Gay Weddings is a 2002 American reality television

Reality television

Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 series that aired on Bravo. The series, created by openly gay producers Kirk Marcolina and Douglas Ross, followed two lesbian and two gay couples as they prepared for their wedding ceremonies. Each episode combined interview footage of the individual couples and their families and friends with footage of the various couples going through their wedding planning activities along with video diaries from the couples themselves.

Couples

• Sonja, 39, emergency room supervisor and Lupe, 32, marketing representative. Sonja has a son, Brandon, from a previous relationship. He is supportive of their relationship but they are nervous about telling him about the ceremony.
• Harley, 28, sales and Scott, 32, consultant. Harley and Scott are marrying in Puerto Vallarta because that is where they first got together.
• Dale, 32, entertainment lawyer and Eve, 30, graduate film student. Dale feels that her family doesn't support her marrying a woman whereas they would were she marrying a man.
• Dan, 37, film studio global marketing executive and Gregg, 35, vice-president of an LGBT travel company. They fell in love while on a safari
  Safari
  A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
  
   to Africa that Gregg organized.

Episodes

Number	U.S. air date	Synopsis
1	September 2, 2002	Harley and Scott plan their wedding in Puerto Vallarta. They clash over everything from guest list to wedding outfits and wonder whether they should even stay together. Lupe and Sonja shop for wedding dresses and tell Sonja's son Brandon about the ceremony. He is excited and agrees to give Sonja away. Gregg and Dan discuss their families' conflicted feelings about two men getting married. Eve and Dale pick up their rings and search for a venue. Dale tells her parents about the ceremony and is hurt by her family's refusal to treat her wedding as equal to those of her siblings.
2	September 2, 2002	Lupe and Sonja attend a bridal show for ideas for their wedding. Their friends Dottie and Laura offer their back yard for the ceremony and, after facing discrimination in seeking another venue, they accept. Scott and Harley's friends, Tracey and Trent, agree to co-officiate their wedding. Harley is uncomfortable at the religious content of the ceremony Scott writes. The pair are going to couples counseling and Scott is also seeing a private therapist, which bothers Harley. Eve and Dale find a venue they love but Eve's parents back out of a promise to help pay for the wedding. Gregg and Dan discuss having children.
3	September 3, 2002	Scott has the diamonds from a ring he inherited from his father re-set into wedding bands. Eve and Dale meet with ChoQosh, who will officiate their ceremony. Dan tries to secure a venue while Gregg is on a business trip. For Valentine's Day, Dan surprises Gregg with a helicopter ride. Sonja and Lupe go out dancing. Eve prepares a surprise romantic dinner for Dale. Scott, forgetting about the day, has made plans for a trip but sends flowers. Harley spends the evening with his mother.
4	September 3, 2002	Harley and Scott fly to Mexico to finalize their wedding plans. Harley clashes with gay event planner Michael but for Scott's sake backs down. Gregg and Dan hire Merv Griffin Productions Merv Griffin Enterprises Merv Griffin Enterprises was a television production company founded by Merv Griffin, in business from 1964 to 1994.-History:The company was first established as Merv Griffin Productions in 1964 and Griffin's first production was Jeopardy! In 1965, his talk show The Merv Griffin Show returned to...  to plan their wedding and book the Park Plaza Hotel for the venue. Eve reconciles with her mother. Sonja and Lupe's friend Laura's father is found dead two days before their wedding. Laura's wife Dottie goes ahead with her plans to make the wedding cake the next day, but it looks burned and the weather is turning very cold.
5	September 4, 2002	Despite having to rush to take care of last-minute details and the cold weather, Sonja and Lupe celebrate their wedding. At the reception, Brandon welcomes Lupe to the family. The cake, worrisome because of appearing burned, is pronounced delicious by the wedding guests. Dan flies to Hawai'i as a last-minute surprise for Gregg, who is working a cruise.
6	September 4, 2002	Sonja and Lupe honeymoon near the ocean. Dan and Gregg's friends throw them a bridal shower. Dale's maid of honor Luana throws Dale and Eve a shower as well. Dale and Eve continue finalizing the details, selecting the wedding cake and the menu for the reception and meeting with ChoQosh. Scott's parents fly out to see his gay men's chorus perform the Naked Man song cycle. Dan and Gregg host a rehearsal dinner the night before their ceremony. Three of Dan's cousins come for the wedding but his mother elects not to.
7	September 5, 2002	Dale and Eve have their wedding rehearsal with ChoQosh. She clashes with them over their choice of music and calls their decision to include a very young child exploitative, offending both brides. They end up confused about the ceremony and concerned about ChoQosh's strong will. Scott and Harley fly to Puerto Vallarta with friends and family. Four hours before their wedding, Dan and Gregg have not written their vows. Despite waiting so late, the ceremony runs smoothly, complete with gospel choir, bagpipers, confetti cannons and the couple's dog as ring bearer. At the reception, Gregg's father welcomes Dan into the family as a son.
8	September 5, 2002	Scott and Harley host a party the night before their ceremony, including drag queen Drag queen A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and... s for entertainment. The next day, Harley's mother and Scott's parents walk them down the aisle. Scott's parents state in an interview that while they may still not fully understand Scott and Harley's relationship, what's important is not to understand it but to support it. Dale and Eve are also walked down the aisle by their parents, to the sound of ChoQosh blowing a conch. In spite of some awkward moments, the brides exchange their vows. The series closes with some words from each of the couples, describing the difference that getting married has made in their lives.

Reception

LGBT-interest magazine The Advocate

The Advocate

The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...

described Gay Weddings as "deliciously gripping". MetroWeekly out of Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 dissented, saying that the series "is not [a] stellar example of reality TV" and that it "has a cheap, thrown together on-the-fly feel".

Bravo aired the complete eight-part series on January 26, 2003 as counterprogramming

Counterprogramming

In Broadcast programming, counterprogramming is the practice of offering television programs to attract an audience from another television station airing a major event.-Television:...

 to Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII

Super Bowl XXXVII was an American football game played on January 26, 2003 at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 2002 regular season...

. The ratings success of the marathon led Bravo to develop additional LGBT-interest programming, including the very successful Queer Eye

Queer Eye

Queer Eye is an American reality television series that premiered on the Bravo cable television network in July 2003. The program's name was changed from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy after the third season to broaden the scope of its content...

and the gay dating show Boy Meets Boy

Boy Meets Boy (TV series)

Boy Meets Boy is an American reality television show in which a gay man meets and chooses a mate from a group of 15 potential male suitors. The show was made more novel by the fact that the "leading man" did not know that the mix of suitors included both gay and straight men.The show premiered July...

.

With the success of the first season, the production company advertised for couples to appear in a second season of the program. However, no second season was produced. Bravo has no plans to revive the series.

Controversy

During the series' September 2 premiere, Bravo inadvertently ran a commercial for "family restaurant" chain Applebee's

Applebee's

Applebee’s International, Inc., is an American company which develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar restaurant chain. As of September 2011, there were 2,010 restaurants operating system-wide in the United States, one U.S. territory and 14 other countries...

 during Gay Weddings, despite Applebee's having asked not to have its advertising placed in the series. Right-wing advocacy group Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family

Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...

 criticized Applebee's as an advertiser. Bravo acknowledged that the ad was placed in error and no additional Applebee's ads ran during the series. The LGBT media advocacy organization Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a non-governmental media monitoring organization which promotes the image of LGBT people in the media...

 called Applebee's request not to have its ads run during Gay Weddings disappointing and suggested that Applebee's ran a risk of alienating a significant customer base.

External links

• Gay Weddings on Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database
  Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...