Gay Wedding – KitschMix

In February 2014, President Museveni of Uganda signed into law one of the harshest anti-gay bills in the world. As of August 2014 the “kill the gays” bill, as it was often called in the media, is no longer valid.

The bill was overturned based on a simple technicality; there were not enough members of parliament present when the bill was passed. President Museveni has recently expressed a desire to reinstate a milder version of the controversial bill.

While the draconian nature of the original bill alienated many of the western countries that Uganda relies on for foreign aid and trade, the overturning of the original bill was not based on a shift in the government’s beliefs. Regardless, many gay rights activists in Uganda are celebrating this as a step in the right direction.

Earlier this year, while the anti gay law was still in place, Vocativ attended a secret gay wedding ceremony in Uganda. If the local police force had found out about the ceremony, everyone present, including our crew, could have potentially faced jail time. Although the marriage we attended isn’t legally recognized, the couple said that it was an important symbolic ritual for them to take part in.

A Secret, Illegal Gay Wedding in Uganda

Buzzfeed recently interviewed contributors to a fascinating new book about gay wedding photography, The New Art of Capturing Love. A dozen of them were happy to chat about snapping intimate moments, having their expectations challenged and learning about same-sex love…

Denver Smith loves snapping couples who are out and proud all the way through their wedding ceremony. ‘I love it when they both ask their parents to stand close to them during their vows,’ he says.

Thea Dodd from Authentic Eye Photography claims that photographing same-sex marriages has opened her mind and made her better at photographing any kind of wedding, straight or gay. The most wonderful moment in Andrea Flanagan’s career so far is witnessing the loved ones of a gay couple circling round them, offering their heratfelt compliments and tributes. For her, there was no better way these relatives could ‘support the union’. She has come up with this eloquent metaphor for marriage equality: ‘Love is a universal melody sung by all couples; it’s up to you to hear the music.’

‘There is something so pure, so real, and vulnerable about the love between the couples I’ve photographed,’ says Kristin Chalmers. Bri McDaniel believes that, in her line of work, there’s nothing better than documenting on camera the love of two people. Similarly, Kat Forder asserts that the quiet, intimate moments between LGBT newlyweds make the best pictures.

Maggie Winters of the Washington, DC-based wedding photography firm Pop Ed Co loves seeing her subjects being congratulated and high-fived by passersby: ‘People come from all over the district to get married and I look forward to every gig.’

‘The most important thing I learned when photographing same-sex couples was not to put gender roles on them,’ says straight snapper Cean Orrett, having spent two years working at same-sex weddings.