About Us

Who We Are

In May 2004, Cindy Sproul addressed a crowd of three hundred fifty at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge, MA, inviting them to mark the moment by raising a glass to toast the passage of the landmark Goodridge Decision. The crowd, gathered for the auspicious occasion at the first annual 'Same Love, Same Rights'™ LGBTQ+ Wedding Expo that afternoon, was joyful, attentive and many clung to handkerchiefs: Dozens of couples and wedding professionals alike were teary-eyed and struck with disbelief that the day had finally arrived when same-gender couples would be legally permitted to marry in the Bay State. Just four and a half years earlier, Sproul and her partner Marianne Puechl had co-founded RainbowWeddingNetwork.com, the first wedding gift registry ever specifically dedicated to the Gay and Lesbian community. The women, planning their own commitment ceremony, saw the need for a website dedicated to LGBTQ+ unions: having encountered awkwardness themselves as they approached wedding vendors, they decided it would be a wonderful & productive resource to screen vendors so that other LGBTQ+ couples would not have to experience discrimination.

1999

August

A flame flickers

An idea is born

photo of people standing on top of mountain near grasses 733162.jpg

Cindy Sproul realizes there is no gift registry welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community; she and partner Marianne Puechl brainstorm the details of RainbowWeddingNetwork.com

2000

September

Early momentum

RainbowWeddingNetwork.com debuts

RainbowWeddingNetwork.com (RWN) is officially launched and reaches over 1 million visitors in it's first month. That same month Vermont becomes the first state to recognize civil unions for same-sex couples.

2003

November

A historic first

First LGBTQ+ Wedding Expo

RWN produces its first LGBTQ+ Wedding Expo at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park, MN

2004

May

History in the Making

A Year of Change

In May, two weeks before the enactment of full marriage recognition in Massachusetts, RWN produces its 1st Annual LGBTQ+ Wedding Expo at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Cambridge. That annual event continues today.

Massachusetts becomes first state to recognize full marriage rights for same-gender couples; Multnomah County OR approves then overturns same-gender marriage recognition; under leadership of Mayor Gavin Newsom the city of San Francisco approves then overturns same-gender marriage recognition

Federal Marriage Amendment Act is proposed; RWN focuses more strongly on bringing LGBTQ+ Wedding Expos to various states throughout the nation and launches sister site: SameLoveSameRights.com

2005

October

Sub Label

Connecticut approves civil unions