One Love Kicks Off Its 4th Year

New Chapter Weddings & Events will host the fourth annual One Love Wedding Showcase Sunday, February 22, 2015, from 12 noon–5 p.m. at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront. GSBA has been a very proud sponsor of this event since its inception.

Known as more of a cocktail party-style planning event than a standard wedding show, One Love provides a fun and fabulous way for couples to organize their big day. One Love was launched in 2012 to celebrate ALL couples in love and has since become one of the premier wedding showcases on the West coast.

“Being connected both in the wedding industry and in the LGBT community, I was inspired by the stories I’d hear about couples that visited a venue or cake shop to plan for their wedding and be turned away, or spoken to inappropriately because they were not 'bride and groom'. There were also gay-owned and allied businesses who had already been servicing the LGBT community long before the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2012," says event organizer Jenny Harding. "These business owners wanted a way to connect directly with same-sex couples to have the opportunity to work with them, celebrate with them, and continue to promote equality for all couples.  The One Love Wedding Show was the perfect match connecting our LGBTQ and allied businesses with our LGBTQ and allied couples.”

The event offers couples a friendly, warm-hearted and open environment to find new trends and fresh ideas, get their questions answered, and trust that they’ll be treated with respect and professionalism during this exciting time.

This year, One Love will feature more than 100 award-winning, northwest wedding experts. These handpicked companies represent 25 wedding and life categories and will provide couples with top-of-the-line goods and services for every aspect of planning a future together – from wedding details to legal and financial support, real estate and more.  Many of the participating experts are GSBA members. Tuxedos & Tennis Shoes, Goldmine Design, Herban Feast, FunFrames Photo Booth, Sheraton Hotel Seattle, FOODZ Catering, Malcolm Smith Photography, the Space Needle, Clearwater Casino, Eagle Home Mortgage and ReinfireRanch are some of the amazing member vendors who have been participating in the show all four years since its conception in 2012.

One Love 2015 also boasts an interactive Style Lounge, signature cocktails, multiple tastings, excellent giveaways and other treats. The show is emceed by Shellie Hart, and amazing prizes and wedding products/services are given away every half hour during the show as a part of a raffle which benefits the GSBA Scholarship Fund.  Over the years guests have witnessed two surprise wedding proposals and a 50 person flash mob celebrating LOVE.

See the complete vendor list and show details at www.oneloveseattle.com!

Getting Married, Giving Back

Supporting LGBTQ nonprofits through local wedding registry

by Gina Grappone

Puzzles, books, Legos, art supplies, backpacks and socks. What do all these things have in common? They are on Bret Tiderman and Kevin Moser’s wedding registry.

When they got engaged on Christmas Eve last year, Bret and Kevin knew that their wedding was an opportunity to give back to the community that supported them as they built their life together in Seattle. Since moving here in 2004, both men have been involved in various LGBTQ organizations, including the GSBA, Lifelong care teams, and the Human Rights Campaign. As they met and fell in love, this work became even more important to them as a couple. 

In planning their December, 2014 wedding, Bret and Kevin thought their gift registry would be the perfect vehicle for sharing what’s important to them and giving back to their community. When they learned about the local gift registry website NearbyRegistry.com, a GSBA member business, a light bulb went off. Bret and Kevin created an entirely charitable registry. It’s filled with nonprofit donations, as well as physical items requested by the organizations. "We loved the idea of giving resources to the organizations that matter to us, while at the same time bringing sales to local, independent businesses in Seattle. It's a win-win for everybody involved."

GSBA partner organizations Lambert House and Lifelong are among the beneficiaries of this unique registry. The GSBA Scholarship Fund is also on Nearby.

“I’m so moved at the complex situations LGBTQ youth face on a daily basis,” Bret says. “They are at such high risk, and deserve every fighting chance at having a safe place to go and people to care about them, even if it's not their own families. The staff and volunteers of Lambert House do everything they can to provide that, and I believe in what they do.” The books, journals, art supplies, CDs and book bags from Bret and Kevin’s will all go to Lambert House.

Kevin describes their support for Lifelong, an organization that not only provides support and essentials for members of the community already affected by HIV/AIDS, “but works equally as hard to create awareness and move us towards an end to the epidemic. Those types of goals are not achievable without a lot of help. Our wedding registry is just one way for us to support the effort." Socks for the youth sock drive and household supplies are on the gift list for Lifelong.

The day after Bret and Kevin take their vows, they’ll sit among family and friends and open all their gifts. Later, they’ll head to Lifelong and Lambert House, armed with piles of books, CD’s, art supplies and socks—and the love and generosity of an entire community.

For more information about creating a local registry or wishlist, or becoming a participating business or nonprofit on NEARBY, contact Gina Grappone at ginag@nearbyregistry.com

The Wedding Budget

by Donna Jacobson, Marketing Manager, 1st Security Bank

As you embark on the journey of planning your wedding, it will be one of the most exciting, emotional, magical and fulfilling adventures of your life. However, one of the first and not-so romantic details you’ll have to address is the wedding budget. The budget is one of the most stressful aspects of the wedding, yet often one of the most important as it determines the overall direction of each decision, each detail, how every moment plays out on the wedding day.  The popular wedding blog The Knot reports that, on average, US couples spend $28,400 for their wedding, with the majority spending between $19,000 and $32,000. (And that’s not including the honeymoon!) Those statistics can be overwhelming, but with a budget in place, costs can be trimmed in many places.

According to Martha Stewart, a good rule of thumb for estimating cost percentages is as follows:

• 50%    Reception (includes the venue, food, drink, service, rentals and cake)
• 10%    Wedding Planner
• 10%    Music
• 10%    Photography
• 10%    Flowers
• 5%      Attire
• 5%      Miscellaneous (includes invitations, transportation and favors)

In other words, if you’re going to splurge on that 80’s tribute band or top shelf liquor, be prepared to cut back or get creative in other areas.

One of the first things that wedding planner Jenny Harding, owner of New Chapter Weddings and Events, always recommends to couples just beginning to plan their special event is to open a dedicated wedding account.  This separate account will help you to keep to your established budget in the following ways:

• The wedding account will keep the expenditures separate from household expenses.
• With a wedding account, a partial payroll deduction can be deposited directly into the account to make saving for the wedding more likely, and more convenient.
• Many banks offer online access, bill pay, debit cards, a free first box of checks - all tools that will streamline your purchasing process for wedding expenses.
• One statement arrives each month that allows you to track your savings and expenses to date for the wedding, enabling you to ‘check in’ with your budget.

Additionally, opening a joint account to save for something special is a great way to begin a new chapter in your life with your partner. It requires planning, budgeting, economizing, and communication  - all skills that will be essential in your happy new life together.

Somebody pinch me please!

by Mark Rosén, GSBA Board Chair

Could someone pinch me please! Somehow we have ended up living in a place where federally recognized marriage is a reality and, though I know that so many have worked for so long to make this dream come true, at certain times it still is unbelievable.

This new reality recently allowed us, after many years together, to “tie the knot”. We began Pride Day by having the honor to be present at the raising of the Washington marriage equality flag on top of the Space Needle, then marching with the GSBA Briefcase Brigade, and following all of that (as if that wasn’t enough), we held a small wedding ceremony at our home in Seward Park surrounded by friends and family. We were thrilled to have GSBA leader Louise Chernin officiate the event. 

Image care of the Smithsonian

We are blessed to have all the things a family needs plus more and so when we considered the idea of wedding gifts it was a natural choice to think of helping others and of course for us that means the GSBA Scholarship Fund. Suggesting that guests consider  making a gift to the GSBA Scholarship fund was the perfect way to  answer the question of what to do about wedding presents. We didn’t need a toaster, or anything else for that matter, but our young and future leaders need a lot of help to make attending college a reality. For over 20 years, the GSBA Scholarship Fund has been making a difference, so what a great feeling it was to have our marriage help continue to make that difference. We’re pleased to report that there is at least one new Ruby Slipper wearer out there as a result!

What a great time this is to be alive and even though we know there is more to do to help achieve equality for all, how great it is to help make sure that happens by supporting those who will make a difference for the next generation. If you are planning your big day, why not include the GSBA Scholarship Fund in your suggested gifts? It helps complete the old adage of “something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new”… a new chance at success for  a deserving student.

Cheers to your happiness and to love and equality for all!

Press Release - Marriage Licenses Issued for WA Same-Sex Couples Beginning Dec 6

MARRIAGE LICENSES ISSUED FOR WASHINGTON STATE SAME-SEX COUPLES BEGINNING DEC. 6

Some couples have waited decades to be able to marry.

Seattle -- December 3 – On December 6^th, one month after Washington voters approved the state’s marriage equality law, same-sex couples in Washington state will be able to apply for marriage licenses.  In preparation for all of the couples who would like to marry, county auditors’ offices have updated their forms and their websites.  King and Thurston counties will open at midnight, Pierce at 6:30 a.m. and Clark and Island counties will open their doors at 8 a.m.

Washingtonians overwhelmingly approved Referendum 74 on Election Day by a margin of 7.4 percent and voters in Maine, Minnesota and Maryland, states where marriage equality was also on the ballot, all voted in favor of marriage equality for same-sex couples.  December 6 has been a long time coming for many couples.

“This is a joyous time for same-sex couples from all corners of Washington State," said retired Judge Anne Levinson, who served as a strategic advisor to the Approve Referendum 74 campaign. “Starting on December 9th, each will be able to marry the person they love, to make a lifetime promise in front of their loved ones, and to honor and protect their families.” 

In Clark County, Camas residents Paul Harris and James Griener have been together for nearly 40 years.  Paul, age 64, has been processing marriage licenses for the Clark County Auditor for over 27 years.  “After decades of giving other people marriage licenses, I’m overjoyed to be able to get one myself and finally marry my partner of nearly 40 years,” Paul says.

In Island County and Spokane County, Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer and Major Margaret Witt, both decorated military veterans who fought for years to help topple the nation’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy so that lesbian and gay service members could serve their country in the military, will each be first in line to get married to their partners of many years.

Tacomans John McCluskey and Rudy Henry have been together for 53 years.  Due to Rudy’s ill health, they will take a “cabulance” to make sure they are the first in line at the Pierce County Auditor’s Office as soon as the doors open at 6:30 a.m. 

And, in King County, Jane Abbott Lighty and Pete-e Petersen have been together for 35 years.  Pete-e, age 85, served in the Air Force as an air-vac flight nurse during the Korean War.  Jane, age 77, was also a nurse.  Jane and Pete-e had a commitment ceremony several years ago, but have been hoping that the day would come when they could wed legally in front of friends and family. They will be married on the first day it is allowed, December 9, on stage with their beloved Seattle Women’s Chorus and Seattle Men’s Chorus providing the musical background at Benaroya Hall.

Editor’s Notes:  Interviews with these couples and many others throughout King, Clark, Thurston, Pierce, Spokane and Island counties applying for marriage licenses on Dec. 6 are available by request.

Use Twitter hashtag #MEDayWA to tweet and follow all marriage equality activities over the next week.

# # #

Media Contacts:

Gail Benzler | phone 206.250.0027 | email gail@gbenzler.com       

Anne Levinson | phone 206 938 0951 | email anne@levco.com     

This release is sent by a coalition of Northwest groups supporting the freedom to marry including Pride Foundation, Legal Voice, Equal Rights Washington, Basic Rights Oregon, ACLU of Washington and the Greater Seattle Business Association.