While I would love to say that lesbian wedding pictures aren't groundbreaking, that it is normal and accepted, it's hard to ignore headlines about photographers turning gay couples away, refusing to provide their services out of disagreement over sexual orientation. And it's not just photographers. It's wedding venues and it's businesses of all kinds refusing to serve gay individuals.
Those people may be entitled to their own opinion but, thankfully, so is Steph Grant, a Texas-based photographer who specializes in gay and lesbian engagements, weddings and events. She shared some photos with me from weddings she shot and they just made my heart smile so hard.
1. Court and Suzy
"If I wasn’t taking photos I would have cried," Stephanie writes about following this beautiful couple around San Francisco and Napa Valley to capture their wedding day, the day they met in San Francisco City Hall to tie the knot.
"Everyone has a love story that deserves to be told. Love is what life is all about whether you're gay or straight. You can't hide happiness," Steph writes on her photography blog. Could these words be any more true in these pictures? The proof is in their smiles.
2. Mer and Brittni
This was an NYC wedding adventure straight out of a fairy tale. The couple traveled to Manhattan with 14 of their very best friends and said their vows in a beautiful, hidden garden in the city.
A small wedding of 14? If you ask me, more weddings should be that intimate.
3. Monica and Angel
These two ladies headed to the top of a mountain in Tuscon, with rain and fog in the forecast, to say their vows. They planned their wedding in a month, as soon as the Arizona ban on gay marriage was overturned.
The "bad" weather made for some pretty perfect wedding pictures, eh?
And their engagement photos are just as telling.
Don't you just want to run to a mountaintop and crack a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon with your sig-o?
4. Shana and Brit
After shooting Shana and Brit's wedding, Steph wrote, "Love is love and I love you all." This is something she writes, in some form, about all the couples she works with. Her clients seem to become her friends, and that intimacy helps capture these moments that prove love doesn't always look like the cookie cutter we often expect it to.
5. Shannon and Seema
Steph writes, "I have photographed Indian weddings before and I have photographed gay and lesbian weddings before, but never have I ever shot an Indian lesbian wedding."
They are unique, and they are so beautiful together. Yes, physically, but also in a they-radiate-love kind of way. The kind of love that can bring you to tears.
6. Brigid and Jess
See? Tears! But tears of pure joy, joy for everything have been through, good and bad.
7. Celia and Myrna
If you didn't already know, rooftop weddings are not just for straight couples. Celia and Myrna tied the knot with big smiles and big, open hearts, behind a big, beautiful skyline.
8. Kimme and Marie
First, this photo is so Vogue. Second, I vote this to be the the next Vogue cover. I'd buy this over that Kim and Kanye cover any day. Third, let's all take a vacation to this lake house.
And with that, I take my hat off to Stephanie Grant for celebrating love in its most raw, unbiased form and letting these couples be exactly who they are.
Images: Steph Grant Photography
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