The moment Holly Schaner saw her now-fiancé, she knew it was meant to be.
"It was just an instant connection, and I just kind of, like, knew I didn't want to be without her," Schaner said.
The couple in their early 30s matched on the dating app Bumble, and in true lesbian fashion, it didn't take long for the two to fall in love.
Schaner proposed to Lauren Brizendine in Paris during a photoshoot they planned together to celebrate their relationship.
"We were shaking and nervous, and I cried, and it was beautiful," Schaner said.
The couple now lives in St. Petersburg in the home they purchased together, and wedding plans are underway. Lauren and Holly want a beautiful, outdoor destination wedding - perhaps in Joshua Tree or Malibu, California.
"We haven't found a venue, so we're searching for the venue, and once that happens, it'll all fall into place."
"You really sometimes can feel like you have to come out to a million people, and here you don't have to come out to anybody. Everybody's going to assume that they will celebrate whatever love you are celebrating."Vianka Kafra
Meanwhile, they're scoping out vendors locally for a party close to home with friends.
Luckily for them, there's a queer-friendly wedding expo tonight and they've got tickets. It's the first "Love Proudly" queer wedding expo at Station House in St. Pete and the organizer hopes to make it a yearly party.
"I am so thankful for every one of you that came out today,” Vianka Cafra said to the small crowd taking a break from speaking with wedding vendors.
“A big shout out to all of our vendors. Every single one of you have been a dream to work with in this capacity and every other capacity in this industry. And I'm really glad that we were able to put this on and create a safe space for our queer community."
Cafra, the venue manager for Station House St. Pete, wanted an event that not only caters to the queer community, but celebrates it. Here, the couple can go vendor to vendor without explaining each time that they're not sisters or just best friends.
"You really sometimes can feel like you have to come out to a million people, and here you don't have to come out to anybody,” Cafra said. “Everybody's going to assume that they will celebrate whatever love you are celebrating."
Cafra pointed out that most wedding expos are geared toward cisgender and heterosexual couples. When you scroll through the Bridal Show section on the Marry Me Tampa Bay Blog, page after page features brides and grooms all decked out for their big day.
But nearly 5% of adults in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region are part of the LGBTQ+ community, according to a 2021 Williams Institute study. That's tens of thousands of people.
Cafra said she handpicked vendors who are queer themselves — or at least intentionally inclusive. She didn't want couples here experiencing what she went through planning her own wedding to her wife last year.
"I went through it myself when I planned my wedding, and not knowing what those vendors were truly thinking of my identity and the person I was marrying," Cafra said.
On the fifth floor of the brick building that was once a train station, then a fire station, Lauren and Holly work their way through the vendors, tasting cake samples, talking to officiants, and flipping through photography portfolios with couples that look like them.
Spring fluorescent red hair, Brittany Trevino, the co-owner of Rad Red Creative, enthusiastically showed off a slideshow of wedding photos and videos.
"We have some photos here, and we have some wedding videos playing, and we have headphones so you can take a listen," Trevino said.
Trevino’s website features couples of all stripes, but tonight’s showcase displayed wedding photos from members of the queer community.
"I made a point to make sure that every single thing that I showcased tonight was LGBT, because I didn't want to say like, ‘oh, we do photos, but I don't have any couples that would showcase you.’ Every single thing you'll see is from one of those queer weddings," Trevino said.
Holly and Lauren make a point to swing by Tweeds, a local custom suit company with a table displaying swatches from different suit color and fabric options.
"I've never done a custom suit before. I've always wanted one."
Grace Cespedes, a style consultant at Tweeds, is jazzed to represent the company here.
"It's really cool when I get people who want to know if we do suits for women or suits for nonbinary folks, because we absolutely do," Cespedes said.
Closer to the end of the night, the wedding expo is topped off by a queer staple — a drag show.
And as the sun starts to set over the old fire house, Holly and Lauren reflect on the experience.
"It just makes me feel like I'm just a couple that's getting married, and it's not like you're a different type of couple that's getting married. You're just also two people in love that want to have an amazing time and an amazing journey for the rest of their life."
Hand in hand, the two blondes take a photo together in front of a silver tinsel backdrop set up by the venue. Tomorrow — with renewed gusto — they'll resume searching for their venue.
