Jeffrey & Bryce: Engaged & Married On The Same Day

Jeffrey and Bryce first met through a dating app. They scheduled their first date to hike up to a set of hot springs for a day lounging around in nature. At the time, Bryce was in the closet. However, as they got to know each other, their relationship quickly became serious.

“I thought Jeffrey was drop-dead handsome and I loved how giving he was. I fell head over heals pretty quickly knowing early on he was “the one”. I finally felt safe and I wasn’t worried about coming out because I knew I had him.”

As Jeffrey and Bryce continued to date, the topic of marriage came up. When Jeffrey decided that he was going to propose, he planned the whole thing on his own. “We woke up early, and Bryce had no idea what was going to happen. I arranged for a private helicopter tour over Salt Lake City, and up a nearby canyon. At the top of the canyon, I handed Bryce a note to read. I was so loud in the helicopter, it was difficult to hear! At the end, it said, “Will you marry me?” And of course, Bryce said yes!”

The two shared a kiss as they looked out over the sprawling view. “Now this is where it gets fun… we got engaged and married on the same day!” Jeffrey and Bryce had recently matched with a surrogate to start their family. They also learned that a member of the Utah legislature was trying to change surrogacy laws to exclude same-sex couples. “Simply put, because we were gay, we were not entitled to the same rights as a traditional couple. We knew that part of the law stated we had to be married, which we were planning to do, but we quickly realized that we had no time to waste. Pushing plans for a beautiful spring wedding in the mountains of Utah surrounded with family and friends to the side, we hurried to the courthouse where we got married by a judge we had never met. Only our moms and Jeffrey’s sisters were able to attend. It certainly wasn’t the dream wedding we had envisioned, but by this point, becoming parents mattered more than anything.”

Jeffrey and Bryce stood hand in hand in front of the judge and said, “I do.” With their mothers and Jeffrey’s sisters at their side, they signed their marriage certificate and became husband and husband. “It was simple and really personal between us. There weren't any other distractions. It was simple.”

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Today is our 2nd wedding anniversary. Its easy to focus on all the things our wedding wasn’t. We didn’t get married in the mountains like we’d always dreamed. We didn’t get gorgeous pictures of our wedding. We didn’t get to celebrate with all our friends and family. We didn’t get to cut a cake or dance or ride away in a cool vintage car… We got married. Quickly. In a drab courthouse by a judge we’d never met because bigoted & homophobic lawmakers were trying to change surrogacy laws to outlaw LGBT couples. We knew if we got married & pushed everything through the legal system quickly, our family would be protected. So an official wedding became just a step in our process…a step that allowed us to get one step closer to Rue & Ridge. They were the reason for our shotgun wedding. We didn’t get the fancy wedding like we’d dreamed…but we got the family we always wanted.

A post shared by Jeffrey & Bryce | Gay Dads (@growingupwithdads) on Jan 4, 2020 at 9:50am PST

“When you get engaged and married on the same day, there's not a lot of planning that goes into it. We got married at the closest courthouse that had an opening by the first judge that had an opening in their schedule. We weren't allowed to be picky or plan.”

Jeffrey and Bryce may have experienced a rare way to get engaged and married, but this is their story and they are proud of it. Their wedding, though rushed, allowed them to start a family together, and that is something that will never be forgotten “Find out what's important to you. For us, getting married and having that legal document was important to us—so in the end, that's all that mattered. Sure, we would've loved a fancy wedding with friends and family, but that just wasn't in the cards for us. We love being dads and I think everyone sees that our wedding was a necessary and important step to us being dads.”

A few months later, right before their children were born, they flew to Cabo San Lucas for a beautiful baby-moon to celebrate the beginning of their new family. Jeffrey and Bryce live and love together in Salt Lake City Utah. You can follow their adventures at @growingupwithdads.