Pink Weddings Spring 2016 Pink Weddings Spring 2016 | Page 9

Ten years on
Making history
Gino Meriano, founder of PWM and the Pink Approved
Group, which campaigned for equal rights and the changes
in law, was himself one of the first to tie the knot with his
partner Mike on 21 December 2005.
‘It’s amazing for us to look back now and realise that
we were part of history,’ he says. ‘We’d campaigned so hard
for a level playing field, then there we were in the middle
of something so intensely personal.’
Despite the progress there’s still a long way to go, he
says, with discrimination and prejudice still daily obstacles
for so many couples. Gino and Mike’s campaign is still very
much a growing force, fuelled by the needs of many same-
sex couples who find themselves treated differently, or not
offered the same options as other consumers.
true equality
Striving for equality is not about having any special signage
about being gay, but about having exactly the same
treatment and opportunities as anyone else, he says. Part of
his campaign has become about speaking up about the need
for opposite-sex couples to have the choice of a civil
partnerships, as much as giving same-sex couples the full
rights of married couples – about true equality, not tokenism.
From educating the public, to guiding suppliers – right
from when the Gay Wedding Show started in Brighton to
when it became a national event – Gino is dedicated to
demonstrating and explaining that there is no place for
prejudice and that equality should feed naturally into every
context of life. The shows have always welcomed families
and there are strong bonds with couples who are seeking
to have children – all part of a culture of acceptance and
genuine support that Gino hopes will filter beyond the
wedding market and into wider society.
road to freedoM
Alison and Jill Vaughan were one of the first couples to enter
a civil partnership, then among the first to get married in
March 2015. They recall taking part in an example wedding
at Gino and Mike’s very first Gay Wedding Show, as they
were planning their own celebration.
‘The wonderful wedding show was such freedom,’ says
Alison. ‘We appeared worldwide on Sky Television after
being filmed in the mock wedding. Later I cried my eyes
out at our own civil partnership – the joy at being able to
‘We’ve both been through
so much in life, fought hard
and overcome obstacles; so
much so, that now the small
things are just that – small...’
alIson VauGhan
promise ourselves publicly was wonderful.’
But it hasn’t all been plain sailing. ‘We’ve had our
challenges over the decades,’ she recalls. ‘We’ve had
discrimination galore – in both disguised and “in your face”
forms, including from neighbours and people who think
they have the right to judge, including hotels and employers.
stand your ground
‘But somehow along the way, those who don’t
discriminate have always outweighed those who do. Our
friends far outweigh those cruel people from the past, and
we are a calm, peaceful, educational match for the
challengers of the present.
‘We count ourselves lucky in living a wonderful life
that’s so different to the painful upbringing we had and
are proud to stand as testament to those who want to
reach for their true selves and true lives.’
This year the couple are planning to celebrate their
tenth wedding anniversary in style – ‘we just need to find
somewhere suitably luxurious and dog friendly for our
furbaby greyhounds and our family and friends, on such an
auspicious occasion!’ says Alison.
On a more serious note, there is still much to be done,
she says, and they ‘continue to help those “not in the
know” to accept that gender identity is no barrier to love.’
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