CEBU CITY, Philippines— A bride from Dalaguete, Cebu decided to go over the top for her wedding day.
Not through lavish decorations and outfits, but by breaking gender stereotypes.
Mary Cresty Enalin-Abedejos, a public school teacher, tied the knot with her boyfriend of six years, Jerome Abedejos last June 18.
In the historical church Nuestra Señora del Patrocinio de Maria in Boljoon, Cebu, the couple also made a somewhat historical move to make their wedding one of a kind.
Instead of the usual bridesmaids, Mary decided to bring out her colorful friends from the LGBTQA community to be part of her entourage.
“I have lots of gay friends and it will be an honor to have them as my bride’s men for a change and for breaking gender stereotyping,” the bride said.
There were 10 of Mary’s friends who became part of her “bridesmen” as what she called them, namely, Bonifacio Bataclan Dexter Teves, Aldrin Kevin Ubas, Mark Garcia, Danbert Banzon, Mark Lazaga, Crislee Negrido, Jason Zapanta, Justine Mutia and Joncel Gulfan.
“I’ve always been proud of these people because they shine in their own ways. I didn’t care about the reaction of the guests ‘coz what matters is what I wanted to happen on my wedding day. charot! but seriously, I was not hesitant to expose them because they’re not doing bad things man! They’re also human and they just want to be heard and be loved 🏳️🌈 and it’s very obvious that they made the guests on y wedding smile and laugh 🤗,” added Mary.
These bridesmen as they call themselves still wanted to uphold and respect the church and the wedding so they decided to wear suits instead of wearing gowns.
“To add, we as the bridesmen were also very respectful of the church that’s why we decided to wear suits. And Looking at the pics, it was a truly great decision,” added Crislee Negrido, one of Mary’s bridesmen.
Mary has been friends with them for more or less a decade and it was but fitting for her to bring these colorful individuals with her on her special day.
“An undying thank you for all the love and support. You’ve been with me thru all my ups and downs. Thank you for all the laughs and cries. You are all forever engraved in my heart. I Love You all my Bridegays 🏳️🌈😘😍,” said Mary.
What a beautiful way to show support to the LGBTQA community and a way to celebrate Pride Month.
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