Ira and MJ wanted a short and sweet sunrise ceremony. They said their vows to each other in front of the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. The inn was a particularly significant place for them to marry as it was the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for gay and lesbian rights in the United States.
“The ceremony was short and simple and at sunrise”, began Ira. “We had just one of our good friends as our witness and only guest. Nicki, our photographer, suggested that sunrise would be great for taking photos and it was indeed perfect. The lighting was great and there were only a few people around. Afterwards, we took photos around west village, had brunch, Skyped with friends, took a nap, and then had oysters and drinks.”
Both girls wore outfits from The Kooples with Dr. Marten boots. “We didn’t have any kind of wedding theme but we wanted to coordinate our outfits,” she said. “We affectionately call each other ‘cubby’ and thought it would be fun to go with animal prints.”
“The best thing about planning our wedding was that it was so simple, we did not have a lot to prepare for or decide on. It actually happened quite spontaneously. We decided we would get married on Sunday night and did it on Friday that same week. We have been thinking about getting married in relation to future plans that we’re preparing for, and we just realised that doing it then was what made the most sense logistically. I’m based in New York and MJ, who is currently based in Manila, was visiting for the summer. The celebrations over the success on marriage equality during that time were very encouraging too.”
