All She Wrote Books in Somerville, Mass., will host a wedding marathon for LGBTQIA+ couples on August 30, Boston.com reported. The event is a response to the news earlier this month that the Supreme Court has been asked to overturn same-sex marriage.
In an Instagram post announcing the wedding marathon, the store wrote: "We can't believe it's come to this, but the clock could be ticking on LGBTQIA+ marriage rights. We're not interested in waiting to see what happens and neither is our community. That's why we're creating space for folks to say 'I do' ASAP without the cost or delay of a traditional wedding."
For $500, couples will receive a private, one-hour ceremony with a justice of the peace, professional photographs, cupcakes baked by store owner Christina Pascucci-Ciampa, a wedding gift from the bookstore, and information on the legal documents that "help replicate marriage rights if they are overturned." Couples can bring up to 12 guests, and financial assistance will be available.
"We're here to be here for the community," Pascucci-Ciampa told Boston.com. "We're not going to shut our doors, and we're not going to stop doing what we do, despite all things, despite all the hate. That doesn't mean that we can't still be there for the community and try to help them in the ways that, unfortunately, our government is choosing not to."