Weddings Redefined

Stories and advice from Bernadette Smith, visionary owner of 14 Stories, the nation's first firm specializing in creating legal LGBT weddings. Our weddings are unique, personal, beautiful and still, historical. We have offices in Boston and New York.

Wedding Planning in New York City, Simplified

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Sometimes we hear from same-sex couples who want to have more than 20 guests but don't want to fuss with fully custom planning, despite wanting a beautiful, luxurious New York wedding experience.  For them, we are offering a new service, the Destiny Maxi package!

The Destiny Maxi is a semi-custom wedding planning package for up to 50 guests.  Top-notch photography, flowers (including centerpieces), wedding cake, an officiant and a private indoor ceremony space are all included.  You even get options to personalize when it comes to flowers and cake.  Simply choose the option that makes sense for you, add food and beverage costs and we'll do the rest.  

All you have to do is invite your guests and show up!  Wedding planning doesn't get any easier than this.  

The Destiny Maxi can be booked online today through this link!




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Gay Wedding Travel Guide Destination: Provincetown

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Tuesday, December 13, 2011

This week in the gay wedding travel guide, it's Provincetown, Massachusetts (aka P-town), the tiny town on the tip of Cape Cod and a hugely popular LGBT tourist destination in the U.S.  

For a tiny town, P-town offers world class dining, great shops and beautiful beaches.  It’s a great place to plan your gay wedding but has very few wedding venues and is most suitable for smaller weddings.  Also, July and August are tough times for weddings in P-town because it's high tourist season and many inns require 5 night stays.

Where to Stay:  Gabriel’s is our pick for women with a great location near the center of town.  The rooms are beautiful with great amenities, including an outdoor hot tub!  For guys and mixed groups, we also love the Carriage House (also with an outdoor hot tub!) and the White Porch Inn.  There are many, many inns in Ptown so you'll easily find a great spot.

What to Do:  Stroll the many boutiques and galleries of Commercial Street.  Check out the Provincetown Art Association and Museum in the East End.  Explore the Pilgrim Monument museum to see what P-town was like when the Pilgrims landed (it’s where the Mayflower Compact was signed).  Hit the beaches by bike, car, cab or bus.  Herring Cove is a more accessible and family-friendly bay beach.  Race Point is a more adult beach on the ocean side.  You can rent bikes and ride the paved trails through the dunes.  Enjoy cabaret and drag shows at night or hit one of the town’s nightclubs.

How to Get Married:  You can apply for your marriage license at Provincetown City Hall for $35 but keep in mind that, in Massachusetts, there’s a 3 day waiting period.  If you are in a rush, you can have that waived by a court order if you drive to Orleans, Massachusetts.  We suggest, however, applying for and picking up your license in Boston instead since the courthouse and City Hall are near each other.  We can help with this process through our Vows package.

Our Picks for LGBT Photographers: John Caplice and Doreen Birsell are fantastic and the photo above was shot by Doreen. 

Our Picks for LGBT-owned Florists: Wildflower of Provincetown is our pick especially for more contemporary designs! 

Our Picks for LGBT Officiants: Rev. James Mack can officiate your religious or non-religious ceremony.

P-town’s wedding vendors are very welcoming of same-sex couples so you should have a great experience no matter who you choose.  Don't forget about us if you get stuck and are looking for a hand with all of your gay wedding plans in Provincetown.




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Destination New York: Elopement Package for Same-Sex Couples

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, July 01, 2011
For the past three years, 14 Stories has offered elopement packages for couples looking to marry in Massachusetts.  It's only natural that we now introduce our elopement package for couples looking to marry in New York City.  Introducing Destiny New York, our luxury elopement experience for couples from other states who want to legally marry in New York.

Destiny New York provides all couples need for a beautiful, elegant wedding ceremony including:

  • Instructions for applying for a marriage license and instructions on when, where and how to pick it up. 
  • A luxury wedding concierge to coordinate your wedding experience 
  • A town car to drive the engaged couple around Manhattan during your wedding experience 
  • Access to a private, members-only club for a beautiful indoor wedding ceremony and photographs 
  • Champagne for you and your guests (up to 20) at the club 
  • Officiant to officiate your wedding ceremony in the club 
  •  Personal flowers - two boutonnieres or two bouquets, or one of each 
  • Petite wedding cake that serves up to 20 
  • Up to two hours of professional, photojournalistic-style photography coverage (ceremony and portraits), plus one disc of high resolution images 
  • Dinner reservations at a nearby fine dining restaurant of your choice the evening of your wedding, or dinner arranged inside the club's private dining room (excluding food and beverage expenses) 
  • Unlimited referrals to other arrangements not limited to but including: spa reservations; videography; hotels and more


The Destiny New York package is now available for booking for dates anytime after gay marriages begin on June 25!




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Real Wedding - Bernadette and Lori

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Every year we work with about 40-50 couples who are looking to legally marry in Boston, for just a small ceremony.  Those who book the Destiny packages can expect photos like these beautiful ones of Bernadette and Lori.  These ladies traveled to Boston from Maryland for a wonderful wedding experience with some friends and family.  We arranged for their hotel, hair and makeup, limo and more.  

Here are some highlights from their ceremony in the Public Garden.  Aren't those outfits incredible?  I love Lori's custom suit (inspired by Ellen's own wedding suit).  Bernadette's dress is absolutely stunning!  They are such a beautiful couple!






Boston gay wedding photos by Cheryl Levine.


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gay weddings commented on 12-Feb-2011 01:32 PM
OMG, Bernadette's gown looks amazing and I love the shoes!!! The picture of both of their shoes together is even more funny. Lori's lucky to have a lady like Bernadette that will let her have a sense of humor and wear tennis shoes to her wedding lol.
Lori commented on 24-Feb-2011 07:22 AM
Bernadette was absolutely beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I didn't notice anything that was going on around us until Cheryl sent us the wedding pictures. 14 Stories did an amazing job arranging our destination wedding from the hotel which was incredible, to our hair and make-up with Lisette (incredible artisan), to our wedding pictures in the park (Cheryl has an amazing eye behind the lens and had a way of making us feel at ease). Thanks to all involved. It was a day I will remember all my life!
Anonymous commented on 24-Feb-2011 08:22 AM
My husband and I had the pleasure of hosting Bernadette and Lori's wedding reception at our home in Maryland after there return from Boston. The wedding was beautiful as are Bernadette and Lori. We wish them years of happiness!

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Gay Wedding Planning Vermont Workshop

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, January 14, 2011
We are very pleased to be presenting our wedding planning workshop for engaged same-sex couples Weddings Redefined  at the Vermont Wedding Salon on Saturday, February 5 at 3pm.  This workshop will help engaged LGBT couples get a great handle on how to plan their own wedding. We have presented this workshop in Boston, DC and Chicago in the past and are excited to work with couples in Vermont!  

This two hour workshop will talk about the nuts and bolts of planning your own wedding; gay wedding traditions; where to find gay-friendly wedding vendors and how to design and personalize your wedding.  We get terrific feedback on the workshop and hope you enjoy it too!

The cost to attend is $30/couple and includes hors d'oeuvres, beverages and a great packet of materials.  Space is limited and pre-registration is required.  To sign up, simply complete the form right here!

Let us know if you have any questions!




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Real Gay Wedding - Boston Public Library

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Tim and Mark live in California and when they decided to get married, same-sex marriage was not legal in their home state.  It was important to these grooms to bring their guests and their story to a place where their relationship was equal so they chose to marry in Massachusetts and hired 14 Stories to make it happen.  After a full day of visiting Boston's most unique wedding venues with us, they settled on the Boston Public Library as the perfect place to tell their story.

With the library in mind, together we developed a design theme that revolved around stories and books.  You'll see some of those details in the images below - even the table names were named after book genres (romance, mystery, etc).  We also worked with an illustration of a wolf and a fox, adorably drawn to represent each groom.  You'll see lots of that artwork in the details below, even in the wedding favors (the journals).

The wedding brought together the grooms' nearest and dearest who gathered here in Boston to pay tribute to two amazing gentlemen.  Enjoy the beautiful photos by Kat Hempel.  














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Ashley Lamore commented on 28-Dec-2010 05:37 PM
I love this theme and I am jealous of these guys!!!. I am a total bookaholic and would love to have a theme like this when I get married one day.I will keep you guys in mind when I start planning my wedding. Your work looks incredible.
Lesbian Weddings commented on 07-Feb-2011 10:06 AM
Everyone has the rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.I'm so happy they feel free to make their lives happier, and better.

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Walden Pond Wedding

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, October 22, 2010
Shannon and Mandy came all the way from the Bay area to marry at Walden Pond after booking our Destiny Platinum package.  Two teachers, they chose Walden Pond specifically because of their love of Thoreau and other transcendentalist writers of his time. 

Kristin Korpos was the photographer.  Janet married them.  It was a perfect day for these two brides.  






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Larry Green commented on 09-Nov-2010 09:39 PM
Love it! When I was trying to grow up as a teenager, I doted upon Thoreau and Whitman, and before chancing upon this post, has never seen any photos of the famed area.
jenn commented on 20-Nov-2010 08:56 PM
Wow what a beautiful back drop so alive with color.
Jenn
http://www.momentsofelegance.com
Lesbian Weddings commented on 07-Feb-2011 10:02 AM
Wow this is beyond amazing, you can tell they are so in love!Love the natural daylight and the landscape shots.

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Chatham Gay Wedding

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, October 01, 2010
Beautiful photos from last Saturday's mini wedding on Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts.  These brides came here from Michigan for a small wedding with 10 guests.  They booked our Destiny Silver package, which was customized for them.  Photos by Doreen Birdsell.





Congrats to the newlyweds Jessica and Nida!



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Boston Common Gay Wedding

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Monday, August 09, 2010
Meet Candice and Cherri who came to Boston from Maryland earlier this year for a mini luxury elopement in Boston.  The ceremony was held in Boston Common.  I love these photos!!



Photos by Kristin Korpos


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Winner of the Free Gay Wedding Contest!

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Thursday, June 03, 2010
Our contest for a free gay wedding was a big hit!  We had a bunch of great entries from some amazing same-sex couples and the panel of judges really enjoyed reading all of the wonderful stories shared with us.

 Without further ado, we are very pleased to announce the winners: April and India from Nashville, Tennessee. We loved April and India's stargazing story - from the beginnings in Chicago to their current life now in Nashville.



Says April:   "'Conundrum', that would be the word of the day, every day that can describe the story of our lives together. There is not a day that has passed that we have not learned something new about one another. I have two children, ages 8 and 4, girl and boy. India has a 17 year old son. We have slowly merged our families together and now are inseparable. The kids fight just as any brother and sister would fight, India and I discipline them, nurture them, teach them and create family time frequently for our family of five just as our parents did with us.

We come from totally different backgrounds, environments and parenting which brings us diversity and creativity inside of our home. I am 9 years younger than India, I bring energy, motivation and a new generation of thinking that makes her call me crazy often. We have fun together, we cry together, we hope, dream, pray and inspire together. We see our future as clear as day and strive daily to overcome hurdles and obstacles which have came and went...Our future is bright, twinkling just as the stars will be that we observe in the sky. We are still a unit, still in love, still stargazing."




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April commented on 03-Jun-2010 11:25 AM
India and I are so excited about our new wedding! We have things to do and people to see..lol Thank You 14Stories!

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