14 Stories Specializes in Same-Sex Wedding Planning

Photo by Kate McElwee Photography Provided

The path to your big day is paved with tons of stories—how you met, how you fell you love, how you planned your future. And now, as you plan your wedding, you have 14 Stories to help.

The country’s first to specialize in legal gay and lesbian weddings, 14 Stories is an NGLCC-certified LGBT-owned boutique wedding planning firm for same-sex couples in Boston, New York, and Chicago—or anywhere else you want them to go, they have passports.

With founder Bernadette Smith at the helm (she’s an LGBT wedding planning book author, she built a gay wedding planning app, and has been on CNN and the Today Show), the team is a powerhouse of connections and a wealth of ideas.

On top of managing all your creative mood boards and wedding planning logistics, 14 Stories also simply and effortlessly answers questions like “Who walks down the aisle first?” and “What churches will allow us to marry?”

Their Full Wedding preparation is a soup-to-nuts package, from scouting locations, coordinating all rentals and logistics, design themes, color palettes, inventive entertainment, and creating an overall atmosphere.

If you want something more intimate, check out their Destiny package. Up to 20 guests watch as you exchange vows in front of a Justice of the Peace, and then you celebrate together with a mini-cake and aprés-nuptial dinner reservations. A professional photographer and personal flowers are also part of the deal.

Want an even smaller affair? (Read: eloping sounds great.) 14 Stories’ Vows package is all you need: you’ll get a Justice of the Peace and an über-quick marriage license, minus the usual three-day waiting period.

With a goal of not just planning distinctive weddings but also promoting marriage equality, 14 Stories’ team also has a mission of reducing homophobia in the wedding industry through educational seminars for professionals around the world.

Why 14? This is one powerful player in marriage’s civil rights history. Consider this: The U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment worked toward dismantling DOMA and ending the ban on interracial marriage. The historic Massachusetts court case that first led same-sex marriage to be legalized in the U.S. had 14 plaintiffs.

These are stories that change the world. 14 Stories works to translate these stories and symbols into once-in-a-lifetime, one-of-a-kind weddings.

What stories do you want to see in Boston Weddings? Send us tips at weddings@bostonmagazine.com.

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