My partner and I have been together for 5 years and engaged for over 3. We both have put off even starting to plan a wedding due to the concerns we have about having a wedding in North Carolina. I was just curious if there's anyone here to share their experiences. To go along with out many concerns, Gay Marriages are not legal here in NC. Sometimes I feel like we should wait till it is or at least till we move, yet we have no plans to leave the state.
To those of you who are married or are planning a wedding in NC....what are some of your concerns or reactions that were surprisingly more delightful than you expected?
Re: Concerns for a Wedding in NC
This may be helpful, but honestly, people on the local boards are usually less than enthused about queer/gay weddings. You might get better information by reaching out to your local LGBT community center bulletin board for referrals and ideas.
Websites/blogs where our wedding has been featured:
http://www.dapperq.com/2013/11/a-very-dapper-wedding/
http://www.onabicyclebuiltfortwo.com/2013/10/wedding-christina-g.html
http://4realequalityweddings.com/2014/05/16/g-christina/
Where in NC are you located, if you don't mind my asking? (Western, central, eastern, coastal?) My fiancée and live in Eastern NC and we have found things to be very open. We've contacted several venues from here to the coast and we never had any negativity. Some venues did not respond, which may have meant they would not host our ceremony, but we weren't upset by this. It could have been that they aren't tech-savvy or just booked. Either way we preferred that they not send anything than to send something that might be ugly. We ended up back where we started, having the holy ceremony in our church and the legal marriage out of state. We've contacted several bakers and florists as well and the same results. All the ones we heard back from were wonderful. We've booked an incredible baker and are in the works with a florist. We had our engagement shoot with a wonderful photographer and want to work out details with her for the ceremony as well.
Essentially, we have been shocked by the openness we've experienced. I'm sure there are a few around who won't be enthusiastic, but thankfully we haven't met them.
I currently live in NC and just bought a house, so no intentions in moving in my near future. We are planning on going to DC one weekend to get officially married, then renting a beach house at the Outer banks to host our wedding ceremony. You'll be surprised at how many vendors don't care that you are a same sex couple. I personally already have a photographer that is a friend of mine and am using the bakery from my town that I always use for special occasions. All you can do is ask around, good luck with the planning!