We’ve decided to start a new tradition with our humble website…A FEATURED Couple of the month that embodies the Cloud 10 philosophy.  We are beginning with our dear friends and fellow graduates from One Spirit Interfaith Seminary – Rev. Roger Anthony Yolanda Mapes & Glen Ganaway.  After being together for 7 years of spiritual goodness and complete and utter joy, the perfectly paired odd couple decided to tie the knot during the NYC Halloween Parade last night. The sacred ceremony took place in Soho Square at the beginning of the parade route and their horse drawn carraige was waiting to wisk them down the street and lead in the parade.  Their BIG GAY WEDDING at the NYC Halloween Parade They were the first ever couple to marry during the parade. You can find more information about the two love birds at their website, http://www.yolanda.net/mighty_companions_ministries and we will be following up with an interview later this month, so stay tuned!!!

WE LOVE YOU!  Congratulations Again!!!

24 couples were united in front of the world to see in celebration of the long awaited marriage equality in New York. Hundreds of volunteers, friends and loved ones all gathererd in celebration under the generous genius of the Pop Up Chapel & The Knot, as well as the eager and curious onlookers strolling by into Central Park.  After a day of I Do’s that have waited for years, countless bottles of water, millions of bubbles and the endless tears of happiness and true love – we were full & Exhausted…but little did we know upon arrival that we’d be going home with a chapel that night…

That’s Right!!! We are now the proud owners of The Historic Rainbow Chapel that was designed, produced and donated by iCRAVE. Thanks to the generosity of Robert DelPazzo and the entire team at iCRAVE, the Rainbow Chapel will live on under the intricate care of Cloud 10 Couples and our wedding/event ministry.

Photo by Nadav Havakook Photography

We intended to post immediately following our exhilarating day at the Manhattan City Clerk’s office on July 24^th, but a little bit of time has given us the chance to reflect on the substance and significance of what we experienced.

Every second of the 6-7 hours we spent in the snaking lines on Worth St. was a joyous occasion to celebrate LOVE with the 800+ couples that had waited months, years, even decades to be recognized legally as married partners.  The atmosphere was calm but triumphant, with only the scant heckler or two across the street reading fire-and-brimstone passages from an outdated interpretation of Scripture.  While some were inclined to shout down the naysayers, most just ignored them or chanted “LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE …” – which inevitably pointed to the lack of love underlying the protestors’ actions.

Amidst all of this, we knew we wanted to celebrate our own LOVE by choosing that specific historic occasion to get our marriage licenses.  As the original Cloud 10 Couple, we wanted to let our actions speak for themselves.  And so we waited patiently in line, listening to the stories, taking in the joyous and RELIEVED ambience of the celebrants and their families.  Being there would have made anyone realize, regardless of their views on gay marriage, that no one was there to “take anything away” from heterosexual couples who felt the sanctity of their own marriages was being eroded in some way by the new rights extended to gay couples or vice versa.  The soon-to-be-married couples were there along with their supportive, genuinely delighted families to celebrate what was already understood to be a sacred relationship under the eyes of Spirit.

Being there dressed in our cream-and-gold Interfaith stoles, of course, raised a few eyebrows – not among the engaged couples and their families, but among the press.  We were photographed left and right, up and down, and interviewed by journalists from New Jersey to the Philippines.  We devoted most of our time – nearly 25 minutes – to a journalist from the NY Post, carefully explaining why we were there.  We emphasized that our presence at the marriage bureau was intended to show our fierce support of the LGBTQ community on this profoundly significant day while celebrating our own love for each other. We discussed the importance of dissolving paradigms of religion, gender, and sexuality, in keeping with our founding philosophy as Cloud 10 Couples. We added that rather than dwelling on limiting identities (“straight.” “gay,” etc.), we insist on our oneness as human beings and the power of love as something that unites us all.

Most of this was confusing to her, particularly our conviction that this point of view was probably closer to the “queer” end of the gender/politics spectrum despite our being a biologically male-female couple.  On several occasions she stopped us and said “I just don’t get it.”

In the end it was easier, and more space-efficient, to write a short piece removing all of that complexity and simply making our story “the twist” to the “main event.”  And this was how it eventually appeared in the article:

At least six straight couples crashed yesterday’s gay marriagefest to celebrate with their fellow lovebirds.

Four heterosexual couples showed up at the Marriage Bureau in lower Manhattan and two in Queens.

Teacher Gary Schmidt, 39, and artist Lainie Dalby, 32, of Glen Cove, LI, drew double takes as they lined up for their license on Worth Street.

“We got a couple of ‘What are you doing here?’ said Schmidt, insisting they weren’t out to steal anyone’s thunder.

(http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/straights_share_the_moment_SI35yhnDxhN2eWYTnJbzAM#ixzz1UN2w7dmi)

At Cloud 10 we have learned early on that there are big obstacles to challenging the norms, from outright protest (e.g. the few fist-shaking homophobes stationed across the street from the City clerk’s) to oversimplification (e.g. the New York Post’s spin).  Of course, we live in a complex world where people celebrate their LOVE in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and simple labels rarely do anyone any good.

In fact, it is because we recognize this that we hand-tailor every immersive environment and/or ritual celebration to suit the individual couple we are working with.  No cookie-cutters, no fill-in-the-blank script to be ready from a musty old book of nuptial platitudes.  This is about you, your moment to shine forth your true radiance and the love you share with your partner(s).  In short –we get it.

Join us on July 30th in Central Park for a fabulous day of 24 same-sex marriages

sponsored by The Knot. We’ll be working with The Pop Up Chapel

http://www.popupchapel.com/

This is IT!!! Let’s CELEBRATE!!!! (LOVE of course!)

Our brand new, delicious website for all you lovebirds out there!

We are so thrilled to share our inspirations, daily love stories and more with you.

Enjoy everything our new site has to offer and be sure to LIKE us on Facebook too.

(link on the bottom left hand corner of the page)

We can’t wait to bask in the glory of true love with you!!!!

Lainie Love & Gary