Hundreds attend wedding expo targeting gay couples

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Raul Gutierrez takes a photograph of table-setting designs on display while attending the LGBT Wedding Expo with his friend, Tom Berman, Sunday at the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa.

By Erin Dostal (contact)

Monday, Nov. 16, 2009 | 1:50 a.m.

Gay Wedding Expo

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Gary Adamski and Tim Santora have been together for 25 years.

They are in love, but neither has popped the question, yet.

“Being here has gotten me caught up in the moment,” said Santora, 51, of Las Vegas. “This is real. It’s beautiful.”

Santora and Adamski, 48, of Las Vegas, on Sunday attended the Gay & Lesbian Wedding Expo at the J.W. Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa presented by the Rainbow Wedding Network. More than 300 people showed up during the three-hour event.

The expo was meant to create an atmosphere where couples could browse without feeling judged or awkward, event organizer Cindy Sproul said.

The event comes after the Nevada Legislature voted this year to legalize domestic partnerships, extending many of the same rights to same-sex couples that previously were available only to married people.

“It feels comfortable to be open and accepted,” Adamski said. “I think it just makes people happy.”

Thirty-five vendors, including country clubs, flower shops, and wedding dress and tuxedo companies, showed up to show off their goods and services.

Many companies, like Canyon Gate Country Club, showed up not only to advertise, but to show support for the gay community in Las Vegas.

“We’re here to provide whatever they want,” said Shelley Sampson, private event director for the country club. “We have a venue that makes them feel safe and comfortable.”

Sampson said the country club has hosted four gay-oriented ceremonies in the past year.

Standing beside a table covered in magazines and chocolate- and vanilla-frosted cupcakes with edible glitter, Kelly McFarlane, publisher of QVegas, a monthly magazine geared toward Las Vegas’ gay and lesbian community, spoke with patrons with a smile on her face.

“The great thing about this is that everyone is gay-friendly,” McFarlane said. “Couples can come in and hold hands. I think that’s why something like this is so welcomed.”

Couples mingled, picking up cakes, chocolate-covered strawberries and glasses of white wine.

Several held hands and put their arms around each other – something Bobby Townsend, 35, of Las Vegas, said he wouldn’t always feel comfortable doing elsewhere.

“It’s nice to be able to walk somewhere and holding your partner’s hand,” he said. “You know that people aren’t laughing at you.”

Townsend and his partner of three years, Nigel Serreon, 30, of Las Vegas, wear rings with three crosses on them, representing their past, present and future. They are planning a ceremony Dec. 1 at the Bellagio.

Shelly Lawless, 42, and her partner, Cindy Ellis, 45, both of Las Vegas, wandered the tables together.

“This is not something we ever thought would happen,” Ellis said. “I’d still like to see more people though.”

Sproul started the Rainbow Wedding Network with her partner, Marianne Puechl, in September 2001 in Atlanta, Ga., to create a way for gay couples to plan wedding ceremonies in a comfortable environment.

For Sproul, the event wasn’t meant to focus on the legality of a marriage, but the enjoyment and importance of a ceremony.

Sproul married her partner of 15 years in Malibu, Calf., last year when gay marriage was legal in the state. On the plane back to their home in North Carolina, Sproul said she was happy in a way she wasn’t expecting.

“It didn’t mean anything to the state of North Carolina,” she said. “It meant everything to us.”

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By 2zero

11/16/09 at 7:19 a.m.

Comment removed by staff.
By atdleft

11/16/09 at 7:30 a.m.

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YAY! It's SO great to see more weddings here. And hopefully one day, the law will catch up and recognize full civil marriage equality. :-)
By bdover

11/16/09 at 8:54 a.m.

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Welcome, out of town LGBT guests and friends. And please remember that every other Wednesday is Underwear Night at the Eagle, 3630 E. Tropicana. Free drinks for newcomers, too.
By Nick

11/16/09 at 10:09 a.m.

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Too bad Nevada has so many homophobic libertarians and republicans. Nevada is missing a big opportunity for money but as always the mormons ruin everything.
By KillerB

11/16/09 at 1:52 p.m.

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Nick -- again you out yourself as the bigot you are.
By Burrittobandit2

11/16/09 at 4:53 p.m.

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Nick, actually lot's of local Democrat people are homophobic.