Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Behold... Bridezilla!

(Linky-pops to article) NBC's "Today" Show opens wedding contest to same-sex couples. Leather Daddy hissy fits and dyke drama on the televised honeymoon soon to follow.

1 comment:

LNewsEditor said...

Just in case the link fails:
Gay pair can win 'Today' wedding


By Gail Shister
Knight Ridder Newspapers


It could be "Here come the brides" on "Today." Or "the grooms."

For the first time in its six-year history, the annual "Today" wedding contest is open to same-sex couples, NBC rep Allison Gollust confirmed.

Here's why: Previous winners' nuptials took place in New York or, last year, Anguilla in the Caribbean. Gay marriage is not legal in either locale. For this year's event, the ceremony will be held in the winning couple's hometown.

In Massachusetts, for example, same-sex marriage is legal, which means that gay and lesbian couples there can qualify to compete for the all-expenses-paid, soup-to-nuts wedding and honeymoon, as selected by viewers.

Entries and rules for " 'Today' throws a hometown wedding" can be found on www.today.msnbc.com. All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Monday. The wedding tentatively is scheduled for Sept. 16 on "Today."

The goal for the annual "Today" event has always been to have the winning couple get legally married on the show, Gollust says. Responding to increased pressure from gay advocacy groups, "Today" recently dropped mixed-gender requirements.

The contest is open only to "currently engaged couples, who are legal residents of the United States currently residing in the continental U.S." Each member of the couple must be at least 21 as of June 13, when "Today" began accepting entries.

" 'Today' is not taking a stand for or against same-sex marriage," Gollust says. "We're just clarifying the rules based on new developments in the law. Anyone who can legally get married should be able to participate."

NBC received almost 2,500 entries for last year's series. Over 12 weeks, every detail of the wedding of Kentuckians Buddy Butler and Nikki Hensley was determined by viewers' weekly votes on the Internet. On Nov. 19, more than 6 million watched the lovebirds exchange vows in Anguilla.