In times like these, love is a radical act. Minnesota residents A’lexis Hamblin and Celina Berndt recognized this. It’s why they held their wedding in front of Minneapolis’ Third Precinct, a site that demonstrators set on fire on May 28 in protest of the police killing of George Floyd. Not only did their nuptials honor the Black Lives Matter movement, but their wedding also recognized Pride Month because it took place on the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.
The couple, who met on Tinder, got engaged on Valentine’s Day. They didn’t plan on getting married this summer, but because of the protests they participated in – and the number of people getting hurt or arrested at those protests – they thought marriage would be a safeguard in case something bad happened. So they threw together a ceremony and reception in a two-week time span.
“It was such a wholesome feeling having everyone together to celebrate Black queer love and liberation. It felt like we were all healing together after such a traumatic month,” Hamblin told City Pages, the alt-weekly of Minneapolis. “The wedding was a form of activism.”
Cover Photo: Anadolu Agency / Contributor (Getty Images)
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