Pop Up Chapel with The Knot to Marry Same-Sex Couples in Central Park
24 Same-Sex Couples Will Be Married In Central Park At Merchant’s Gate on July 30 For Free
NEW YORK (July 20, 2011) – Pop Up Chapel with The Knot, a grassroots event dreamt up by a group of friends in the wake of New York State passing the bill on same-sex marriages, will wed 24 same-sex couples at Merchant’s Gate in New York City’s Central Park on Saturday, July 30, 2011. In partnership with The Knot, the number one wedding planning resource, Pop Up Chapel with The Knot will provide pre-selected couples everything needed for their dream wedding in front of New York City – the officiant, photographer, flowers, witnesses, stylists, cupcakes and the location, all for free.
Each of the 24 couples who are marrying at the Pop Up Chapel with The Knot will receive a personalized free wedding ceremony. This number signifies June 24, the day the bill to legalize same-sex marriages in New York was signed, and July 24, the day the bill becomes a law.
The outpouring of support and excitement from national and local businesses to get involved has been extraordinary. The Knot, the number one wedding planning resource, and Rebecca Joyce of Just About Married, will plan and design the wedding event. David Stark Design joined the team as the official floral provider, giving all couples a bouquet or boutonniere of their choice. New York City’s own CityCakes has generously donated delicious customized cupcakes to each couple and their attendees. The online community created by architects for architects, Architizer, has also launched a design competition open now through Thursday, July 21, to create and build two wedding chapels.
“The Pop Up Chapel with The Knot is our gift to the city of New York,” said Bex Schwartz, one of the creators behind Pop Up Chapel. “We were so inspired by the excitement surging though the city in the wake of the Marriage Equality Act’s passing, we wanted to do something to celebrate the fact that all New Yorkers are finally considered equal in the eyes of the law.”
“We’re thrilled to be a part of an event that commemorates such a historic moment in New York history,” said Carley Roney, cofounder and editor in chief of TheKnot.com. “The Pop Up Chapel with The Knot is a celebratory event and we’re honored to plan beautiful weddings for these 24 deserving couples.”
About Pop Up Chapel with The Knot
The Pop Up Chapel with The Knot was conceived by a group of friends while celebrating the news that all New Yorkers are finally able to enjoy marriage equality. The friends, a motley crew consisting of a software developer, an editor, two writers and a director (who also happens to be a legal wedding officiant) decided that they wanted to do something special to commemorate the triumphant news. In their excitement and mild delirium, they decided to provide a beautiful wedding for those finally able to be legally wed, totally free of charge. The rest, as they say, is history.
About The Knot
The Knot is the nation’s leading wedding resource, reaching over a million engaged couples each year through the #1 wedding website, TheKnot.com; The Knot national and local wedding magazines; and The Knot books (published by Random House and Chronicle). The Knot is the flagship brand of XO Group Inc., (NYSE: XOXO; http://www.theknotworldwide.com), formerly The Knot Inc, a global media and technology company devoted to weddings, pregnancy and everything in between, providing young women with the trusted information, products and advice they need to guide them through the most transformative events of their lives.
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