By Desi Rubio, April 9, 2015.
For 35 years, the LGBT community has gathered, marched, rallied, paraded and celebrated under the Pride moniker. This year, for the first time in Arizona’s history, same-sex couples will legally wed as part of the weekend festivities.
Phoenix Pride is inviting couples to say “I Do” April 12 as part of the festival’s pop-up style wedding chapel.
“After the marriage ruling, community members arriving at Rainbows Festival showed a lot of interest in getting married at our event and we wanted to give the community what they wanted,” said Dani Logan, Phoenix Pride program manager. “So, we got in touch with people who we knew could make it happen.”
Phoenix Pride organizers collaborated with Marisa Tristan, owner of I Do Events, who specializes in both same-sex and pop-up weddings.
“When we were approached by Pride with the idea, we were excited and wanted to be involved and support the community,” Tristan said. “Phoenix Pride makes a perfect setting for a wedding because it is such a lovely day and time to celebrate love in Arizona [and] we want to give couples the chance to have the full wedding-day experience.”
As couples and their guests enter the chapel, which will be located on the west side of Steele Indian School Park, they will be greeted by a traditional wedding ambiance, which will include floral arrangements, crystal accents, manzanita trees and other touches.
“The ceremonies will be very intimate and should last about 15 minutes,” Tristan said. “The ceremonies will then be followed up with an opportunity to take professional photos with their guests.”
Additionally, Tristan’s wife, Jennifer Tristan, will offer her professional photography services from 61 Productions and be taking photos of the ceremonies.
Festival organizers launched a link, located at the bottom of the phoenixpride.org home page that leads to a digital form that couples are required to complete ahead of their ceremony. This digital form includes information about obtaining a marriage certificate and also acts as a reservation for a guaranteed time slot in the wedding chapel.
According to Logan, couples must meet the following requirements to be eligible to be married at Pride: complete and submit the digital form, obtain a marriage license and all wedding attendees must purchase admission to the Pride festival.
Then, couples must bring their marriage license, forms of ID, guests and a wedding officiant (optional, as officiants will be provided) to the pop-up chapel ahead of their assigned wedding time slot.
Following the ceremony, Logan said newlyweds and their guests are invited to eat, drink, dance and celebrate in the park throughout the remainder of the Sunday festivities.
