On Saturday June 9th, my two friends Matty Mallon and Connor Cumming were wed in an informal humanist ceremony. You might Matty as the smiling bartender at Swizzles and Connor as his alter-ego Anita Hoe. The ceremony took place at The Exchange in Rideau Center and good times were had by all. When asked why they chose a humanist approach, Matty had this to say.
"We chose a humanist ceremony because it reflected our values and was respectful of our same sex union. We didn't want a religious ceremony as it doesn't refelct our beliefs."
Matty went on to all who attended.
"The whole day was such an awesome experience for us. To have 150+ people show up to cheer you on and celebrate with you is such a humbling experience. We have such an amazing group of friends and family. It was awesome to see such a diverse group of peopl; from our square-ish family to goths and gays all partying together."
Connor echoed Matty's sentiments, adding that the throngs of well-wishers made the day that much more meaningful.
"Having so many people show up humbling, especially for myself since I'm not from Ottawa. To have so many people drive for over an hour to make it to an eveming that was so special to me, in turn made my night even more amazing."
Congratulations to the happy couple. If all gay weddings are this much fun, I look forward to attending many more. See pictures of their special day and quotes from friends below.
Bradley Turcotte photo
"I really liked the humanist approach, it was universal and lovely. They love each other so much and the fact that they both cried when they were up there; I almost cried too," Jayda Kelsall says.
Jenny Dyke
This is my second gay wedding. I think it was the same person who presided the first gay wedding I attended. I realy appriciated that it was a humanist approach. They are a fabulous couple.
Alex
This is my first gay wedding. It was very nice. It wasn't too elaborate. It was very concise. I'm very happy that this was my first gay wedding. Despite the informality, it was still very respectful to the traditional committment of marriage between two loving people. Even though they parted with tradition, they still kept what marriage was about.
Michael Dickinson
I thought it was great, I had a really good time, lots of great friends. This is my fourth gay wedding. It was the best one so far. This one was a lot more informal which I think made it a lot more fun; a lot more Matty and Connor. They're not about formalities.
Elizabeth Dyke
It was very beautiful. It's always nice to see two people who want to spend the rest of their lives together.
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