Preparations underway for same-sex weddings in Georgia

2-4 p.m. July 26. Tickets are $20 for one person; $35 for two people. (Discounts available up to $14 per ticket on website.) Magnolia Hall, at Piedmont Park, 1320 Monroe Drive N.E., Atlanta. www.ultimatesamesexweddingexpo.com.

Note: There will be a same-sex wedding with a couple that won a free wedding package at 4 p.m. July 26. The couple has already been selected, and expo attendees can go.

OUR COVERAGE

The U.S. Supreme Court will rule later this month on the legality of same-sex marriage. In the run-up to what may be a historic decision, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is covering all aspects of the story — political, religious, social and more.

Every year, longtime wedding planner Pamela Wynn brings together dozens of florists, caterers and photographers for wedding expos.

But the one she is organizing for July is likely the first of its kind in Georgia.

Banking on a soon-to-be monumental change in the wedding industry, Wynn is orchestrating a wedding expo for same-sex couples — the "Ultimate Same Sex Wedding Experience Expo." With the event scheduled for July 26 at Piedmont Park, Wynn already expects at least 40 vendors — a mix of gay-friendly venues, photographers, bakers and others hoping to tap into what could represent a new and lucrative pool of clients.

The same-sex wedding expo is one of many ways businesses, organizations and local residents are anticipating — and making preparations for — what they expect will be an affirmation of gay marriage by the U.S. Supreme Court sometime this month.

Of course, as anyone getting married knows (or finds out along the way), preparing for a wedding is about more than picking a nice venue and pretty flowers. What about premarital counseling? And a marriage license? And someone to perform the ceremony?

Georgia is one of 13 states that now limits marriage to a man and a woman.

But if the U.S. Supreme Court rules that gay couples have a constitutional right to marry, preparations are under way in Georgia to help those couples.

Georgia Equality, the state's largest LGBT rights group, recently created a marriage resource list on its website (http://georgiaequality.org/issues/marriage-relationships) serving as a one-stop, how-to guide for gay couples who may suddenly have the right to legally marry here. The list will include everything from a list of counseling centers offering premarital counseling to a list of officiants to a list of documents required for marriage.

Assuming there is a favorable ruling, Jeff Graham, executive director of Georgia Equality, said “it will be a time of celebration, but it’s not the time to rush into marriage.”

Graham said Georgia Equality is in discussions with the Health Initiative, an Atlanta-based group serving gays and lesbians, about teaming up to provide free premarital counseling classes for same-sex couples during the coming months.

Of course, plenty of couples may already feel ready.

Should the high court affirm gay marriage, the Georgia Council of Probate Judges will ship new forms electronically to the 159 probate courts across the state, in time for marriages on the day of the decision, said Chase Daughtrey, the Cook County probate judge and the outgoing head of the judges council.

And for those looking to plan a wedding, the “Ultimate Same Sex Wedding Experience Expo” will be an option.

For Wynn, the expo is not only a business opportunity, but is also something close to her heart: Her son Dorian Brown will soon marry his longtime partner, Shawn Tate. While the wedding ceremony was planned for Hawaii in August, the couple plans to also host a celebration in Georgia. And they also want to take steps to make their union legal here in their home state.

Wynn said she has always supported gay marriage. And the mom who adores her son, a pediatric nurse with a big heart, said she is eager to see her son exchange vows.

“I love Shawn,” said Wynn, who lives in Acworth. “He is good for my son and my son is good for him. … It is my hope that gay marriages will be supported and treated just like a heterosexual marriage. Love is love, and marriage is marriage. It is something that is shared between two people.”

Wynn said she expects to have at least 40 businesses lined up, and hundreds of attendees. (Even if the court rules against gay marriage, Wynn plans to hold the wedding expo.)

Wynn, owner of Elabrations Elaborate Celebrations, a wedding planning and catering company, said businesses signed up to participate in the expo include Wyndham Atlanta Galleria, Bettye Lou’s Vintage Rentals, Platinum Weddings and Events, and Fiorello Art & Design.

Graham said Georgia Equality doesn't plan to be a wedding planning resource because other outlets, such as the locally based equallywed.com, are a good resource for same-sex wedding planning.

Meanwhile, Magaly Ickes and Karen Jones are looking forward to making their marriage legal. Last October on a sunny, cool day at the Atlanta Botanical Garden surrounded by 100 friends and family members, the couple exchanged vows in a ceremony they treated as a marriage (even if it wasn’t recognized by the state of Georgia).

While they considered getting married in another state, they eventually decided to hold their wedding ceremony in their home state.

“We felt strongly as Georgia residents we shouldn’t have to go to another state to get a marriage license the state of Georgia would not legally recognize,” said Ickes, who is an attorney and lives in north DeKalb County. “We shouldn’t have to take extra steps and decided we would wait until we could get legally married in Georgia, where we reside and intend to stay.”

Ickes, who dated Jones for almost three years before their ceremony, said while she and Jones are “frustrated it has taken so long,” they are also hopeful and enthusiastic for what they expect will be an affirmation of same-sex marriages by the high court.

They plan to head to DeKalb County Probate Court for their Georgia marriage license within a couple of days of the ruling. The only thing that might cause a delay, Ickes said, is her wife’s desire to plan a celebratory gathering.