Bride Pride organizers Allison Baldwin, right, and her wife, Ilene Mitnick
DAVID TAFFET | Senior Staff Writer
Taffet@DallasVoice.com
As I was talking to Allison Baldwin — who, with her wife Ilene Mitnick, created Bride Pride — registration for their Feb, 21, 2027, mass wedding event in St. Petersberg, Fla., hit 80 couples. And Baldwin and Mitnick were expecting at least 20 more female couples to register to participate, which would make it the largest all-woman wedding on record and possibly qualify it for a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
This is the first time that Bride Pride will be held in St. Petersburg, and to make the ceremony extra special, former New York gubernatorial candidate and Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon will officiate.
The first two Bride Prides took place in Provincetown, where Baldwin and Mitnick were guesthouse owners. The Chamber of Commerce there was looking to bring more women visitors to town, and the couple hit upon the idea: “Why don’t we invite every woman to renew their vows or get married?”
Comedian Kate Clinton, who had a home in Provincetown, performed and officiated at the first two Bride Prides.
Baldwin said she and her wife bought an old, dilapidated property in Provincetown, renovated it into a guesthouse known as Roux Provincetown and ran it for a number of years. By the time they sold it, their bed and breakfast had made it onto the Best of Boston list and, Baldwin said, “We had a blast running it.”
In 2016 and 2017 they hosted the first two Bride Prides in the street, just outside their guesthouse. Then in 2019, they sold the property and moved to St. Pete.
“We sold because it was the right time for us to do the next thing,” Baldwin said. “We are self-proclaimed joy coaches. We do retreats.”
Since moving to Florida, they’ve kept busy becoming part of what Baldwin calls a welcoming and wonderful gay community, even if the state is about as welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community as Texas’ state government is.
“We’ve collaborated with Winter Pride St. Pete,” she said, noting that they expect it to be the largest Pride in Florida for 2027 and should rank in the top tier of Pride celebrations nationally.
Adding Bride Pride to the mix with Nixon as this year’s officiant should be a joyous addition to the new winter Pride festival.
Baldwin explained how Nixon became involved: “Cynthia Nixon and her wife, Christine, stayed with us in Provincetown for the International Film Festival,” she said, and the couples connected through some “wonderful conversations.”
“When we were thinking about who could lead the ceremony, we thought of her,” she said.
“Her activism for the LGBTQ community has been incredible. She did a lot of work around gay marriage. So it seemed like perfect fit.
“We sent an email and she called me.”
So far, couples from 15 states and Puerto Rico have registered, and one couple from Argentina is “in the wings,” Baldwin said. Two couples from Texas have signed up, including one from Irving. The participants range in age from their 30s to their 70s.
Baldwin said older couples have told her and Mitnick that they never thought they’d see anything like this in their lives. For younger couples, it’s just a fun event.
The mass wedding will take place on Central Avenue in the Grand Central District, the site of St. Pete’s original Pride parade.
“We want it right on the street,” Baldwin said. “We want it public, and we want businesses and locals to come. Visibility is important.”
Baldwin said people have told her she’s brave — even courageous — to hold Bride Pride in Florida where it’s legal for same-sex couples to get married but just not always safe.
But St. Petersburg earns a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Metro Equality Index, despite the state government’s anti-equality bent.
Couples who are legally marrying will need to arrive by Friday, Feb. 19, to apply for their wedding certificate ahead of the Sunday ceremony. Florida law requires a three-day waiting period for state residents between receiving a marriage license and actually getting married.
That waiting period is waived for out-of-state visitors, but the license bureau is only open weekdays.
After Nixon signs all the marriage licenses, they’ll be filed with the county and two copies will be mailed to the couple soon after the event.
Baldwin said she and Mitnick are still planning other events surrounding Bride Pride, including a welcome party on Friday. What else? Well, Baldwin said, “Maybe kayak trips, things like that.”
For a list of places to stay, answers to frequently asked questions and other information and to register as a couple for Bride Pride, visit BridePrideStPete.com.