When we were planning Yay New York, Leah and Mark offered to do a photobooth for us. And I said yes because that's what you do when you're planning an event with very little money and very little time. You say yes a lot and trust that people will know what's good for you. I only had one rule: no mustaches on a stick. Because yes. I'm tired of that.

Well, thank god we said yes, because the photobooth was epic (and easy). First of all, please don't feel like you have to spend a ton of money on photobooth decorations. We made ours by buying about nine tinsel curtains and layering them on the wall to make a really thick backdrop (we spent less than this, but here is the best I could find online).

Then Kari of The Handmade Event made some signs, picked up some affordable props, and BAM. The magic. (I hope you're enjoying the third set of arms in this picture.)

Turns out, it was super, super fun. And now I have visual memories of how hot APW readers are. Seriously. And you thought I was kidding. Y'all are full of sassy hotness.

So the photobooth was epic and awesome, and it was the quickest possible way to make friends. It's hard to stay strangers when you're throwing around props and taking hilarious pictures. So now I'm going to let you enjoy Team Practical...

Continue reading Yay New York: Photobooth!

** The bulk of our party photos were shot by Melissa of beIMAGED in NYC, who gave up dancing just to shoot. We love her. All photos are credited individually, since the photographer community was in on it.**

Photo by FedorovFoto

This morning I started to tell you about the Yay New York party, but it turns out to really tell you about it, I needed more space and voices from Team Practical. So here we go...

Photo by beIMAGED

Rachel/DDay had this to say (That's her in the grey with the flower):

In the span of 24 hours, I left my home, bought a party dress on the run, slogged through torrential downpours, waited in line under dripping tents, sat on a stinky bus for six hours with wet shoes, changed into said party dress in a shady and poorly lit NYC deli bathroom, ran in heels down a dark street and found my way to the epic party that was Yay New York. Lots of wine and delicious popsicles and photo booth silliness and shaking of booties. And sweating, lots of sweating. And seeing faces only glimpsed in tiny gravatars, suddenly animated and real-person sized, shaking my hands and laughing and assuring me it was ok that I just spilled wine on them (and the floor, and myself) mid-dip-low.

A mere twelve hours after leaving home, the party was over and I still hadn't eaten dinner. The ever-hospitable Zan led me and a couple other lost puppies back to her apartment (in a church!) in Brooklyn, where she fed us the most amazing Emergency Dinner, a.k.a. mac 'n' cheese with peas and tuna fish (don't squish up your nose till you've tried it). Not enough hours later, I woke up on her fold-out couch and let her lead me (in my lady bug pajamas, because no I didn't bring anything to wear the next day) all the way to my bus stop, which incidentally was well out of her way (thank goodness for Zan, it has to be said). Another 5 or 6 hours later, after blushing my way through D.C. in my pajamas, I was home.

I was excited for this event, I was pumped to meet my "Internet Friends" (heh), I was looking forward to partying for marriage equality. But reading the live updates on APW on my way there, it was really brought home for me where I was going and why and how exciting but also sobering it all was. Joy, for the happy couples. And then absolute wretched despair for the reason this party was necessary. We still have so much work to do, and I had a long bus ride to think about it. But being in that room, with confetti and streamers (and wine and melty popsicle juice) flying around, surrounded by Team Practical... it was all about joy, and friends, and vigorous love. ...I mean that in the energetic spirit of love kind of way, not, like, sex (though there was a lot of sexy in the room, too).

Photo by beIMAGED

Photo by Emily Takes Photos Continue reading Yay New York: The Party (Part II)

** The bulk of our party photos were shot by Melissa of beIMAGED in NYC, who gave up dancing just to shoot. We love her. All photos are credited individually, since the photographer community was in on it.**

Photo by Leah and Mark

So the Yay New York Dance Party. Before I dive in to trying to describe what might be one of the most epic dance parties of my life, let me just mention the ice sculpture. Because yeah, I just said that.

Photo by beIMAGED

The day before the event, I was running around New York City like a mad woman, and I got a call from Elizabeth who said, "Um. How do I say this? One of the groom's brother's is a career ice sculptor living in Brooklyn" (Editors note: a super hip ice sculptor) "And he wants to make something for the party." Clearly, when you get a call like that, you do not say no. So, he made a sculpture version of And Kathleen's logo with interlocking rings and an equal sign, and you pretty much know a party is going to be for the ages when it starts like that.

Photo by Leah and Mark

And then there was our DJ, Whitney Day. I'm not even sure what to say about Whitney, except everyone who'd met her kept saying, "Oh, just wait till you meet her. Just wait. Just wait." And then she showed up. First of all, I can't imagine what the party would have been like without her, since she's one of those people who just makes you feel like the sun broke through the clouds and is shining right on you. She's happy, she's kind, she's so cool you just want to stand next to her and hope it rubs off on you. And she played the most amazing music. At the end of the night when I went to talk to her, I was half apologetic that she wasn't playing her normal club crowd. Boy did she set me straight. She said, "They danced to everything. Soul, club music, hip-hop,  hits, whoa. I played it they danced." And boy did you.

And then I said, "But you don't play weddings, right?" and she said, "Oh. I do now." So seriously, if you are having a wedding in the tri-state area, signed sealed delivered, she's yours. And let's talk about the dancing.

Photo by beIMAGED

Photos by Leah and Mark

Photos by beIMAGED

Photo by Leah and Mark

And that was just us getting started. Continue reading Yay New York: The Party (Part I)

I was going to post this tomorrow, but what the heck. It's 2am and we're still awake (if only barely), so it's coming at you now.

Tonight was incredible. When our amazing DJ Whitney Day showed up, I told her that I was going to break from so much emotion, and she said, "Now that I'm here, no more crying." And she was right. From then on, it was only celebrating.

It was celebrating the two couples that got married. It was celebrating the APW community (Oh my god, you guys are SO HOT. I pulled several people aside to ask if it was just me or if the room was a pulsating blur of sparkly sassy hotness, and everyone agreed that it was.). It was celebrating a truly amazing group of vendors and helpers who came together and for one day became a living breathing team. It was celebrating New York and marriage equality.

It was magic.

I'm going to spend the weekend trying to figure how to put what went on in that room into words (and pictures). So for now, I'm just leaving you with confetti. Thank you, all of you, for reading, and crying, and cheering, and being there with all of us in spirit today. We felt it. (And you can still donate to the APW LAMBDA Legal drive here). Goodnight....

Picture: Emily Takes Photos