Little did I realize when I woke up this morning and tossed on my Paul McCartney concert tee how appropriate it was.

For today, you see, was Sir Paul’s third wedding day.
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It’s official. KISS bassist Gene Simmons (62) has married his lady love of twenty-eight years, Shannon Tweed (54) in a star-studded celebration in Beverly Hills.

The wedding was held last night and was attended by such family friends as the rest of KISS, Hugh Hefner, and Bill Maher, as well as the happy couple’s two children, Nick and Sophie.

The tune is may be bit of a wedding cliche at this point, but when the couple had their first dance to At Last by Etta James… I gotta say, it might be the most appropriate use of it ever. Twenty-eight years is a long, long time to be meandering toward the alter, but it seems to have worked for them.

I hope you’ll all join with me in wishing Gene and Shannon every possible joy as they begin a new chapter in their relationship. Mazeltov, you crazy kids!

You know, the groom doesn’t always have to wear pants and the bride doesn’t always have to wear a dress.

Sometimes doing things a little differently works out really well, as in this rather fabulous wedding held in Poland for this lovely couple, Kabinka and Wisnia.As you can see, she’s wearing trousers and a gorgeous frock coat while he’s wearing a long skirt. Both accessorized with joyful smiles.

You can get a better look at both outfits in this photograph:

After the formality of the ceremony, Kabinka removed her coat for the reception and danced the night away looking fresh and comfortable and every inch a bride:

And the lesson we learn here is that unconventional isn’t something to fear. Follow your heart, whether you’re choosing a life partner or what to wear while marrying the person of your dreams. It’s all about staying true to who you are.

(all images by Ania Roth Photography via This Charming Wedding)

Navy Lt. Gary Ross did something very special to celebrate the end of the US military policy of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell.’ He got married.

This morning, the United States became the thirtieth country in the world to allow gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members to serve openly in the military. And that means that after eleven years, Ross can tell people about his life partner, Dan Swezy.

Despite the fact that they live in Arizona, the couple decided to marry in Vermont. Only part of the reason was the fact that same-sex marriage is still illegal and unrecognized in the state where they live. The other reason was that Vermont is on the east coast, and therefore would allow them to marry at the very first possible moment after the ban against gays serving in the military was lifted.

And so at midnight, the pair exchanged vows, with Ross in his full dress uniform, just like any other military groom. Swezy, a civilian, wore a tux.

All the same, Ross doesn’t plan to make a big deal out of his marriage when he returns to his post at Fort Huachuca.

“Even though the law goes away, it will still be the white elephant in the room until everyone comes to terms with it.”

But he notes that the change in the law means that he no longer has to lie ‘several times a day’ to hide his sexual orientation.

I hope you will all join with me in wishing these two gentlemen every happiness and a long, loving marriage.

I only wish my father, a two-war Navy veteran, could have lived to see this day. He’d have been truly happy to see this.

Samantha Poser isn’t famous. Neither is her new husband, Adam Kerby. All the same, Samantha’s father, Phil, wanted to give her something special for her wedding. Phil, who owns a carpet store, decided that his daughter deserved a red carpet… so he and his staff created it for her.

This, though, isn’t the interesting bit. That would be the fact that he managed to keep the carpet a secret from Samantha until they walked out their front door to head for the church, some 200 meters away.

Phil, who owns a carpet shop, had gone to elaborate lengths to fool his beautician daughter into thinking that she was going to make the bridal entrance on the back of his elaborately decorated quad bike.
The bizarre ruse worked as Sam braced herself to mount the unusual steed before it was revealed she had her very own magical red carpet for the fairy tale stroll to the church.

Clearly this isn’t an idea for everyone. Access to that much red carpet, and the ability to get streets cordoned off for the walk to the wedding venue make it impractical for most of us. And, of course, there are brides who would rather be swallowed whole by the Earth than walk a red carpet to church. In this case, however, it seems that the ability to get the practicalities dealt with, the personality of the bride in question, and the weather all cooperated to make Phil’s vision a happy reality.

Samantha and Adam are currently honeymooning in Egypt, and I hope that all of you will join with me in wishing them a long, happy marriage full of charming surprises.

Pop-up weddings, a celebration of FINALLY getting there!

For those who happen to be in New York City tomorrow and want a first-hand look at the happiness marriage equality can bring should head over to Merchant’s Gate in Central Park between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.. There you’ll find the Pop Up Chapel, which will host 24 elegant and customized weddings with help from the wedding experts at The Knot. What’s the Pop Up Chapel all about? According to the website:

“Our goal was to provide beautiful weddings that reflect the importance of the commitment our couples are making while providing a symbol of marriage equality for the entire city to celebrate.”

The Pop Up Chapel – two chapels, in fact – is providing a legal officiant, wedding photographer, ceremony decorations, and refreshments for the 24 lucky couples who reserved spots early (and their allotted 12 wedding guests), while the event itself will benefit charities that support LGBTQI youth. How did it all come together so fast? Volunteers, donations, planning experts, and a contest that asked architects to submit design entries for the 8 feet by 8 feet mini-altars that the winner will get funds to build. That’s how.

“This is basically wedding planning on steroids,” Carley Roney, Pop Up Chapel organizer, told the Times.

As for how you can get a look at this fun, spontaneous, and joyful nuptial event, the answer is respectfully. Spectators are welcome, the organizers of the Pop Up Chapel ask that they stick to designated areas. These are people’s weddings, after all!

All right, my lovelies, I cannot even begin to describe how fantastic this is. When a friend first passed it on to me, I assumed it was just a video made to look like a wedding. But no, as it turns out, there is – or was, since the video isn’t new – a company called LOCKDOWN that billed itself as specializing in wedding lip sync videos featuring brides and grooms and wedding parties and guests all participating. Have a look:

The best part is that this particular video made the rounds a few years back and inspired other couples to either having the same thing done by video experts or, if they were a bit technical and musical themselves, to DIY it. I am wholly impressed by what some couples are able to do and the services they are able to find.

Would you do something like this or hire a service to create a wedding lip sync video for you? I think if you limited participation to the couple and the bridesmaids and groomsmen, it wouldn’t necessarily be that difficult to do on your own. It would only get really complicated when you started asking your wedding guests and in-laws to participate in what is essentially a wedding day side project. Not everyone, I’d imagine, would fancy the notion of playing a part in your wedding music video! (Though I certainly would, so do feel free to invite me to your reception.)