Bride ‘N Bride Celebrate Tying the Knot at the Sawdust Art Festival

After a 12-year romance Shelley and Laura Petrie, an openly gay couple, officially married on Friday, August 22 at the Santa Ana Courthouse and chose the Sawdust Art Festival to celebrate this romantic occasion. Following the courthouse ceremony the newly weds came directly to the summer festival to enjoy “Aloha Friday” on the Sawdust grounds, and they were among the first 500 guests, receiving floral aloha leis before picking up a “bride and bride” Polymer clay art piece from Patti’s People, which symbolized their special day.

Shelley and Laura started a family in Chicago after a lengthy relationship, but federal and state laws kept the Petries from receiving the same tax and social security benefits as other married couples, which they acknowledged as a form of discrimination. They moved from Chicago to Brea with their 5-year-old son, Danny, last May, after learning of the changes in California’s gay marriage law. They will return to the Midwest only if changes in the federal law occur.

“We did everything backwards,” says Laura. “We had a son, started a family, then bought a house, and finally, today, got our marriage license.” Though their path to family-hood has been unconventional, the Petries welcomed the opportunity to celebrate their much-anticipated marriage, a final step in completing their official family status.

The Sawdust Art Festival is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. until August 31st and located at 935 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. Parking and free trolley service to and from the Act V lot is available for $7 per day. Act V is located on Laguna Canyon Road on-half mile north of the festival. Metered parking along Laguna Canyon Road is available for $1 per hour.

Admission prices are: Adult $7; Seniors $6 age 65 and up; Children $3 age 6-12; and free for children under 5 years of age. For more information call 949-494-3030 or navigate to www.SawdustArtFestival.org.

The Sawdust Art Festival is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public and promoting the art created in Laguna Beach.

The Sawdust Art Festival thanks our 2008 sponsors Czechvar, Kendall-Jackson and our Official 2008 Media Sponsor, The Los Angeles Times.