La Famille Kelly: Is there a better way...

To celebrate pride month than to attend your first gay wedding? None, I say, none!

Matt and I have just returned from New York where we attended my dear friend Andy's wedding to his lovely partner Arturo. We had a great time meeting all of their nearest and dearest and were honored to be included in the festivities. Andy is a very special person whom I grew close to almost 10 years ago when we worked together at BBDO. We spent almost a month together in Cape Town, SA, shooting Snickers spots (completely unnecessarily, but we had made the argument to the client that their savings in talent costs would outweigh the cost of the trip). We had a great time while we were there and have been good friends ever since.

The fact that Andy has found happiness with Arturo is a joyful event in more ways than one - his previous partner, Beau, passed away 5 years ago very suddenly after contracting the flesh eating disease. It was a tragic and shocking loss. Beau's family has essentially adopted Andy, and vice versa, and it was so nice to see them this weekend and witness their support of Andy's new relationship.

The high point of the weekend was the actual ceremony held Saturday night at the Norwood Club. Andy and Arturo had a civil ceremony on Friday afternoon so their Saturday big event was more of a formality. Except that it was anything but formal. One of New York's finest drag queens, Hedda Lettuce, officiated the exchange of vows and put on quite a show in the process. The whole evening was silly, fun and bawdy, just like Andy and Arturo.

The Reverend Hedda Lettuce

Hedda and the boys...

We always love a jaunt up to New York and had a lovely weekend doing all the things we love to do there - walking in Central Park, eating Laduree macarons, getting my hair cut by someone who knows how to cut hair (imagine!), strolling through the West Village and SoHo, and eating yummy food! The weather was perfect and it was one of those weekends when you wish living in New York was actually this easy.