Weddings Unveiled magazine which bills itself as Inspiring Style for Southern Weddings recently , rejected an ad from Anne Almasy because in the ad it showed a photo of two brides. Not one bride. Not a bride and a groom. But two brides, marrying each other.

In an open letter to Weddings Unveiled Almasy wrote :

I chose Weddings Unveiled because I’m not trying to advertise to “the gay community.” I’m advertising to couples who are getting married. This couple didn’t get “gay married.” They didn’t have a “gay wedding.” They got married. They had a wedding. They share their lives, their joys and sorrows, and all the mundane daily things that we all share with our partners. They are just people. In love. Committed to one another.

Weddings Unveiled later apologized to Almasy after reconsidering their decision.  It turns out they didn’t reject the ad out of thier own bigotry or homophobia but rather for fear of alienating those who don;t agree with same-sex marriage.

We are Terri and Brooke, the publishers of Weddings Unveiled Magazine. We hope that you will allow us the opportunity to address an important issue that has angered and disappointed many people. We are incredibly sad that same-sex marriage is still an issue in our society. When we were faced with the decision of whether or not to publish Anne Almasy’s advertisement, we acted in a manner that does not reflect our personal beliefs. We truly believe that all love is beautiful and that all people have the right to marry. You might ask that if we feel that way, then why did we make this decision? Honestly, we knew that everyone would not share our belief that all people have the right to marry. The issue is very sensitive and it is also very divided. We knew that it was possible that people would be offended if we published the ad and we knew that it was possible that people would be offended if we did not. We are so sorry that we acted out of fear and uncertainty. We had never been faced with such a decision and we should have acted with our hearts.

We are two women who operate a small business that we care deeply about. We love all weddings. We love all people and would never want to anger, offend or disappoint anyone. We are deeply moved by the outpouring of love and support for Anne. We are so sorry that we have disappointed you and we ask for your forgiveness. If Anne would still like to run her ad in Weddings Unveiled, then we would be proud to publish it.

Kudos to the owners of Weddings Unveiled  for admitting to fear in not placing the ad and apologizing  and realizing that being on the right side of history in the end is more important than possibility of offending a few homophobic bigots.

NOTE:  The photograph used on the main page is not the one submitted by Anne Almasy