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Embracing the Excitement' of Wedding Planning

When Ross Owens went on vacation to Provincetown, Cape Cod, he was looking forward to a few days of sleeping in. So when his boyfriend, Rob, begged him to wake up at 4:30 a.m. on the first morning there to see the sunrise, he was less than pleased. Still, he got up right on time and followed Rob out to the sand dunes.
"And he had already gone there and buried the ring box. So we climbed the dunes, sat there for a little while during the sunrise, and he pointed out the box and said, 'What's that.' He even took it out of the sand and proposed," Owens said.
After saying a heartfelt "yes," Owens said he was thankful he didn't choose to sleep in that morning.
That vacation was three years ago, and just this past November the couple officially tied the knot at The Plymouth Meeting House. Owens said that the location seemed like the perfect place to celebrate their love.

"It's always very nerve-wracking making a life change or life decision, but to be honest, I was nervous and excited at the same time, and you have to embrace that excitement and set your nerves aside, and do what you feel is right in your heart," he said. "I am not looking back at all."

"I grew up in Plymouth and we had attended probably four different weddings at The Meeting House, two of which Rob stood up in," Owens said. "And it was a wonderful room and wonderful staff and it really felt like home. And I guess the fact that I grew up in Plymouth, it was an easy decision to say that, 'This looks like a really nice place.' They were really welcoming."
Once the location was set, it was time to start creating the guest list. Initially, when the couple began their planning, they had their sights set on a small, very intimate ceremony.
"That's what we had planned for, but then when we started to actually names on a spreadsheet it was very apparent that we are not going to have a small wedding," Owens said. "We had around 200 guests."
The wedding's colors were pale blue and white, but Owens made sure to add a little autumn twist in the mix, too, with fallen leaves scattered down the aisle and ballroom.
"Pale blue and white was the main part of the venue, but then in the smaller section, we incorporated a Halloween theme because that's my favorite holiday," he said. "As you walked in there was a little bit of Halloween and fall, and as you went into the ballroom there was the pale blue and white [and] wintery [theme]."
When asked about the process of choosing vendors to create the couple's wedding experience, Owens said that both he and his husband felt apprehensive at first about sharing that the wedding was for a gay couple. All that hesitation went away, however, when they received excellent service.
"We didn't know any vendors and if they would be willing to partake and serve us, and I have to say that it was a very warming experience," he said. "There was not a single vendor or person that we spoke with that was not supportive of our community."
Now happily married, when asked if Owens has learned any lessons from the experience of planning his ceremony, he said that it was to enjoy the excitement of the moment.
"It's always very nerve-wracking making a life change or life decision, but to be honest, I was nervous and excited at the same time, and you have to embrace that excitement and set your nerves aside, and do what you feel is right in your heart," he said. "I am not looking back at all."



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