The art of dodging tossed wedding bouquets had been mastered by Cindy Pollard. At 52, and with plenty of experience celebrating the big day for others, she'd learned how to back into corners and disappear when brides sent those flowers flying.
From: www.cnn.com
(CNN) -- The art of dodging tossed wedding bouquets had been mastered by Cindy Pollard. At 52, and with plenty of experience celebrating the big day for others, she'd learned how to back into corners and disappear when brides sent those flowers flying.
Cindy Pollard, left, and Gayla Snook celebrate their engagement at the Des Moines, Iowa, Pridefest parade.
"I have seven brothers and sisters, and I've been to all of their weddings," she said, her words catching on emotion. "It's just something you never thought you'd get to do."
Everything changed for this Iowa nurse on April 3, when the Midwestern state's Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn a ban on same-sex marriages. On that day, Pollard proposed to Gayla Snook, her partner of 10 years -- three times, just because she could. By lunchtime, the two women were busy planning their wedding, a big blowout scheduled for next summer.
Forty years after the Stonewall riots in New York -- the June 28, 1969, demonstrations that marked the beginning of the gay rights movement -- Iowa stands as one of six U.S. states to have legalized same-sex marriages. The others that currently, or will soon, perform such unions are Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire.