I am so thrilled! My beautiful June Brides were chosen to be featured on ForReal – A marriage equality blog! ForReal is a wedding blog about real LGBT couples who are tying the knot. They feature only the best in LGBT wedding photography so it truly is an honor to be published on their blog.
This is a video slide show of the photographs from their wedding.
Here are a few more of my favorite photographs from that Arecibo wedding.
Ariana and Elizabeths wedding rings were kept in a beautiful ‘I promise’ box that was lined with burlap. The two bride figurines were a beautiful addition to their cake table decorations.This LGBT destination beach wedding took place on the sandy beach just down from the Arecibo Lighthouse.Gay marriage is not yet legal in Puerto Rico, but Mark Bowman performed a symbolic wedding ceremony on the beach in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.Elizabeth look beautiful in her simple white wedding dress. The wedding was filled with ocean inspired details right down to her pearl necklace.Two beautiful LGBT brides after their wedding in Arecibo Puerto Rico.A beautiful sunset with two LGBT brides on the beach in Puerto Rico after their wedding ceremony.Black and white reception photograph. LGBT wedding photography Puerto Rico.
Last summer I was contacted by Lambda Legal, a large not for profit legal organization that defends the civil rights of gay, lesbian and transgendered people all around the united states. I covered their press conference in San Juan and took portraits of their clients who were filing law suits on the steps of the government building where the press conference was held. It was such a wonderful experience to work with such a great organization and to meet the couples that were being brave enough to stand up for change. On March 20th, 2015 the government of Puerto Rico declared that it would no longer defend the ban on Same Sex marriage in Puerto Rico. Read the full story from Lambda Legal here.
Photograph of Maritza López Aviles & Iris Delia Rivera Rivera a lesbian couple represented by Lambda Legal. I shot this photograph after the press conference and then Lambda Legal used it as part of their PR campaign.Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro & Zulma Oliveras Vega another couple represented by Lambda Legal that I photographed that same day. I just love the light in this one.
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal, said:
In declining to further defend the Commonwealth’s discriminatory marriage ban, Puerto Rico’s government finally recognizes that denying marriage to LGBT people is harmful and cannot be justified. The marriage ban’s sole purpose is to perpetuate discrimination, and it is just plain wrong. Same-sex couples, LGBT people and their families are part of Puerto Rico’s rich social and cultural fabric. Today’s actions fulfill the constitutional promises of justice and fairness for LGBT people in Puerto Rico. Simply put, discrimination is never in Puerto Rico’s best interests.
I feel so honored and excited to have been a part of this historic happening. Even though my photographs were only a very small part of the process of moving the island towards marriage equality if feels wonderful to have contributed to something so important to me. As a wedding photographer I get to make people happy by creating amazing photographs of them in love on their wedding day. I do this for both my gay and straight clients. Although getting to use my talents as a photographer to create portraits of brave couples that were used as part of a national campaign for marriage equality has been a truly rewarding experience. I can’t wait to photograph the wedding days of all loving couples when everyone is legally allowed to marry on the enchanted island of Puerto Rico. For more information about my photographic approach to LGBT weddings in Puerto Rico check out the LGBT wedding photography section of my website.
Thats me! Frances Davis the principal photographer for Rincon Images, standing in front of the Lambda Legal back drop. Same sex wedding photographer Puerto Rico.
In late June I was asked to photograph the Lambda Legal Press conference in San Juan. The press conference was held to introduce the people to the couples who are currently fighting the same sex marriage ban here in Puerto Rico. I was thrilled to be a part of the movement and contribute to the cause. As a wedding photographer living in Puerto Rico it is my hope that same sex marriage in Puerto Rico will one day be legal. I have had the pleasure of photographing two gay weddings ceremonies here on the island. Take a peek at my blog post for the gay wedding I photographed in Culebra and the one I shot in Arecibo. The couples were first legally married in the main land and then held their celebrations here. I hope that more couples will courageously hold their ceremonies here and push the envelope for marriage equality here in Puerto Rico.