Dozens Of Gay Couples Marry In Fort Lauderdale Mass Ceremony
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) -- Dozens of same sex couples exchanged wedding vows and made their marriages legal making it a historic wedding day in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday.
"Today is actually our 10th anniversary as well as our wedding day," said Steve Visano with his husband to be Vaughn Bryson. "This is a really a big event for us."
Same sex couples from South Florida, and 18 other states in the union all exchanged "I dos" in a mass wedding ceremony. Even couples from London, Italy, and South America made it official.
Same sex marriage became legal in the State of Florida one month ago on January 6th and organizers said they couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the land mark decision than with a mass wedding.
Charlene Emm and Jessica Dunnam from Boynton Beach have known each other for 12 years and thought about getting hitched in another state before it became legal in the Sunshine state.
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"We thought we wouldn't even be able to get married in Florida and the fact that we're actually being able to do it, where we wanted to with our family and friends, on the beach, It's just a phenomenal experience and amazing feeling," said Emm.
All the couples gathered bright and early at 6:30 a.m. at the W Hotel on Fort Lauderdale Beach and the ceremony got underway an hour later.
The reception immediately followed where a popular gay couple across the country showed up to support them.
Former N'SYNC star Lance Bass and his husband Michael Turchin who was born and raised in Miami Beach both said they couldn't think of a better location with support from the community.
"It's been very gay friendly," said Turchin. "It's never been an issue for me my whole life."
"It's always been known as a place that is so safe for LGBT to come and play and live, and this just proves it right here for this event, "said Bass. "This is a very LGBT friendly place."
The celebrity couple had their own wedding back on December 20th in Los Angeles.
Their ceremony and their love story was taped for television. It will be the first gay wedding to air on American TV. It airs tonight on E! at 8 p.m.
The couple said they hope people watch it because it will definitely change the way people think about gay marriages.
