Same-sex double wedding a 'leap of faith'

What could be happier than a wedding? Try a double wedding.

Chelsey Castrucci and Christian Wright of Colerain Twp. said, "I do," moments before Ethan Fletcher and Andrew Hickam of Walnut Hills echoed the same words Sunday at the Hall of Mirrors Downtown.

The all-expenses paid wedding was the culmination of Love Wins Weekend — a weekend of parties and events with 50 participating venues and vendors offering in-kind donations.

It was also exactly one month to the day that the Supreme Court’s ruling legalized same-sex marriage. And so, it was icing on the wedding cake that Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark case, was there to do a reading during the ceremony. "A reading from the Gospel according to Kennedy," he began, and then read the words of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored the Supreme Court ruling.

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The timing, though, was largely coincidental, as it was all planned three months earlier — before gay marriage was the law of the land.

"There were some reports of vendors and venues in town that had been discriminatory to LGBT couples," said Rev. Scott DeMarco, a wedding officiant in Covington who started planning the event in April. "I wanted to celebrate marriage equality even before it was passed, and to make a statement that Cincinnati is a welcoming place."

"For (our sponsors) in a lot of cases, it was not just a business decision, it was a leap of faith. They opened their hearts. It’s a wonderful display of support."

The weekend ended up serving as a victory celebration of the Supreme Court’s ruling, as well as a fundraiser. Proceeds will go to Cincinnati Pride, Equality Ohio, and the Human Rights Campaign.

"We still have workplace discrimination. We still have more work to be done," said DeMarco.

The two couples were chosen from 22 that applied to win the all-expense paid wedding. Friends and family of the couples, as well as supporters who bought $40 tickets, were in attendance.

"It was beyond our wildest dreams," said Hickam, an engineer at GE, who will take his new husband’s name, Fletcher. "But even more than the beauty of the whole ceremony itself, I was just crying for the symbolism of fighting for the right to get married. I was crying for us, I was crying for them, and I was also crying for the whole community."

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