With a sunset sky in the background, students crowded into theGreek Amphitheater to say “I do” and help Spectrum Alliance raisemoney for their conference in St. Louis, MO.
With ring pops and champagne poppers as the wedding favors,students of all orientations and sexes dressed in bride and groomcostumes happily signed their names alongside their partner’s onmock marriage certificates and participated in the ceremony,complete with a mock preacher.
“Our turnout was great,” Danielle Wheeler, a mass communicationsenior and a member of Spectrum, said. “I would say at the peakpoint of the night we have over 150 people here, but people werecoming and going all night.”
The event doubled as a fundraiser to help Spectrum membersattend the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating ChangeConference in St. Louis, Mo.
“This is a very important conference,” Wheeler said. “Lacey All,one of the founders of Spectrum created the idea for the Safe Spaceprogram on this conference and brought it back to LSU.”
Wheeler, along with Spectrum co-chairs Becca Hebert and RachelAll, said this event was “just in fun” and was planned long beforethe overturning of the gay marriage amendment.
“This event was not exclusive at all,” Wheeler said. “We hadthree people get married to one another, straight people getmarried, gay couples, straight people marry gay people. It was foreveryone.”
The night was topped with the marriage of 18 couples of allorientations and sexes.
Wheeler said she hopes to see the event continue but possiblyturn into one big ceremony for all couples wishing to getmarried.
“Hopefully if the ban does not pass then we will not have tohave this event and we can do it legally,” Hebert said.
Wheeler said the one change she would make is not having theevent during the midterm week.
Regardless of midterms or amendments, the “justly married”couples celebrated their marriages dancing to the sounds of theband and in the company of their friends.