White Knots for Equality

Marriage equality is an *extremely* important topic for the Ferris Wheels. In fact, our marriage talks began back when California legalized marriage for same sex couples because, at the time, we were a same sex couple. We knew we wanted to get married, but we were both still students and the timing just wasn't right for us yet. Unless you've been in this situation, it's impossible to explain what it feels like to consider rushing to get married because you're afraid you'll never again have the opportunity to legalize your union with the person you love. In the end we decided to wait until we were ready, even if it meant that our relationship wouldn't be legitimized by state and federal governments.

Unlike most other queer couples, we're now able to access the institution of marriage because of Mr. FW's gender change. We wrestled with the politics of our decision to get married, and we remain steadfast in our belief that all loving and committed couples deserve to be treated equally in the eyes of the law. We will openly talk about this belief during our marriage ceremony and we wanted to give our guests a way to visibly show their support of marriage equality as well. Enter white knots for marriage equality.

In our ceremony program we plan to include a page with the white knots and a description of their meaning.

Compared to how much this issue means to us personally, the supplies to make these were ridiculously affordable. We bought everything on eBay - 10 yards of 3/8" white grosgrain ribbon, 100 tiny plastic bags, and 144 small safety pins for a total cost of $11.60. The process of making them was equally as simple.

{5 easy steps, not including the step where I heat-singed the notched edges of the ribbon}

We hope that by including these knots right in the ceremony program people will have ample time to read the information, make a decision for themselves about whether or not to wear them throughout the rest of the night, and maybe even have conversations about the fact that we included them in the first place. And really, that's what it's all about.

How are you incorporating your own beliefs (cultural, political, personal, or otherwise) into your wedding day?