Choosing the right vendors
Brian and Jonathan Being celebrated not just accepted is one couple’s way to make their wedding day perfect DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writertaffet@dallasvoice.com For their wedding, Brian Ivanchan and Jonathan Martin wanted to use as many vendors from the LGBTQ community as possible. “We didn’t want to be accepted,” Ivanchan said. “We wanted to be celebrated.” They’ll be getting married in January, which, they explained, is the slow month for their business.
And the ceremony and celebration will be held at the Warwick Melrose Hotel new ballroom facility on Cedar Springs Road. What they pictured is a smaller version of Black Tie Dinner with about 200 guests. “We bonded with friends going to Black Tie Dinner,” Martin explained. “We wanted to be surrounded by people like us.” That includes dressing up for the formal event, getting their hair done, making it a special evening for everyone.
They began their planning by hiring Riccardo, a gay wedding planner. Once he was on board, the search for vendors began. The Melrose will provide most of the catering but not the cake. “I didn’t want someone who was OK with making a cake for a gay couple,” Ivanchan explained. “I wanted someone who loved making a cake for a gay couple.” They going with Posh Cakes, whose owner they’d been Facebook friends with for years.
For an officiant, Riccardo has someone in mind. “We’re looking for someone who expresses the same love we do,” Martin said. Tuxes and dresses have already been settled.
