Bookstore plans wedding marathon as SCOTUS reconsiders gay marriage

Local News

The $500 rate tag (with financial assistance available) includes a wedding ceremony, a professional photographer, treats, drinks, and more.

All She Wrote Books storefront in East Somerville. All She Wrote Books

While the Supreme Court considers overturning same-sex marriage rights, a queer-owned bookstore in Somerville is giving couples a chance to legally tie the knot at a special event next week.

All She Wrote Books, which describes itself as an intersectional feminist and queer bookstore, is hosting a “wedding marathon” for LGBTQIA+ couples Aug. 30. Complete with treats and a wedding photographer, the package gives couples an hour-long ceremony in a simple and beautiful setting, the owner said.

“When places like ours can exist and kind of allow oneself to shed that darkness or that anxiety or that heaviness, to me, that’s the biggest role that we play in what we do for the community,” said Christina Pascucci-Ciampa, the bookstore owner.

Kim Davis, a former county clerk, became the center of a 2015 legal case after refusing to issue marriage licenses to a gay couple on religious grounds. She recently brought forward an appeal, which the Supreme Court will consider this fall, outlets reported last week. It explicitly asks the highest court to overturn the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision that guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry.

When the court ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, Justice Clarence Thomas directly mentioned Obergefell as one precedent the court should also reconsider. Both the right to abortion and same-sex marriage rights are “substantive due process rights,” meaning they are recognized by courts but not explicitly stated in the Constitution. Thomas wants to reconsider those precedent rights.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said Tuesday she believes “they will do to gay marriage what they did to abortion — they will send it back to the states.” She said unmarried gay couples should consider walking down the aisle.

How to get married at All She Wrote Books

Getting married at the bookstore will come with a $500 rate tag, which includes an hour-long private session with a justice of the peace, a professional photographer, cupcakes or cake, a “bubbly toast,” and a special All She Wrote Books gift. The space seats 12, complete with an aisle for the couple.

All She Wrote Books’ marriage package will also include legal paperwork prepared by attorneys to help queer couples ready themselves for any change in legal status.

“One of the best things you can do is prepare yourself legally based on paperwork,” Pascucci-Ciampa said. “In times of anxiety and darkness … I really believe in finding the beacons of light to help us guide ourselves.”

Financial assistance is available for more than one couple, donated by community members who want to help couples tie the knot, Pascucci-Ciamp said. Currently, there are at least three spots open on Aug. 30, but the bookstore offers ceremonies outside of the wedding marathon.

“We’re here to be here for the community. 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,” Pascucci-Ciampa said. “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.”