WEDDING: LGBT Ceremony in Atwater Village

CONGRATULATIONS, Brandy and Lisa!

The smallest wedding ceremonies are so intimate, and so special. There were fewer than twenty guests total, including two male partners who walked their best friend, these two ladies, down the aisle. It was held in a small art gallery on Glendale Blvd.

The ceremony concluded with jumping the broom:

"To end the ceremony, Karen will place a broom on the ground for Lisa and Brandy to jump over. This is to respect the ancestory of the past...a time where freedoms like these were absent.

Brooms themselves symbolize the hearth, which has historically been the center of the home. The handle of the broom represents a common source of spiritual strength, while the broom’s straws represent the new family Lisa and Brandy created today. There is a ribbon to symbolize the love and commitment that ties everything together.

As they jump from one side to the other, they leave their former lives as individuals and enter a new life together as a married couple. The broom is an opportunity to sweep away past difficulties, problems and fears, as today is a new beginning for Brandy and Lisa.

Everyone, please join in and count to three!"

Photography was provided by the intriguing Cherry Thomas. Venue provided by Little Bird Gallery in Atwater Village.

WEDDING: Same-Sex Ceremony in Pasadena

CONGRATULATIONS Greta and Kristy!

A beautiful wedding ceremony took place in the backyard of a bride's parents' home in Pasadena. There were lots of good friends, close family, children, elegant decor and a reading from Khalil Gibran's The Prophet and another from Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea:

"When you love someone, you do not love them all the time, in exactly the same way, from moment to moment. It is an impossibility. It is even a lie to pretend to. And yet this is exactly what most of us demand. We have so little faith in the ebb and flow of life, of love, of relationships. We leap at the flow of the tide and resist in terror its ebb. We are afraid it will never return. We insist on permanency, on duration, on continuity; when the only continuity possible, in life as in love, is in growth, in fluidity - in freedom, in the sense that the dancers are free, barely touching as they pass, but partners in the same pattern.

"The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what was in nostalgia, nor forward to what it might be in dread or anticipation, but living in the present relationship and accepting it as it is now. Relationships must be like islands, one must accept them for what they are here and now, within their limits - islands, surrounded and interrupted by the sea, and continually visited and abandoned by the tides."

Photography by the dynamic husband and wife duo at Curtishots and catering by the The Kitchen for Exploring Foods.

EVENT: The Knot Season Preview Party 2008 at Casa Romantica in San Clemente

i returned a few hours ago from the annual get-together sponsored by uber-wedding website The Knot. The party was held at the beautiful Casa Romantica in San Clemente. There was a stunning sunset in the back of the property, but not enough ventilation inside the building, which became a heat-retaining chamber after an hour or so...

Regardless, i met some really great wedding vendors (read: co-advertisers!), and before i forget anything, i wanted to mention them here in alphabetical order:

• A&B PHOTOGRAPHY: Thanks to Lee, the photographer, i actually had a fun-filled and not completely business-focused evening! He's an amazingly cool guy and likes to have fun.
• CARVING ICE: Grace was a great person to meet, who talked about her company's CNC machining of their beautiful ice bars!
• CUBAN CIGAR FACTORY: Cigars are handrolled before your eyes! i can't wait to smoke mine.
• ETHNIC ESSENCE: They plan, design and manage 'couture events'. Thanks to Shawna Yamamoto for being so open to my approaching her!
• HANNA HARTNELL: OMG the dresses this woman designs are freaking gorgeous, hearkening back to the fashions of old Hollywood, and the flapper era! Her dresses have every feature i love in a dress: open back, dropped waist, slinky material, hand beading, etc. etc. You have to see them in real life.
• LA SOIREE PRODUCTION: An all-inclusive group, handling photography, videography, hair/makeup and event specialisation.
• MARTIN GERSCHWITZ: Musician and former Iron Butterfly keyboardist, with a sweet wife named Tricia.
• MISSION VISUAL: Mike McCaleb is super cool, very considerate, and a consummate professional, as his features in Ceremony magazine will attest to, as well as his being brought on as the official videographer of the party.
• OLE HANSON BEACH CLUB: This is the secondary property owned by Mr. Ole Hanson, who was the real estate developer responsible for old day San Clemente. It was great to meet Maile (pronounced MY-lee)!
• PACIFIC PALMS RESORT: In Industry Hills. If you've ever driven north of the 60 freeway and looked up to where Azusa Ave. goes, you've seen the old Sheraton hotel, perched on top of the hill, that has now been transformed into this newly renevated property. Nice to meet you, catering manager Joanne Zhong.
• SEVEN DEGREES: Easily my favourite venue in Laguna Beach. i met Tabatha as she and her crew were leaving the party.

i met a fellow wedding officiant, the legendary Reverend Bruce Danzara, who greeted me with a hug! What a nice guy. And of course, thanks to Shannon Ratcliffe at the Knot for inviting us to another fabulous event!