Sometimes you’ve got to put the “classic” into classically gay; that’s exactly what Christopher Boldys did when he proposed to his now-husband Kyle Rogers in May 2016. He popped the question at Tiffany’s in Manhattan.
Boldys and Rogers first met in June 2013 at a Starbucks in Royal Oak, Michigan. Both are from Metro Detroit and now live in their new home in Sarasota.
“The minute I turned around on the stairs for our ‘First Look’ pictures and saw Toli, I just had never been so filled with anticipation and excitement as when our photographer told me to turn around,” Erin Boone shared about the wedding to her wife Jennie “Toli” Gintoli. “Seeing her for the first time in her dress was just… amazing. There was something so magical about that moment, and I will never forget it.”
Boone and Gintoli say they met where all 30-somethings meet these days: Tinder. When they matched, Gintoli says she wasn’t looking for a relationship—but Boone quickly won her heart.
The Rev. Tiara Latrice Kelley and her groom Robert Charles Kelley IV date their first meeting back to November 2016, during the first day of training for a call center job.
“We had an introduction game in class; at that time, I disclosed I was a transgender woman who was a local advocate,” Tiara shares. “Afterwards, while on a break, he came and introduced himself to me by saying, ‘Hi, so you’re trans, huh? That’s pretty cool! My name is R. Kelley, except I don’t have his money and I don’t pee on lil girls,” Tiara laughs.
Jody Summey first met Kevin Turner at former G Bar in Ybor in May 2010.
“I drove my Rolls Royce into the parking lot and Kevin was sitting in his little Toyota,” Jody shares. “He was the most handsome man I had ever seen. I pulled up next to him and rolled my window down and said hi. It turns out he was just out of a bad relationship and was trying to build up the courage to walk into the bar. We talked for hours that first night.”
The two met by happenstance during Christmastime in 2003. James “Rick” Vail shares the special moment he knew Michael Scranton was the one for him. “For me, it was when I saw him behind the bar at Alibi in Fort Lauderdale at a Christmas party. That was the first time we met. The next week I drove to St. Pete to see him again. He says I stalked him,” Vail jokes. “It worked!”
“For Mike, it was the first day he saw my beautiful face and butt,” Vail adds.
I knew she was the one I would marry as soon as I realized I couldn’t be away from her and her son,” Jen Warden shared about her wife, Traci Rodriguez. “There was a bond that formed between us that felt so pure and happy. More importantly, my two little girls felt the same way I did.”
Warden, who originally hails from Wyandotte, Mich., is an esthetician and spa owner of JenSpa Advanced Esthetics & Blush Medical Day Spa. Rodriguez is a Tampa native, graduate of Florida State University, and works as a senior accountant.
I knew it,” Steven Frost says of meeting his husband CJay Tauber for the first time. “I knew it right away. It was one of those moments where you see somebody, and you don’t know why but you know you’re gonna spend the rest of your life with him.”
Frost had decided to spend his birthday in 2015 at Quench Lounge in Largo, where local favorite Tauber still bartends. “He came in and I was going back to officiate my niece’s wedding in Wisconsin,” Tauber recalls with a laugh. “So I left, but he couldn’t wait to come back and get my number.”
Taking a chance on same-sex attraction ends in always-and-forever I do’s.
Jamiel Maze had never dated or been attracted to women before. That’s when she met Rachel at an end-of-year bowling party. “Jamiel randomly came up to me and challenged me to a game,” says Rachel, Jamiel’s new wife. “The entire competition seemed like flirting, but I couldn’t be sure.”
A whirlwind romance ends with an Eiffel Tower proposal on a surprise trip to the City of Light.
“I know it’s very cliché,” says Ziggy Shockley, “but we actually met at our local bar. I remember eyeballing this very attractive man standing against the wall.” William and Ziggy ended up chatting throughout the night. “He made my knees weak!” says Ziggy. He watched William leave and was filled with regret when he realized they hadn’t exchanged numbers. Ziggy ran outside and caught William before he got into his car. “Not only did we exchange numbers, but we kissed right then and there. It was totally unexpected, but absolutely lovely.”
After three months, Austin and Philip made their relationship official. Almost four years later, they heard the words “I now pronounce you married.”
Mississippi native Austin Helms had just moved back to St. Petersburg after living in New York City and wasn’t sure he was ready for a relationship. Then he met Philip Gustin. “The conversation was fun and easy,” he says about their lunch date at The Avenue. “The attraction was obviously there.” Philip remembers being captivated by Austin’s piercing blue eyes. “If I hadn’t been crushing on him already from our texts, I sure was then!”
Theme-park aficionados Peter and Tyler started their fairy-tale ‘happily ever after’ with a little help from Chip ‘n Dale.
When Peter and Tyler met via the gay dating app Scruff, they were both getting out of long-term relationships and were focusing on getting their lives back on track. Just a year and change later, they’d be saying “I do” at a masquerade-themed Halloween wedding.
Jason and Joey’s New Year’s Eve meeting has led to their happily ever after on March 3.
You’ve probably seen Jason Lambert and his fiancé, Joey, around town, since both of them are staples in Orlando’s restaurant and bar scene. Jason owns The Hammered Lamb (the moniker is derived from his last name) and they met while Jason was working on building the bar after leaving The Stardust Lounge.
Sign Up for our eNewsletter
Follow Us
..How excited Cracker was when she created Cookie Sep 05, 9:49 AM
Checked my calendar and I can attend . I always enjoy a good "Snatch Game" but that Lipsync for your... Sep 04, 5:54 PM
My favorite moment was when Monet, came out with the sponge dress. Then she had pieces throughout the entire season!!... Sep 04, 1:41 PM
Watermark is a multi-faceted media company using opportunities and innovations to communicate and advance LGBT interests, with a corporate emphasis on professionalism while building strong relationships with our readers, customers and community.
