My girlfriend, Brena, is two years older than me, so her circle of friends are slightly more ahead in life than mine, which means though none of my close friends are getting married yet, all of Brena’s are seeming to — at the same time. This past summer we were invited to three weddings, two of which were in late September, only six days apart, and all of which were outdoors. As a lover of love, it’s exciting people around me are starting to tie the knot, so I’m going to recap all the festivities here.

The first in our wedding series of 2025 was in July — a backyard wedding at the bride’s parents’ house in the suburbs of Philadelphia, between Brena’s college friend Gwen and her now-husband Sonny. Brena has known Gwen since before she was with Sonny, and they were incredibly close friends when Gwen and Sonny first started dating in college, so Brena, of course, cried a lot throughout the ceremony. It was quite a hot and humid day, but we made the best of it and embraced the sweatiness. The ceremony was officiated by Gwen’s close friend Annie, who did an incredible job, and the whole night felt intimate and the perfect amount of nontraditional. Because the wedding was in a backyard, the dancing lasted until after midnight.

We had a gap of a few months, and then our last two weddings of the year came one after the other. The first September wedding was for our friends Alex and Kayla, which was very exciting! Alex and Kayla joined our friend group about 2.5 years ago and have been together since they were in college, so it was special and fun that the whole friend group got to go celebrate their love and meet their families. It was another outdoor wedding, and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect.

Their wedding venue was gorgeous — the evening shade of a late September evening made Morris Arboretum feel magical, and from the ceremony to the reception, every detail was carefully planned. My favorite touch? The coaster with art of their dog and cat, Juno and Sylvester! Plus, there was lemonade at the bars, which immediately won me over as a lemonade fan who doesn’t particularly like most of the mixers offered at traditional bars.

There was a bit of drama at this wedding when Kayla’s sister Kira fainted while giving her speech, necessitating an ambulance and a hospital visit … but we all made the best of it; and once Kira was safely on her way to the hospital, we danced the night away. I felt terrible for Kayla and Alex, but our group tried to keep the mood up and make sure they were still able to have a good time on their day. Kira walked away with bruising and a concussion, and she’s fine now, so hopefully it will just make a great story for Kayla and Alex to tell their future kids!

The most recent wedding required some travel, up to the Poconos, about a 90-minute to two-hour drive. Held at one of the bride’s family houses at Moosic Lakes, I was so excited to attend my first queer wedding between Brena’s friends Madelyn and Anya. On another perfect weather day in a backyard that overlooked the lake, the ceremony was officiated by Anya’s lesbian aunt and was the absolute perfect blend of traditional and unique. I’m pretty sure no one escaped that ceremony without crying!

For the reception, we all walked about five minutes to the main lake’s clubhouse, where there was a big tent for the festivities. Once again, there were so many lovingly planned details and touches, such as Polaroid cameras accompanying the guest book, where we were encouraged to take two photos, leaving one for the book and taking one for ourselves as a souvenir.

Overlooking a beautiful lake, the vibes were impeccable, and toward the end of the night a bunch of Maddi and Anya’s friends ran into the lake, hiking up their dresses and dancing to the DJ’s set calf-deep in lake water (Brena included … I was too scared of the lake having gross things/creatures in it). I also must add that this DJ knocked it out of the park. I’m pretty sure Maddi and Anya made the playlist themselves or had a very heavy say in it because it was almost exactly what I would want the playlist at my wedding to be like. The night ended earlier compared to our past weddings, with a shuttle taking us back to the hotel at 10:30 p.m., but that was perfect for me because I was completely exhausted.

Now that the revelry is done, I’m putting away my dancing shoes until March, when our 2026 wedding season commences with another of Brena’s high school friends getting hitched!

— Hannah Gruen, advertising & events coordinator