From the pages of Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine- The Ins & Outs of RainbowWeddingNetwork

In 1999 Cindy Sproul and Marianne Puechl were in the midst of planning their own commitment ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. The issue of "gay marriage" was barely on the radar for most Americans and many wedding professionals had never heard of two women getting married. The risk of being rejected due to discrimination or condemnation was always present and it made both women realize how difficult it was to focus on the joy of the occasion when so much discomfort went into the planning. This personal experience led to an idea that was previously unheard of. Puechl and Sproul wanted to create the first online wedding registry for same-sex couples, RainbowWeddingNetwork.com.

They envisioned the website to be a directory where progressive wedding professionals could reach out and advertise their services directly to gay and lesbian couples, their family and friends. Couples could browse from the convenience of their homes to find photographers, caterers, honeymoon resources, real estate agents, lawyers and more. As Puechl and Sproul worked diligently to complete the website, begin marketing and approach businesses for sales they soon realized how big the potential of this business venture was. RainbowWeddingNetwork.com (RWN) was launched in September of 2000.

The response in the beginning was intense and often polarized. Gay and lesbian owned businesses sometimes criticized Sproul and Puechl for allowing straight professionals to advertise. "There were gay owned and operated businesses who accused us of helping straight businesses steal the gay dollar," remembers Sproul. " I would say to people -how can we fight discrimination with more discrimination?" Some gays and lesbians felt gay marriage was a ridiculous attempt to homogenize the queer community and somehow traditionalize same-sex relationships to make them more accepted. "Some people within the GLBT community told us the idea would never work," states Puechl, "they even told us we were sell outs."

At the same time something else happened: Sproul and Puechl began to experience first-hand how much their work affected couples who wanted to plan a ceremony and make a public statement about their love and commitment. "These couples were incredibly grateful and were thrilled to find a resource that connected them with businesses who wanted to share their joy," states Puechl. Sproul and Puechl felt a kinship to these couples. They had found, not only an untapped niche market, but in many ways a personal calling.

As the company continued to grow, the founders worked long hours and their "day jobs". In January 2001 Puechl and Sproul decided to move the company from Atlanta to Asheville, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In Asheville RWN saw its first employees, its first office and many other exciting changes. By 2002 more than 3,000 vendors were listed in the directory and multiple sales reps spent eight hours a day talking with vendors across the country about marriage equality and the importance of supporting GLBT rights; on average over eighty percent of these vendors were straight.

Despite the success of RWN, the office still received complaints from some of the GLBT community about the number of straight-owned companies. Sproul encouraged sales reps to explain "it is essential to include everyone in the struggle for marriage rights." And, excitingly, the straight-owned companies were thrilled for the opportunity to find a bridge to the GLBT community. Puechl adds, “Many straight business owners would tell us they had been trying to figure out a way to let gay and lesbian consumers know that they wanted their business: not just for the money... but because they really believe that discrimination is simply not acceptable.” In ways, the RWN team found that their straight allies were some of their biggest supporters.

The enthusiasm of such advocates –straight-owned businesses, couples and by this time most in the GLBT community- was invaluable. “Five days a week, or more, our staff puts themselves out there, talking to vendors and citizens all across North America. Sometimes they get hung up on... or worse, get a quick sermon or a ranting of curses rattled at them through the phone.” And there have been occasional escalations: death threats either verbally or written via email or through letters. “We take them all very seriously,” Puechl states, “and report the serious ones to the police. But I’d have to say that we never let it affect our focus.” In fact, the negativity they experienced, though meant to deter them, instead increased the RWN team’s resolve.


All of the employees echo the feeling. And the vendor directory on RWN reflects that passion: nearly 5300 businesses are now listed in the Network and the RWN sales reps screen each and every one. “Businesses commit, verbally and on their advertising contract with us, to GLBT friendly practices and policies. We believe this benefits everyone.," Sproul explains. This concept has spread through all of RWN's endeavors and has provided a fundamental recipe for success: vendors, couples, advocates and sponsors who believe in equality can utilize their mutual involvement in the Network to find one another, then empower one another financially and personally.

At the beginning of 2003 the creative energy of Puechl, Sproul and their sales staff began to generate new ideas for RWN. The team decided promotional items were a smart next step in continuing to brand the RWN name: magnets, bumper stickers and other items for distribution online, at Pride festivals and at other GLBT events. The key was to create a slogan and logo with mass appeal. After much deliberation they went with an idea of Puechl’s: Same Love, Same Rights. 2003 brought other changes as well, including the revamp of the RWN website and in November, Sproul traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to produce Rainbow Wedding Network’s first Gay and Lesbian Wedding Expo. It was a small event, but Sproul was personally moved by the comments and excitement of the couples and the vendors in attendance.

In the spring of 2004 it seemed inevitable that the Same Love, Same Rights™ Wedding Expos would become an integral part of the business. RWN produced their first wedding expo in the Boston area, which was the perfect location as the controversy of the Goodridge case spread like wildfire across the country. The response was overwhelming and Puechl and Sproul hired more staff to assist with event production. Next RWN and the Same Love, Same Rights™ team visited San Francisco. That year Sproul and Puechl saw first hand the personal, political, financial and social implications same-sex marriage had in every state. They felt even more strongly about the importance of the RWN mission.

As elections loomed closer in 2004 the founders brainstormed new ways Rainbow Wedding Network could take part in the political and legal battle for marriage rights throughout the country. The state of Massachusetts was bringing the issues of equality and justice to the forefront of the public arena. It was difficult for the RWN team to watch the fight for equal rights be turned into an issue right-wing conservatives used to serve their own political and religious agenda. Sales reps began to have more political conversations with potential vendors and Puechl and Sproul reminded them that even if a business said no to RWN, the dialogue had still made a difference: Every vendor RWN team contacted was given food for thought about the issue. The sales reps became even more committed to encouraging everyone who answered the phone to support equal rights for GLBT couples and their families in any way possible.

In the fall of 2004, as the political debate about same-sex marriage raged in every state, disaster struck RWN.
Hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast then whipped northwest through the mountains, bringing uncommonly destructive weather to western North Carolina. In September the worst of the hurricanes hit and residents lost power and water; the center of the small city of Asheville was virtually shut down and hard hit was the river district. Between nine and thirteen feet of water had flooded the streets surrounding the river and the office of Rainbow Wedding Network was completely destroyed. Years of company records, contacts, furniture, computers and the founders’ personal items had been swept away in a torrent of mud and water.

Puechl kayaked in to the office building that day, to see if anything could be saved. “It was the most surreal moment,” she says. “And it was strange to me just how strong the current was. It overturned me in my kayak, so there I was standing in five feet of murky floodwater, from the outside looking through our office windows... trying to get my mind to make sense of what I was seeing. The floods in Asheville that day were completely unexpected.” She and Sproul were shocked and knew they had some decisions to make.

“Marianne and I sat down,” says Sproul, “we looked at each other and said if we want out now is the time. We can walk away with a clean slate if that’s what we want to do,” she continues. “But we knew it wasn’t time,” states Puechl, “We could feel there was work left to do; it just wasn’t time for RWN to be over.” Nature had mandated a fresh perspective and, moving through the heartache, the couple ultimately chose to see the event as an opportunity. Consequently, during 2005 RWN saw its greatest increase in growth: Two more cities were added to the Wedding Expo list, the newly designed RainbowWeddingExpo.com was launched, almost 5000 vendors were now included in the RWN directory and plans for 2006 were already in motion.

In 2006, the charged new year began with the very successful 2nd Annual Same Love, Same Rights™ Wedding and Family Expo in Atlanta and an exciting fundraising party to benefit Marriage Equality Georgia. The annual events currently occur in Atlanta and Boston while RWN continues to set new trends in Philadelphia, Hartford (CT), New York City and Seattle. The spring of 2006 will mark the launch of the new Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine, while plans to update and remodel the RWN website once again are already in progress.

Inevitably 2007 will bring the unexpected, as the political climate continues to shift. But as always, Puechl and Sproul are keeping sights on the bigger picture. Once again they are using a personally meaningful experience to generate ideas and inspiration. For over a year Puechl and Sproul have journeyed through the adoption process and their commitment to GLBT couples and their families has been strengthened and renewed every step of the way. RainbowParentNetwork.com is already in its developmental stages and once again their vision comes at the advent of a new movement by the right-wing conservatives to deny same-sex couples the right to adopt.

The politics of the last few years have brought constant change to work in the marriage equality field. RWN stays consistently dedicated to assisting localized GLBT organizations all across the nation in a variety of ways, primarily with raising money for marriage and parenting equality initiatives. “We offer our lapel pins as fundraisers, and we find ways through our Expos to promote particular organizations locally and expose the work that they are doing. Our goal is to provide a forum for many allies and advocates to come together and share their work and ideas,” says Puechl. There are times when these all-inclusive policies mean that RWN makes interesting and unique choices with marketing and event production. The RWN team is known for stepping outside the box and it doesn't make everyone comfortable. "If we were on this path to make people comfortable we wouldn't have accomplished nearly as much," says Sproul. "Our real goal is to change the hearts and minds of people, to inspire them to look at the world in a new way."

“For Rainbow Wedding Network the journey has just started,” she continues. “Just as it is for our relationship, our future family and GLBT people around the globe,” adds Puechl, “there is a lot more in store for all of us.” Puechl, Sproul and the RWN staff are determined to continue conversations about equal rights and non-discrimination with anyone who will listen. They will also stay the course as a grassroots organization that networks in various cities to bring like-minded people together to protect GLBT couples and their children. Like-minded people who represent all facets of society: from any background, of any color, gender, class or sexual orientation.

"Whether we disagree on details like religious beliefs and political affiliations is not important anymore," states Puechl, "the progressive community must stick together and perceive that bigger picture. We believe in equal rights for everyone, in respecting the beliefs of others and in justice for all. These broader concepts and ideas are what we need to fight for, otherwise we may lose our basic freedoms -to live, love, build a home, raise a family." As RWN moves into the future as a team dedicated to equality they hold tight to hope and possibilities. "We will continue to carry the torch," says Sproul. "We may take two steps forward and two steps back, but we always see progress, we always see change. That is what makes the work worth it."

From the pages of Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine- Raising the Flag-The Faces Behind Pflag

Raising the Flag-The Faces Behind Pflag
Written by by Brad Beauchamp

“My other children, not Lisa, occasionally ask things like, ‘why gay rights?’” says Ann Schelbe, mother of three. “They’ll say, ’Why not world hunger or the homeless?’ In the end, I believe that any injustice should never go unnoticed, and this is an issue that’s been ignored by our society for far too long.”

Ann & her husband Dave have been married for over thirty-five years. They’ve raised three children and have worked in Pittsburgh for most of their lives. They’ve been proponents of equality since childhood, but it was their own daughter’s coming out that compelled them to do more. Nowadays, both Dave & Ann manage the satellite branch of the Pittsburgh Chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays).

PFLAG is, at its core, a support group and much more. And while it’s the parents and friends who make up the majority of the attendees, meetings oftentimes also include gays, lesbians, and transgendered folks as well. It’s a place of honesty and an outlet for nagging thoughts and long-held secret fears. To the veterans of PFLAG, it’s also a home base for promoting advocacy – a focal point where those who want to change American society can meet together and brainstorm on ways to shape their communities into a more evolved and accepting world.

PFLAG is also an eye opener. It challenges the preconceptions of sexual orientation & gender identity in the most practical way – by pairing people together and having them share their life experiences and stories.

Dave recalls the first gay person he’d ever met, an old friend of his from college. “It was 1971, I remember because Ann & I were at our wedding rehearsal,” says Dave. “We were nervous and excited all at the same time. A good friend of mine popped into the rehearsal room. He’d driven all the way to Pennsylvania for the wedding; we’d been in opera together in the music program at school, and I was very excited that he could come to the wedding. The rehearsal ended and we were sitting down for dinner when it hit me – he had come alone. And then, sitting there and thinking more about it, I suddenly just knew.” Despite being close friends for a number of years, Dave’s friend never actually came out to him.

“It was a different time back then,” says Dave. “People didn’t communicate like they do now. But I know he was gay, it all made sense.”

For Ann, she met her “family friends” in 1994, deep in the heart of Africa.

“It was my mother and me on this four-week excursion,” says Ann. “We flew into Kenya and as soon as we landed, we shared a limo with these two men. We could tell they were gay right off the bat, they were just so open and vibrant and funny. We had a ball! Sam was in his forties, and Michael was in his sixties. They were just close friends, not a couple or anything like that.”

Over the course of the next four weeks, the group shared meals, rides, laughs and tears.

“We had discussions about everything – love, life, childhood, politics, family – all of it.” One personal note that Michael shared with the group was his health; he had contracted HIV in his earlier years and was beginning to show the symptoms on the trip.

“There were some moments on the trip where he was feeling sick,” says Ann. “It was up and down for him. And he was so worried about our health too. I remember one time where Michael & I had ordered the same food, it was a packed lunch on one of the day trips, and at some point we got them confused and we were eating each other’s meals. He immediately was so concerned. This was 1994 so I knew that it wasn’t anything to be worried about. And I’m sure he knew that too, but still, it really bothered him. He was so caring and thoughtful like that.”

By the end of the trip, Ann felt like a new person. “Africa was one of the most significant moments of my life,” she says. “I’d never seen poverty like that before. It really opened my eyes. They’re an absolutely magnificent people.”

As soon as Ann returned from her trip, Dave noticed the change in her behavior. Books on GLBT advocacy started appearing on the coffee table, with bindings already broken from a quick read. Always a supporter of equality, he took his wife’s cue and began reading up on the community himself.

“But the truth of the matter is,” says Dave, “until your kid comes out to you, you’re really in the dark.”

In 2001, The Schelbe family experienced the loss of Dave’s uncle, Garnet Garrison. Beloved by the entire family, they traveled to Ann Arbor for the service. Lisa, 25 years old at the time, had a secret on her mind that she couldn’t contain any longer.

‘“Go right ahead,” I said.
“I’m dating somebody,” Lisa said.
“That’s really cool!” Ann said. “Who is it?”
“It’s a woman.”
Ann said, “That’s really cool! What’s her name?”
“Tonya.”
Ann asked, “Does that mean you’re a lesbian?”
“Yes,” Lisa said.’

“And this whole time,” says Dave, “I keep looking at my watch and thinking about how we’re going to be late to the funeral, so I say, ‘That’s fine, we can talk about it later, but please go change because we have to get ready to go.’”

Lisa listened to her father and went to her hotel room, leaving her parents alone for a moment.

Ann says, “I remember turning to Dave and saying, ‘Are you okay with that?’ And we paused for just a second and he turned to me and said ‘Of course!’ And you know? It was so good in that moment to be able to look into my soul and into my partner’s soul and be able to say…. Yes.”

After only a few minutes, Lisa came back to the room and knocked a little harder on the door. She entered the room and proclaimed, “Did you hear what I just said?”

Now that Ann & Dave have been involved with PFLAG for many years, they can understand why Lisa thought they might not handle the confession as well as they did.

“I realize it was a major moment for Lisa now,” says Dave. “It just didn’t seem like a big deal.”

There’s an old saying within the GLBT community that it’s the one coming out who is always the last to know about it. But in Lisa’s case, neither parent had any strong sense that she was gay beforehand. “She lived with a man from South America a few years prior,” says Dave. “At one point, she was debating moving there to live with him, and possibly getting married. That was actually a much more scary relationship for me, because, essentially, it was a pretty unsafe region where he lived where there was a lot of violence. And his father was a prominent politician at the time, so I had great concerns for her safety.”

Ann, on the other hand, had only a slight suspicion over the years.

“There was one instance that I recall it even coming up,” says Ann. “I was working with David and Soulforce during this one trip and I was traveling on a bus. Someone turned to me and asked, ‘How would you respond if your son or daughter was gay?’ and I replied, ‘I’m not entirely sure one of my daughters isn’t gay,’ and when I said it, I was thinking of Lisa. Of course, if she hadn’t have come out to me years later, I’m sure I would have forgotten all about it.”

“I’m the guy who muddled along,” says Dave, smiling. “I was the guy in the opera chorus in school, and it never occurred to me to think that my friends might be gay. It’s funny thinking back on it now that I’m so involved and aware.”

A large part of PFLAG is listening to others share their coming out stories. It’s an essential part of the meetings for all those brand new to PFLAG, oftentimes involving everyone present.

“Even knowing that I eventually wanted to open up a branch of my own,” says Ann, “it didn’t make attending that first meeting any easier.”

It was shortly after September 11th, 2001, and Ann felt a strong need to do something for peace and justice in the world. At the time, she was heavily involved with the United Methodist Church. A member of one of the church committees, Ann was able to reserve rooms located in one wing of the church for various classes, activities and groups.

Of course, the task of attaining a room for PFLAG meetings wasn’t quite as easy as an up-or-down vote. It took her 18 months of conversations, persuasion, and sometimes downright arguing to gain permission for one night a month.

“It was crazy,” says Ann. “Any other reason someone needed a room would receive an immediate approval as long as it was available.” Ann had to concede that she wouldn’t publish the church’s name or address on any of the materials that she created for the meetings. This meant listing her home number on all websites, flyers, and newsletters.

“Dave and I were giving directions over the phone for 9 months,” says Ann. “After that, we were able to get them to agree that we could start putting the name on the ads.” Ann takes a deep breath. “But you know what? None of that matters because I know that PFLAG has done a great deal of good for many GLBT people, their families, and their friends.”

The Pittsburgh branch of PFLAG is host to approximately 35-40 people per meeting. Ann & Dave’s satellite branch, on the other hand, boasts a more intimate number of 5-8. This gives them the opportunity to be more flexible with the meetings, oftentimes leaving more time for personal discussions and conversations.

“I am not a religious person anymore,” says Ann, “but I swear the group of newcomers that we get in a night is divine. People come to these meetings who really want to talk to a gay man, or a transgendered woman, and somehow, that exact same person is new that week too. I’ve seen it happen so many times, it’s incredibly magical.”

PFLAG-North Pittsburgh holds meetings at the United Methodist Church on the fourth Monday of every month from 7:30-9:00 pm. For a schedule of PFLAG meetings in your hometown, be sure to visit:
http://www.PFLAG.org .

For more information about Rainbow Wedding Network Magazine please visit www.RainbowWeddingNetworkMagazine.com

Your Destination Gay & Lesbian Wedding In Italia!

Your Destination Gay & Lesbian Wedding In Italia!

The Italian destinations even sound romantic – Amalfi, Calabria, Ravello, Salerno, Tuscany. And beyond the names are the storybook scenes: a Tuscan castle with fireworks and a medieval sword-throwing act, folk singers and dancers in the Italian countryside, hills above the Mediterranean, violinists greeting guests at a garden villa with champagne, a banquet of pasta, roasted peppers, meat, fish, fruit and cheese.

More gay couples are creating these and other fairy tales as they choose exotic locales and adventures for their commitment ceremonies, weddings and honeymoons. Though Tuscany is among the most popular places, some couples are fulfilling their fantasies in such spots as Argentina, Croatia, Indonesia and Vietnam.

A destination wedding takes place outside a couple’s hometown. What started as a quest for a simple getaway ceremony, sometimes to escape family issues, now trends toward traditional ceremonies with elaborate details, says Lisa Light of Lisa Light Ltd., which owns DestinationBride.com, based in Chatham, N.Y. For her clients, a package usually includes a marriage license, wedding ceremony complete with officiant services, bouquet or boutonnieres, champagne, cake for two, photography, and music. Couples also customize packages.

“It’s like taking your very, very closest friends and family on the trip of a lifetime” with such excursions as a spa party, sunset cruise, golf tournament or African safari, says Light, who wrote “Destination Bride: A complete guide to planning your wedding anywhere in the world.” (North Light Books)

It's true that many people choose Italy for their trip of a lifetime. In addition to Tuscany, the Amalfi and Calabria coasts are draws, too. “Americans especially love to come to Italy. The food is wonderful. The lifestyle is wonderful,” Rabbi Barbara Aiello of Calabria says. She officiates at Jewish and Jewish interfaith weddings for gay and straight couples.

Aiello, who has wed people from Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the United States, tells couples that the Italian lifestyle they choose for their wedding may come with some adjustments. The pace is slower. “One must always remember that you cannot go to Kinko’s at 2 a.m,” she says. “You cannot get things done at the last minute here like you can in the United States.” She encourages couples to arrive early enough to adjust and absorb the culture. “Italian culture has a particular style all its own,” says Aiello, a Pittsburgh native who grew up there with her Italian parents. “It’s a celebratory culture. Italians are not considered to be dour, stiff or distant.”

Food is paramount in Italian life. At wedding receptions, a menu of what will be served usually is provided, a tradition most of Aiello’s American clients follow. The menu itself often is a keepsake. At one of her weddings, real violets adorned the menu.

A Los Angeles couple Aiello worked with held their wedding at a cooking school in Tuscany where the pair had spent a week learning to create traditional Italian dishes. On the last day of the class, after the rabbi married them, the students served a banquet that included spinach and ricotta tortellini, bruschetta and anchovy paste. The traditional wedding cake in Italy is a large torte with fruit inside and glazed fruit on top, sometimes an apple torte topped with apples, pears and strawberries. “What brings on the oohs and aahs in America is a tiered cake. In Italy, it’s a torte large enough to give 200 people each a piece,” Aiello says.

It’s not just torte that thrills couples in Italy. Gardens burst forth wildly. Forsythia, petunias, cyclamens and other flowers spill from window boxes. “There is beauty everywhere you look. The small, winding streets, the villages, small vegetable vendors,” Aiello says. “People greet each other on the street, kissing and hugging, saying ‘hello.’ It is an ambiance in Italy.”

The ambiance is part of the package for destination weddings. What’s included in the package depends on the wedding coordinator in Italy but often entails food, flowers, bus transportation or rental cars, the brides' dresses, set up if the ceremony is outdoors, alternative arrangements in case of rain and the wedding program, Aiello says. Some packages include a honeymoon. Her clients have honeymooned on an archaeological dig in Sicily, hiked ancient caves in southern Italy, lounged on pristine beaches, explored the Mediterranean by cruise or toured Pompeii or the breathtaking island of Sardinia.

Sometimes the guests also indulge in a honeymoon. And on occasion couples put together tour packages for guests who arrive early, Aiello says. Trips to art museums in Florence. Tours of Rome and Florence from a Jewish perspective with visits to synagogues, cemeteries and museums. Aiello has phone interviews with couples so she can design and personalize the entire dream package. Attendance at her ceremonies has ranged from the intimacy of seven people to 200 guests at a villa or castle.

With Aiello’s events, guests usually pay for air fare and lodging though the couple may pay for travel for the wedding party and immediate family members. She estimates a destination wedding in Italy costs a minimum of $10,000. Light’s destination weddings start at about $100,000. A wedding Light was involved with in Bali, Indonesia, cost $500,000. Some budget resorts offer a free wedding for couples who stay for five nights and, for the very budget-conscious, destination weddings can range from $800 to $1,500, Light says.

In planning a destination wedding, it’s important to figure out the budget first and then decide whom to invite. “Really study that guest list. Before you choose a destination, you want to be sure you know what’s going to be comfortable for these guests,” Light says. The wedding couple may have to pay travel expenses for guests who can’t afford to. Communicate details to guests about accommodations, how to reserve a room and the itinerary, and give guests a gift when they arrive to thank them for making the trip, she says.

Besides logistics, Aiello’s interfaith couples have other considerations. She offers counseling for gay and straight couples to discuss how they can celebrate both religious traditions and how children can be involved. She encourages people to bring up children in one tradition or another. “The best defense to anti-Semitism is to give children a pride in their Jewish tradition,” Aiello says. “Interfaith couples are the hope of the world. The joy is not only are you and your partner talking about love, tolerance and acceptance, you are putting it into practice daily. The challenge is how to incorporate both religions under the same roof.”

Gay pride is important, too. Some gay couples have issues with family members about their union. Parents may be “steeped in the traditional view of Judaism. They need a lot of help and encouragement,” Aiello says. “This has to do with who you are and celebrating who you are and respecting who you are. It’s my job to create a wedding where these things can be experienced joyfully.”

Aiello says she is Italy’s only full-time female rabbi and only reform rabbi. Reform is the most progressive stream of Judaism. While she conducts same-sex weddings, gay marriage isn’t legal in Italy. And as a woman, she’s not a licensed member of the clergy in Italy so the weddings she conducts for straight couples are not recognized legally there. “If you want all of the benefits that legal marriage gives you, wherever you live you need to have a civil ceremony there,” she says, or hold one in Italy.

Legal or not, many of Aiello’s ceremonies are truly memorable and her website, RabbiBarbara.com, offers more information. Country weddings on Italian farms with vegetables, cheeses and other food grown on the site. Parasailing off the coast of Sardinia with rings exchanged on the boat, vows exchanged in the air and bouquets in the water.

Whether in midair, in the countryside or somewhere else, “Whenever a couple wants to invite God into a partnership, we clergy should do whatever is necessary to make it happen,” Aiello says.

Jess Clarke is a freelance writer and editor based in Asheville, N.C.

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