'Love is love': Multi-couple LGBTQ2S+ wedding celebrates all forms of love
At a small ceremony in Wascana Park, three separate couples committed to being together forever.
The outdoor wedding took place on Sunday afternoon and was open to couples of all orientations who were either getting married for the first time or who wanted to renew their original wedding vows.
Terry Van Mackelberg, also known as drag queen Flo Mingo, is a marriage commissioner. He announced his plan to host the multi-couple wedding a few weeks ago as one way to celebrate Pride month. Flo Mingo officiated the wedding.
“I’ve always wanted to do a group wedding and June is a month of love and celebration, especially for the LGBTQ2S+ community, to show where we were and how far we’ve come,” he said. “What better way to show love and acceptance than having a group of people celebrating that.”
Pride month was not celebrated in its normal fashion again this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Van Mackelberg said while the month is largely about celebration, it’s also still about the movement towards equal rights.
“A way to push that movement forward is visibility. When you’re out in a park with straight couples, gay couples, lesbian couples – it doesn’t matter who you love, love is love, so I think the visibility piece was very important,” he said.
As word about the wedding spread, several local businesses and organizations stepped in to help make the day extra special with cakes for each couple, travel vouchers and more.
‘A VERY MEMORABLE WAY OF GETTING MARRIED’
Sunday’s ceremony included one couple that was getting married and two couples renewing vows. Each couple had a small group of family and friends there to watch.
Jordy Ironstar and Leslie Norton said “I do” for the first time. They have been a couple for 10 years and have been engaged for five.
They said because they are a gay couple and because of Ironstar’s Indigenous upbringing, they have been looking for a way to get married that was not religious.
“It was kind of hard to picture how our wedding was going to look when it’s kind of seen as more of a traditional thing,” Ironstar said. “This is a very memorable way of getting married and this way we kind of just show up and it’s done.”
The couple said they have been living as though they are married for years, so this is just the next check off their checklist of things to do together.
Ironstar said he hopes younger people, regardless of their sexual orientation, will see the group wedding as a reminder that it’s important to have love in life.
“Love comes in very different forms and love means different things to different people, so I think if you live your life authentically you will attract people to you just by being yourself,” Ironstar said.
They said the success of their relationship so far has come from truly accepting each other, having their families accept each other and from going with the flow.
“Find a best friend and marry them,” Norton said.
A RENEWED COMMITMENT
Jean Hillabold and Mirtha Rivera renewed their vows on Sunday. They’ve been together for 31 years and have been married for 11 years.
Mirtha Rivera, left, and Jean Hillabold, right, renewed their vows on Sunday. (Stefanie Davis / CTV News Regina)
When they met all those years ago, Rivera was married to a man and had two children.
“I thought I need to keep hands off,” Hillabold said. “I thought she was very attractive but I thought ‘no, she’s very catholic, she’s married, hands off!’”
Rivera repeatedly told Hillabold to call her. Eventually she did and they’ve been together ever since.
The couple wanted to renew their vows on the tenth anniversary of the wedding, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they weren’t able to.
They said “I do again” in the same dresses they wore at their original wedding 11 years ago. They said socially, there is a big difference between when they first met and now.
“Thirty-one years ago you wouldn’t have heard of anything like [this wedding] happening. We couldn’t even be on the street holding hands,” Rivera said. “We couldn’t be perceived as a lesbian couple because of the repercussions and retaliation, which was present in many of our friends.”
They both said although there is still progress to be made, they’re pleased about how far society has come since their romance first started.
“I’m happy that all people can be who they are and love who they want,” Rivera said. “There’s still hateful people, but love is love.”
THE FIRST OF MANY
This was the first multi-couple wedding Van Mackelberg officiated, but he hopes it’s a new pride month tradition in the city.
“This was kind of last minute planning and getting it all together,” he said. “Next year I think it would definitely be an amazing event with a couple of months notice and I would love to have 50 couples out here.”
Flo Mingo would officiate again, which Van Mackelberg said was a true honour.
“I became a marriage commissioner in order to allow everybody to celebrate love,” he said. “For them to have me as a part of their day – that’s a magical moment for them and I’m just glad I could share it.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.