let your guests loose around the City famous for the Empire State, the Statue of Liberty and Central Park, do a spot of sightseeing and shopping in one of the world’s most famous locations, and you never know, a celebrity or two might sneak in. Those celebs will endorse anything that’s on trend right now!
#1 San Francisco. The ultimate in gay destinations, with more gay hotels and bars per square mile than you can shake a member of Towie’s large stick at, San Francisco is my number one choice. It has one of the biggest annual pride festivals and has widely promoted liberalism. California lifted its ban on same sex marriage back in 2011, but beware if you are planning your nuptials in the US state as a group opposing the law are challenging it at the high court wanting to reintroduce the ban on same sex couples getting wed. Let’s hope progression keeps moving forward and states like California don’t give into these pressure groups, as wouldn’t it be wonderful to one day write a top 100 destinations to have your big gay wedding? Maybe one day Scotland will feature too.
