Steven & Kevin: A Lifetime of “Yes!”
“It was a boys’ weekend in Berlin; part of my ‘year of yes,’” Kevin said of the first time he set eyes on Steven in April of 2017. He continued explaining he and his friends were there to go out, eat, tour and, as Steven interrupted, “do all the things you do in Berlin!” This, of course, included late nights at Berghain, one of Berlin’s—if not the world’s—most infamous clubs.
“I saw Stevie across the club and thought this is the most beautiful man I have ever seen, but I didn’t say anything because it was too crowded.” Steven had not seen Kevin, until the next night when both gents were back at the club. “I was with my friend Matty and I said ‘that’s the guy from last night!’” Steven and Kevin met on the dancefloor and after dancing for a while, exchanging a few words over the music, the two started kissing. “We made out for an uncomfortably long time,” Kevin underlined. “Uncomfortable for our friends. For us it was heaven! Everything melted away leaving us in the most important moment in our lives.” Steven added.
So began their long-distance relationship between New York and Berlin. “At first, we saw each other every two weeks,” Steven pointed out. And as much as it was a thrill to reunite, it was heartbreaking to leave each other. “That was the horrible part of being long-distance, but the rest was just so easy,” Kevin said. Fortunately, Steven got an internship in New York for 6-months as part of his MBA program—following 10-years in the German Navy. And, later, Kevin was able to spend 8-months in Berlin between jobs. “He took German class every day,” Steven said lovingly of Kevin.
“But from the dancefloor to today, we have never, ever stopped communicating, telling each other everything, with so much openness, honesty and respect.” Both Steven and Kevin had been in long-term relationships previously—that made clear to both what they did and did not want in a relationship. Kevin pointed out, “thankfully we both had those relationships, because they made us ready and willing for this one.” Steven felt in Kevin true honesty for the first time. Kevin felt in Steve pure heart. “We have evolved into a unit that on an individual level we would not have achieved without each other,” Steven shared.
A little over a year into their relationship, Kevin proposed. Though it was implied the two would marry, it was still a surprise for Steven. “I coaxed him to Madison Square Park, on an especially hard day for Stevie.” Surrounded by their chosen and given family, Kevin got on one knee. “Of course, we were both crying messes!”
Unlike their first meeting and engagement, the two opted for an intimate wedding for two in their favorite place in the world, Palm Springs in 2019. “We wanted to legally be married, and there was something unromantic about getting married at City Hall and going upstairs and ordering Seamless,” Kevin said. Their vision was to follow their intimate ceremony with a celebratory party in May of 2020. Due to the pandemic , said party did not happen until 2-and-a-half years later when they married again in Berlin.
“We got married in an underground brewery that was once an illegal techno club, called The Deep,” Steven explained. “It was dark underground, but elegant, including drag queens and DJs and violinists playing our song, Indestructible by Robyn.” Most everyone from Steven and Kevin’s very first night together attended, but now included their families, who met each other for the first time. Matty, Kevin’s friend who was told, ‘hand’s off’ that first night, officiated the ceremony incorporating some Jewish traditions. After the reception, everyone changed into their ‘Berlin club best’ and headed out to the clubs. A perfect reminder of how it all began.
One tradition that was not part of either wedding was stress. “When you’re surrounded by that much love, who cares what happens,” Kevin said. “Everyone was in love with each other, even those who had not met before.” Love at first sight is contagious when you let it be.
“From the very first moment we have trusted our guts and believed ‘this is just the beginning,’” Steven said. “We are only 6-years into our life together, and still have 50-more to go. We are just looking forward to everything.”
N.B: Steven currently supports The Ali Forney Center in New York, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting LGTBQ+ youth from the harms of homelessness and empowering them with the tools needed to live independently. Please lend your support to this mission by sharing it with others or supporting it in all the ways that resonate for you.
Berlin Wedding Credits:
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Deep Berlin
Photographer: Matthias Friel, @matthiasfriel
Planner/Designer: Janine Stange, Team Sarah Linow
Cake: Lottas Torten
Floral Designer: Flores y Amores
DJ: @DJane Sika Akis
